Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Yvonne is a Change Leadership Strategist and Advisor, Founder of The Change Leadership, and an Executive Educator with 23+ years of global experience helping professionals and organizations build the capability to lead, drive, and navigate change in today’s disruptive environment. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office and other boards.

Her passion lies in equipping professionals and organizations to lead and respond to change, ultimately benefiting society. She believes that when change is done right, it yields invaluable benefits to stakeholders and the wider community.

She has worked with a broad range of organizations globally, including RBC, TD, Deloitte, Loblaw, Ontario Public Service, and JP Morgan Chase, to lead and manage their Strategic, Technology, and Regulatory Change Initiatives. She is the founder of The Change Leadership, an ecosystem and community focused on preparing professionals, change leaders, and organizations to successfully lead and navigate change in today’s fast-paced and disruptive business environment.

Through The Change Leadership, Yvonne designs and delivers change leadership capability development for organizations and professionals. This includes the Change Leadership Accelerator, an ACMP-accredited program supporting the CCMP accreditation pathway, corporate change leadership capability workshops, and executive briefings and roundtables. She has also facilitated leadership and change programs for professional associations including ACMP, PMI, IIBA, and CMI.

Yvonne has taught and guest lectured at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, York University’s School of Human Resource Management, and the Schulich School of Business, bringing real transformation experience into executive and graduate learning environments.

Yvonne holds a BSc Honours in Business Information Technology & Marketing from London Guildhall University, an MBA from Warwick Business School, a Change Leadership Certificate from Cornell University, and a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) from DeGroote & McMaster University.

Yvonne is the author of four books, including The Anatomy of a Change Leader: How to THINK, ACT, and LEAD Change in a Disruptive World, which introduces her Change Leadership DNA framework. She is also the host of the Change Leadership Conversations podcast and a sought-after speaker.