Yemisi Bolumole
Prioritizing Purpose
Yemisi Bolumole sometimes compares her life to a crowded stove full of simmering pots. As head of Haslam’s Department of Supply Chain Management, an active researcher, an award-winning educator, and a mother of three, she is constantly balancing competing priorities. The challenge, she says, is ensuring nothing important is overlooked.
Bolumole, the Ryder Professor of Supply Chain Management, has spent much of her career pursuing excellence at the highest levels of academia and industry, and she’s become increasingly intentional about what defines her life beyond career achievement.
“Because of my intensity, work can become all-consuming,” she says. “Each day starts with me centering on what matters most and what I want to be known for, and each day ends there too. Being a mom is what defines me, and that is what I want to prioritize.”
After growing up in Nigeria, Bolumole moved to the United Kingdom for graduate school, beginning a career that would span multiple countries and institutions. She earned a doctorate in logistics and supply chain management, worked in the oil and gas industry, helped build the flagship transportation and logistics program at the University of North Florida, served on the faculty at Michigan State University, and published research in more than 40 leading academic journals before joining Haslam in 2021.
“Where we’re going has never changed. Innovation is changing how quickly we can get there.”
– Yemisi Bolumole
That intensity and dedication still shape the way Bolumole approaches teaching and research. As department head, however, she has learned to think more broadly about people, culture, and long-term impact.
“If I’m teaching a class or in a meeting about research, I lock in—then once it’s done, I take a lap around the hallway for a mindset shift,” she says.
The drive for excellence continues to energize the leader in her new role. While she appreciates the excellence of the department and its culture, she still explores ways to improve it.
Intentionality also shapes how Bolumole thinks about education and the future of supply chain management. While AI dominates many conversations in higher education, she believes innovation extends beyond learning new tools. The greater challenge is teaching students how to think creatively and adapt continuously.
“Even with AI as a helper, the market still needs innovative thinkers,” Bolumole says. “That is why we must model innovation in our curriculum.”
Part of that vision for innovation involves strengthening connections between the classroom and industry. Partnerships with companies such as Knoxville-based Axle Logistics give students firsthand exposure to freight brokerage and the supply chain profession, while site visits and other experiential learning opportunities reinforce classroom instruction. The goal is to layer academic rigor with relevant skills and technology.
Cheri Speier-Pero, emeritus professor of accounting and information systems at Michigan State University, remembers Bolumole as a committed faculty member with a strategic mind and relational approach to problem-solving.
“When a challenging situation arises, she can remove her own emotions and thoughts and put herself in the position of others to think through alternative solutions,” says Speier-Pero.
Anne Smith, Haslam’s King and Judy Rogers Professor in Business and William E. and Pamela R. Lee Faculty Fellow, says Bolumole’s cross-functional abilities make her a natural fit as department head.
“She’s one of those exceptional academics who’s well versed in approaches to research, can write for different audiences, and works extremely well with students,” Smith says. “She brings dexterity and excellence across the board to set the bar high for the department.”
Ted Stank, Haslam’s Harry J. and Vivienne R. Bruce Chair of Excellence in Business, agrees that Bolumole’s wisdom and insights are exactly what the department needs.
“She is wonderfully skilled at blending academic excellence with compassionate, people-focused leadership,” Stank says. “I am confident she will guide the Department of Supply Chain Management to continued success and exciting new heights of achievement and impact.”
While supply chain management has changed dramatically since Bolumole began her career, shaped by new technology and accelerating innovation, she believes the field’s core purpose remains the same.
“Where we’re going has never changed,” she says. “Innovation is changing how quickly we can get there.”
