--- description: Find out how Wally Adeyemo is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: 2022 TIME100 Next: Wally Adeyemo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc8c911547204a40/698a35d209208fbadb419983/time100-next-wally-adeyemo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 28, 2022 # Wally Adeyemo by Elizabeth Warren  Andrew Harnik—AP Andrew Harnik—APAndrew Harnik—AP When they emigrated from ­Nigeria, Wally Adeyemo’s parents—a nurse and an elementary-school ­principal—could scarcely have imagined that their young son would quickly grow to become one of the U.S.’s top economic policy­makers. Having previously worked in the Obama White House, the Treasury Department, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Adeyemo serves today as Deputy Treasury Secretary—the first Black American to hold the job. Adeyemo’s fortitude in helping drive our economic response to Russia’s war in Ukraine earned him the distinction of being sanctioned and blacklisted by Vladimir Putin. At home, though, he is admired by unusual bedfellows across the political spectrum. His champions span sometimes hostile factions across the Democratic Party, and he was confirmed by the Senate with broad bipartisan support. Wally has a refreshing knack for cutting through division, [building trust.](https://time.com/collection-post/6177606/global-leaders-share-careers/ "undefined") And his path-breaking career is still just beginning. [_Warren_](https://time.com/6214503/elizabeth-warren-crisis-pregnancy-centers-abortion-data/ "undefined") _is a Democratic Senator for Massachusetts_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213896/wally-adeyemo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213896/wally-adeyemo/"},"headline":"Wally Adeyemo","datePublished":"2022-09-28T09:58:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:06:52.662Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213896/wally-adeyemo/","keywords":["TIME 100 Next"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc8c911547204a40/698a35d209208fbadb419983/time100-next-wally-adeyemo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc8c911547204a40/698a35d209208fbadb419983/time100-next-wally-adeyemo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213896/wally-adeyemo/","name":"Wally Adeyemo"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 Next: See Every Honoree","description":"See every 2022 TIME100 Next honoree in under two minutes.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/i4LJ3fau/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-09-28T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/i4LJ3fau.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213896/wally-adeyemo/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213896/wally-adeyemo/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```