Who we are
Dr. Olalekan B. Ajibade
PhD (Toronto), Executive MBA (Alberta). Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, IMPATEZ Holdings Corporation, Toronto, Canada.
Dr. Olalekan B. Ajibade is the Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of IMPATEZ Holdings Corporation, Toronto, Canada. He holds a PhD Degree in Environmental Applied Science and Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, where he graduated with Distinction (First-Class Standing) and received the Academic Prize for Distinction. Beyond his scholarship award, he has critically explored sustainability strategy and management, corporate sustainability reporting standards, strategic and sustainability frameworks, strategy maps, strategic performance measurement and management systems, and energy management.
Further, he earned the Executive Master of Business Administration Degree in Strategic Management from the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he graduated with Distinction (First-Class Standing). He also earned the Dean’s Honours Award for Academic Excellence and the Academic Prize for Distinction.
Additionally, he earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Manufacturing and Operations Management from Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, where he graduated with Distinction (First-Class Standing). He emerged as the Best Graduating Student with a High Honours Award and received the Prestigious Board of Governors Silver Medal Award for Academic Excellence.
Moreover, Dr. Olalekan B. Ajibade holds a Higher National Diploma from the Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi State, Nigeria, where he graduated with Upper Credit and was the Best Graduating Student in Metallurgical Engineering.
An accomplished executive, scholar, and transformational leader, Dr. Olalekan B. Ajibade has executive management experience in strategic and performance management systems, sustainability strategy and management, energy management, advanced manufacturing and operations management, sustainable supply chain management, corporate sustainability and social responsibility, and corporate sustainability reporting.
Dr. Olalekan B. Ajibade has consistently attracted, retained, and developed talented employees using forward-thinking approaches throughout his three-decade career in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He worked as an operations and strategy manager at a publicly listed manufacturing company, followed by progressively senior management and executive leadership roles in multinational organizations, including general manager and vice-president of operations, strategy, sustainability, and corporate services. Utilizing a world-class innovative leadership model, Dr. Olalekan B. Ajibade has successfully created, implemented, and sustained a group-winning culture that enhanced operational efficiency, effectiveness, learning, customer satisfaction and retention, market share and sustainable growth.
He is an excellent collaborator with high motivation and a strong drive for success. His work has been published in a peer-reviewed and leading academic journal, the International Journal of Energy Sector Management, and he has presented papers at international conferences and workshops. He is an adjunct professor at the Alberta School of Business, the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and a member of the International Association for Energy Economics. He is a postdoctoral research fellow at the International Renewable Energy Academy at York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Mohamed Lachemi
PhD, MASc (Sherbrooke, Canada). Chairman of the Advisory Council, IMPATEZ Holdings Corporation, Toronto, Canada.
Dr. Mohamed Lachemi is President and Vice-Chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada. First appointed in April 2016 and scheduled to complete his second and final term in April 2026, his term has been extended to the end of 2026 under a Board motion. He has led transformational expansion at the university of national and international significance, been recognized as one of the city’s most influential people, and championed a university culture of entrepreneurship and challenging the status quo.
As President, he has led the development and creation of groundbreaking schools in law and medicine, with each sharing a deliberately innovative focus embracing technology, equity and inclusion, and a mandate to reach the underserved. In other significant advances, President Lachemi has overseen the launch of the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, a national centre for cybersecurity, and under his direction, Toronto Metropolitan University was awarded leadership of the Future Skills Centre consortium, which aims to ensure Canadians develop the skills they need in the new economy.
Born in a remote village in Algeria, and fluent in English, Arabic, and French, President Lachemi has led a new strategy to build a global urban university. Innovation Zones have been established in Egypt, India, Japan, Vietnam, and the Caribbean based on the success of Toronto Metropolitan University’s DMZ – one of the world’s top university-based incubators. In 2023, Toronto Metropolitan University was ranked #1 on Forbes’ list of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity.
As the president of a distinctly urban university in the heart of Canada’s largest city, President Lachemi has amplified the university’s dedication to city and community building with a new Master Campus Plan embracing the development of vibrant, inclusive and high-quality space that promotes the health and well-being of the campus and surrounding community.
President Lachemi joined Toronto Metropolitan University in 1998 as a professor of civil engineering and has served in progressively senior roles, including dean of the faculty of engineering and architectural science, and provost and vice-president, academic.
In addition to his record as an academic leader, President Lachemi has earned international recognition for his pioneering research. His studies in high-performance materials and advanced technologies are inspired by his childhood experience in North Africa when he and his family survived a devastating earthquake that killed more than 4,000 people. The vexing question of why some buildings were levelled and others undamaged launched his interest in engineering and a quest to save lives through better construction. He held a Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Construction from 2002-2010. Funding sources for his work include the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation Trust, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Ontario Centres of Excellence, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Hydro-Québec and various industrial partners.
An award-winning teacher and mentor, he has acted as supervisor, co-supervisor or advisor for over 85 Masters and PhD students, post-doctoral fellows and research associates. Publishing in English and French, President Lachemi has more than 350 peer-reviewed technical publications, book chapters and conference proceedings and extensive contributions as an editor and technical reviewer. He has delivered more than 75 keynote addresses and invited presentations around the world.
President Lachemi is the Past Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities, Past Chair of the Finance Committee of Universities Canada, Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for Rogers Communications Inc., DMZ Ventures, WUSC (World University Service of Canada) and GTAA (Greater Toronto Airports Authority). He was a member of the National Research Council from 2018 to 2021.
Among his recent honours, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario (2022), the province’s highest civilian honour recognizing extraordinary contributions. He has also been named one of Canada’s Top 25 Immigrants by Canadian Immigrant Magazine (2022), one of the city’s Top 50 Most Influential People by Toronto Life Magazine (2021 and 2022), was recognized as one of LinkedIn Top Voices, Education (2019), and was awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by Ontario Tech University (2021).
A graduate of L’Université des Sciences et de la Technologie d’Oran in Algeria (civil engineering, with distinction) and L’Université de Sherbrooke (MASc and PhD, Structural Engineering), Dr. Lachemi worked with Concrete Canada as a postdoctoral fellow and research associate, followed by a visiting professorship in Applied Science at Artois University in France.
