Yared Akalou

Yared Akalou is an experienced design professional and entrepreneur currently serving as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston. As the Founder of Alcove Group, Yared launched the award-winning Alcove Workstation®, aimed at enhancing remote workspaces. Previously, Yared held the role of Head of Design at HourWork, where efforts focused on standardizing design practices post-acquisition by Sprockets.ai. Additionally, Yared founded IAmOther50, a community platform for freelancers, and contributed as Principal User Experience Designer at Enbridge, leading user experience strategies for a data analytics platform. Earlier roles included key design positions at Loopstr and Opening.Co, alongside consulting work in user experience strategy. Yared's academic credentials include a Master of Design in Human-Centered Product Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Texas Southern University.