Ronke Ekwensi is VP and Global Chief Data Officer at Applied Materials, where she leads the enterprise-wide strategy to transform data into measurable business advantage. Prior to Applied, she served as Vice President of Data & AI Education at T-Mobile where she led the charge to equip the 50,000-person workforce with data fluency and AI readiness. Prior to this role, Ronke was T-Mobile’s Chief Data Officer.
She has been recognized as one of the most influential data leaders in the US, earning a spot in the DataIQ100 USA as the #5 most influential person in data in 2023. Her leadership excellence has also been acknowledged by CDO Magazine’s Global Data Power Women 2024 and as one of the 2024 BlackStar Honorees.
Ronke’s previous leadership roles include Vice President of Data Management of Data Governance at Prudential Financial. She’s held senior data leadership positions at Aetna, Baxalta, and Pfizer.
Ronke holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Philosophy from D’Youville College, and MBA in Global Management for the University of Phoenix, a Master’s of Jurisprudence in Health Law from Loyola University Chicago and a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University. Her doctoral research focused on Data Philanthropy and the use of data for social good and humanitarian crisis response.
She is a passionate advocate for lifelong learning and a culture of curiosity. In her spare time, she enjoys woodworking.
