Full Name
D'Wayne Edwards
Job Title
Founder
Company
Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design
Speaker Bio

Over his more than 30-year career, Dr. D’Wayne Edwards has received numerous design awards, been voted one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, accumulated more than 50 patents, and designed more than 500 footwear styles for athletes including Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony, and Michael Jordan. In 2010 Dr. Edwards founded PENSOLE, the first academy in the United States dedicated to footwear design. PENSOLE has quickly become the preeminent footwear design school in the world by securing partnerships with the industry’s top footwear brands and retailers. The school has placed more than 700 alums in positions at top brands including Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Brooks, Keen, Timberland, and JORDAN. In 2022 Dr. Edwards founded Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design in Detroit, which became the first HBCU to reopen and first HBCU to have a focus on design.

D'Wayne Edwards