Ekundayo Akinlade, Ph.D. (She/Her)

Cofounder and Lead Consultant

Dr. Ekundayo Akinlade is an Associate Professor of Management and Human Resources in the College of Business, Economics and Accounting at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside (UWP). She is a founding managing member of IMAGIN Consulting, LLC. Dr. Akinlade’s research covers topics including diversity, human resource practices, leadership and creativity. She has presented her work in both regional and international conferences, such as the Academy of Management, Midwest Academy of Management and the Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference. She is a member of the board of reviewers for the South Asian Journal of Human Resource Management and she received the “Excellence in Peer Review” award in 2017 and 2018. Dr. Akinlade was a “Wisconsin Teaching Fellow” at the University of Wisconsin System. She received the “Outstanding Faculty Award” from Saint Xavier University African American Society. Dr. Akinlade is also a Senior Certified Professional of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and has a SHRM talent acquisition specialty credential. She serves on the board of the Racine and Kenosha Area SHRM chapter as the director of college relations. Before joining academia, Dr. Akinlade worked for several years in various managerial roles, including as a management consultant with Accenture, in different countries such as Nigeria, Britain, Switzerland, and the United States.

Oscar Holmes IV, Ph.D.

Oscar Holmes IV is the founder and CEO of WHConsulting Firm, LLC and creator and host of Diversity Matters podcast which premiered in 2020. Additionally, he is the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, an Associate Professor of Management and the Rutgers University Student Executive (RUSE) Director at Rutgers School of Business-Camden where he teaches executive education, graduate, and undergraduate courses in Leadership and Managing Human Capital, Organizational Behavior, Conflict Management and Negotiation, and Crisis Management. His research examines how leaders can maximize productivity and well-being through fostering more inclusive environments and has been published in several top-tier management journals and books. He earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Management from The University of Alabama, M.L.A. from The University of Richmond and a B.S. with honors from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also a 2006 alum of Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Summer Institute in General Management. While on sabbatical in fall 2016, he was a Visiting Research Professor of Management at the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University and a Research Fellow at the University of Pretoria (South Africa). He is a resident expert for Psychology Today (PT) and hosts his own PT column entitled, “Beyond the Cubicle: Managing Human Capital.”