Yewande Akinola
Trustee
Yewande Akinola is a Chartered Engineer, innovator, consultant and speaker.
Her engineering experience includes the design and construction, innovation and manufacture of buildings and systems in the built environment. She has worked on projects in the UK, Africa, the Middle East and East Asia and has been named one of the 100 Most influential Engineers in Europe by the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards. the UK Young Woman Engineer of the Year by the Institution of Engineering & Technology. She has also been awarded the Exceptional Achiever Award from the Association for BAME Engineers and the Association of Consultancy and Engineering, U.K. (ACE).
She sits on the governing body at the University of Warwick and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster. She is passionate about STEM Education and communication and has presented Engineering programmes for Television. In the 2020 New Year Honours list, Yewande was awarded an MBE for services to engineering innovation and diversity in STEM.
She has served as the UK's Innovation Agency (Innovate UK) Ambassador for Clean Growth and Infrastructure and was recently awarded Top 50 Workplace leaders in the UK. Yewande has been appointed as Vice President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and serves as Chair of the Institution's Knowledge Services & Solutions (KS&S) board. She sits on the Global Advisory Board of Warwick Business School. She's the founder of Innovation for Impact.
She has recently been appointed non-executive director of Midlands Mindforge , a patient capital investment company for university spinouts and early stage IP rich businesses in the Midlands.