Prof. Fred Olayele is a seasoned economist, global finance and development executive, university professor, and innovation strategy leader — with a diverse career focused on global business, finance, public policy, economic development, and academia. He has held academic positions and taught graduate and undergraduate courses across four Canadian universities: University of Regina, Mount Allison University, Carleton University, and Crandall University.
Prof. Olayele is the founder and chairman of ECANY Capital — a New York-based pan-African private investment firm connecting capital and expertise to support growth-oriented ventures. 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.
He was a visiting scholar at the World Trade Institute, Bern, Switzerland. Prior to that, he advised the Canadian provincial governments of British Columbia and Saskatchewan on foreign direct investment and economic development. Earlier in his career before joining academia, he was a global trade finance specialist with Citigroup.
A global trade and innovation leader, he serves on various boards and supports many social causes. He sits on the Academic Advisory Board of the Emerging Markets Institute, Cornell University in New York, and the International Advisory Board of the International Economic Development Council in Washington, DC. He chairs the governing board of Blue Global Canada Institute.
Prof. Olayele speaks and lectures internationally on innovation, finance, public policy, and development. He hosts the Global Recast podcast — a series of conversations with global leaders on grit, courage, and economic optimism in a fractured world.
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, Carleton University, he is a member of the Economic Club of New York.