Hassan Akmal
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Hassan Akmal

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Hassan Akmal, born in Bozeman, Montana, is an American Career and Life Mastery consultant, futurist, author, professor, global thought leader, philanthropist, and former professional tennis player who served as an athlete ambassador to the United States. He is best known for his Amazon best-selling book, How to Be a Career Mastermind™: Discover 7 “YOU Matter” Lenses for a Life of Purpose, Impact, and Meaningful Work.

With over 30 years in higher education and 17 years of senior leadership in career services, Akmal is a pioneer in career and life design. He was the inaugural executive director of industry relations and career strategies at Columbia University, where he founded the award-winning Career Design Lab in Times Square. In 2018, he served on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) “Future of We” Advisory Committee and as a senior advisor to Graduway (now Gravyty), a top 10 global EdTech startup. Akmal also penned the foreword for the book, Career Revolution: A Design Thinking Approach to Career Development in a Post-Pandemic World.

As a recognized thought leader, Akmal has delivered impactful keynote addresses on transformative topics, including:

• “The Future of Career Services” at UCLA's Global Leaders’ Summit in 2019, exploring the intersection of innovation, equity, and career readiness.
• “Transformative Career Services in the New World of Work: The Mosaic of Career and Life Design” at the Midwest ACE Conference in 2024 (opening keynote address), highlighting the role of creativity, resilience, and integration in navigating the evolving workplace.

His 2021 TEDx Talk, "The Power to Design a Life You Love," released by TED and hosted by TEDx Columbia University in New York City, has garnered over 1.8 million views, further solidifying his reputation as an innovator in personal, career, and professional development.

Before his current role as the founder, CEO, and Chief Architect of Superintelligence at Career and Life Design AI, Akmal served as the inaugural executive director of the UCLA Career Center, where he led a large-scale reimagination of career services. An alumnus and former Division I athlete, Akmal’s work transformed the career landscape for the UCLA community. In 2021, he became the executive director of career and professional development at UC San Diego, spearheading a multiyear initiative to reimagine the career center. He also served on the steering committee for the UCTV Career Channel, which has over a million subscribers.

Akmal’s recent publications reflect his dedication to bridging the future of work with personal growth. His 2023 book, The Interior Design of Your Career and Life™, reimagines career and life vision through the lens of interior design, empowering adults to become the architects of their future. Through imaginative storytelling, its companion children's book, You Are the Artist of Your Life: The Interior Design of Your Future, introduces children ages 4–8 to that same vision, inspiring them to see themselves as the artists of lives shaped by purpose, imagination, and creativity.

His most recent book, Redesigning Your Life: The AI Mosaic of Career & Life Design: Career Architect GPT: Design Your Future Self with Agility, Precision, and Purpose in the Age of Superintelligence, explores the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Career and Life Design. He is also the visionary behind Aiya, an AI-powered virtual Career and Life Design Lab, accelerator, and learning system, providing solutions for groundbreaking career and life vision simulation and realization. He is currently pursuing a graduate in Artificial Intelligence at Harvard.

In addition to publishing globally recognized articles for NACE and Inside Higher Ed, including Reimagining Student Employment, Designing the Future of Career Services, Beyond Work-Life Balance: The Future of Career Services Lies in Career and Life Integration, and Redesigning Workplace Connectedness, Akmal continues to serve on several prominent international boards. Akmal, a senior talent strategist, is currently in the prestigious Google for AI Startups Cloud Program. His empathetic and holistic passion for the student experience, innovation, AI, and the art of career and life design makes him a sought-after speaker, consultant, and leader, inspiring individuals and institutions worldwide.
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