Ollie Folayan
Ollie Folayan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Oluwole Olawale Folayan |
| Occupations | Chemical Engineer, Academic |
| Employer | Costain Group |
| Awards | Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE) (2018) Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) (2023) Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) (2025) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Sheffield (BEng) University of Leeds (PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Dundee |
Oluwole Olawale Folayan MBE FREng FIChemE is a British chartered engineer and academic. He serves as Head of Process Engineering at Costain Group and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Dundee. He co-founded the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK), a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving diversity and inclusion within the engineering profession.
Folayan also serves as Deputy President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).[1]
Education
Folayan graduated from the University of Sheffield in 1999 with a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Chemical Process Engineering with Fuel Technology.[2] He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Fuels and Combustion from the University of Leeds in 2002.[3]
Career
Engineering
Folayan began his career as a research assistant at the Energy Research and Resources Institute at the University of Leeds. He later held process engineering roles at international engineering firms including Bechtel, SNC-Lavalin, Foster Wheeler, and Petrofac.[1]
From 2011 to 2016, he worked at TOTAL E&P UK as a process engineer specialising in gas lift and process safety, contributing to projects at facilities including the St Fergus Gas Plant. Between 2016 and 2019, he was employed by Px Limited in a technical engineering role on furnace redevelopment projects. He subsequently returned to TOTAL E&P UK as lead process engineer for the Glendronach project, where he led front-end engineering design (FEED) work for a major capital development.[4]
In February 2022, Folayan was appointed Head of Process and Safety Engineering at Optimus Plus Aberdeen. He also served as a non-executive director of Optimal Ltd between 2022 and 2023.[5] He later became Head of Process Engineering at Costain Group.[6]
Academic
Folayan has held an Honorary Professorship at the School of Science and Engineering at the University of Dundee since 2024. He previously held a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professorship from 2021 to 2024.[7]
Advocacy
In 2007, Folayan co-founded the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) with his sister, Nike Folayan. The organization addresses the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in the engineering workforce.[8][9]
He is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion steering group of the Royal Academy of Engineering.[10]
Honors and awards
- 2018: Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE)[11]
- 2021: Recipient of the Diversity and Inclusion Award by the Institution of Chemical Engineers
- 2023: Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to diversity and inclusion in engineering.[12]
- 2023: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, University of Dundee[13]
- 2025: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng)[14]
References
- ^ a b "Board of Trustees - Ollie Folayan". IChemE.
- ^ "The Boardroom - Meet the speakers 2023". University of Sheffield. 13 October 2023.
- ^ "Who studied here?". University of Leeds.
- ^ Thomas, Allister (22 October 2021). "Diversity celebrated at AFBE-UK awards". Energy Voice.
- ^ "Meet our Team". Optimus Aberdeen.
- ^ "Black History Month: engineers you should know". QMUL School of Engineering and Materials Science.
- ^ "Dr Ollie Folayan". Raeng.org.uk.
- ^ "Engineer aims to inspire children from minority backgrounds with STEM campaign". The Herald. 10 June 2019.
- ^ Britton, Ruaraidh (31 December 2022). "Aberdeen businessman and diversity champion awarded MBE". Aberdeen Live.
- ^ "Equity Diversity Inclusion Committee". Royal Academy of Engineering.
- ^ "IChemE Fellow recognised in 2023 New Year Honours List". IChemE.
- ^ Wilson, Kelly (30 December 2022). "New Years Honours: Aberdeen man made MBE for diversity and inclusion work". Press and Journal.
- ^ "Honorary Degrees". University of Dundee.
- ^ "Dr Ollie Folayan MBE FREng". Royal Academy of Engineering.