Hassan Akmal is an American career and life mastery consultant, author, professor, thought leader, philanthropist, and former professional tennis player, model, and 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 and humanitarian work dedicated to Forced Migration and Health.
Akmal began playing tennis at the age of 11 and was self-taught. He was a top-ranked junior tennis player, Rookie of the Year, and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of his high school. He was ranked #1 in Singles and Doubles in Central California from the ages of 12-18. He went undefeated in the Boys’ 14 and Under and also won the Best Sportsmanship Award. He won the prestigious Boys’ 18 and Under Sierra Sport and Racquet Club Championships in Singles and Doubles with parter Robert Kendrick, who later rose to number 69 in the world. He was the Boys’ 18 and Under Junior Team Tennis State Champion. Akmal was ranked in the top-10 in Northern California and was one of the most talented junior tennis players in the world. He was an incredibly gifted serve-and-volley player. The main strengths of his game were his huge serve (over 130 mph), impeccable volleys, powerful forehand, and beautiful one-handed backhand.
After over a decade as a senior leader in career services, he became the inaugural executive director of industry relations and career strategies at Columbia University in 2017 and founded the Career Design Lab. In 2018, he served on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) “Future of We” — Advisory Think Tank Committee and is a senior advisor to Graduway, a top 10 in Tech prominent start-up. In April 2019, he delivered the keynote address on the “Future of Career Services” at the Global Leaders Summit hosted by Graduway at UCLA. He also serves on several other prominent boards internationally.
In 2020, he became the inaugural executive director of career services at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently leading an ambitious university-wide reimagination of Career Services and serves on the University of California Executive Career Services Consortium.