Alumni Profile: Akindele Majekodunmi, MD ’08, MBA, Combines Leadership and Compassion to Redefine Care for Older Adults

Akindele Majekodunmi grew up surrounded by medicine. His great uncle founded St. Nicholas, a pioneering private hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, and physicians appeared in nearly every generation of his family. Even his surname, Majekodunmi—meaning “don’t let it hurt me” in Yoruba—seemed to point toward a future in healing.

But another thread ran through his family as well: entrepreneurship. Both of his grandfathers built successful businesses, leaving him as curious about systems and leadership as he was about medicine.

Today, as founder and CEO of Blueprint Healthcare Medical Group, Dr. Majekodunmi oversees services in more than 60 nursing homes across four states while continuing to see patients himself. His career demonstrates that compassionate care and thoughtful leadership are not opposing forces, but rather two sides of the same mission.

“My focus has always been building health care systems that put patients—especially vulnerable populations—at the center,” he said. “That perspective has guided my work as both a physician and an executive.”

Shaped By His Sister’s Illness

Though his heritage pointed him toward medicine, it was his younger sister’s illness that gave it deeper meaning. She suffered from sickle cell disease, and as a boy, Dr. Majekodunmi witnessed the lengthy hospitalizations, sudden flare-ups, and the helplessness his parents felt at her bedside.

“Watching those episodes made me want to empower people to take charge of their health and give families the tools to support them,” he recalled. “It wasn’t abstract anymore. I knew what it felt like to sit on the other side, waiting and hoping.”

When he was six, his family moved from Lagos to Columbia, Missouri, and two years later to Schenectady, New York, following his father’s work as a civil engineer. In high school, he excelled in science and followed a premedical track, determined to specialize in hematology-oncology to help patients like his sister.

His goal of treating sickle cell disease, which disproportionately affects people of African descent, drew him to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The school’s strong division of hematology, combined with its reputation for being both competitive and supportive, made it an ideal choice. What stood out to him as he settled in was the collaborative energy and intellectual rigor that shaped the culture.

“There was a sense that people wanted you to succeed,” he said, “and that support gave me the foundation I needed to grow as a physician.”

A Broader Vision of Medicine

During his second year, Dr. Majekodunmi learned that students could pair their MD with an MBA, most often through Rutgers Business School in Camden or Newark. Exploring further, he discovered Westminster Business School in London, which emphasized a practical, industry-focused approach to health systems. He believed that the European perspective, in contrast to the U.S. model he knew, would enhance his understanding of how care is delivered.

With support from the medical school’s deans and student affairs leaders, he arranged to complete his MBA in London and return to Rutgers for his final year, a path that required careful planning. “Robert Wood gave me the chance to do something I didn’t even know was possible,” he said. “That flexibility changed everything.”

At Westminster, he wrote his thesis on the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, gaining deeper insight into how health care systems function. After completing the program, he returned to New Jersey for his final year and reconnected with classmates who had already graduated but with whom he had remained close.

One of them, nephrologist Dr. Kobena Dadzie, had been his roommate in Somerset, New Jersey, near campus, and still practices in the community today. He recalled late nights studying together over his mother’s jollof rice, a popular West African dish.  “Even then, ‘Majik’ always pushed himself—and us—to aim higher,” said Dr. Dadzie, using an affectionate nickname. “He had a vision beyond the next exam or the next degree, and it’s inspiring to see how that drive has carried into his career.”

The Birth of Blueprint

Postgraduate training at Yale and a fellowship at Harvard opened a path that joined clinical care with organizational leadership. At Yale, he completed a residency in internal medicine. At Harvard, his research on physician work hours, medical errors, and patient safety underscored the need for systemic reform.

He carried those insights into his role as chief medical officer at a health care consulting firm, where he led quality-improvement programs for hospitals and nursing homes. The experience convinced him that lasting change requires stronger systems of care.
In 2017, Dr. Majekodunmi founded Blueprint Healthcare Medical Group. What began as a solo practice has grown into a physician-led organization serving facilities across Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. He continues to see patients while leading the group, bringing the same attentiveness to his clinical work that he brings to systemwide planning.

While most startups face steep odds—nearly 70 percent fail within a decade—Blueprint has expanded steadily. “We built an organization that puts physicians, patients, and families first,” he said, “but also one that supports caregivers. That combination is what makes it work.”

One Mission

Alongside his responsibilities as CEO, Dr. Majekodunmi continues to care for older adults with complex medical needs. “I go to work happy every day,” he said. “The patients have such rich life stories, and it’s a privilege to help them through this stage of life.”
For him, clinical care and leadership are inseparable. He traces that perspective to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, which gave him the chance to pursue medicine and business side by side.

“Robert Wood was more than a foundation in medicine,” he said. “It gave me the wings to be who I wanted to be—a physician committed to caring for patients while shaping the future of health care.”