Chair, Steering Committee
Dr. Fred Olayele is a seasoned global economist, university professor, and innovation strategy leader with a diverse career focused on global business, finance, public policy, economic development, and academia. His expertise covers trade policy, innovation strategy, urban policy, political economy, and inclusive development. He has published and shared best practices in these areas at numerous conferences and institutions around the world. He previously served as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where he helped position New York as a global model for innovation. Prior to that, he advised the Canadian provincial governments of British Columbia and Saskatchewan on energy policy, foreign direct investment, and economic development. Earlier in his career, before joining academia, he was a global trade finance specialist with Citibank. Professor Olayele has held academic positions across four Canadian universities: University of Regina, Mount Allison University, Carleton University, and Crandall University. He supports many social causes and serves on various boards — including the Academic Advisory Board of the Emerging Markets Institute, Cornell University in New York, the Board of Directors of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, and the International Advisory Board of the International Economic Development Council in Washington, DC. He holds a PhD in Economics from Lancaster University, United Kingdom, and an MA in Economics from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. A Senior Fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, he teaches management and economics at the Graduate School of Management at Crandall University.