close
Women Times

Women of Substance

Women of SubstanceAppointment

Coca-Cola Appoints Bunmi Adeniba As Marketing Director

by Women Times on

The Coca-Cola Company has appointed leading marketing professional, Bunmi Adeniba as its new Coca-Cola‘s Marketing Director.

Bunmi is currently the Acting President of the Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) and the Regional Vice-President for Africa of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA).

In her new role at The Coca-Cola Company, she will be overseeing the marketing activities of the carbonated soft drink (CSD) giant, ensuring that they win consistently in this highly competitive market.

She is also one of the leading amazons in Nigeria’s branding and marketing industry.  She is an experienced marketing professional and commercial operator with cross-functional experience in brand building, new category development, innovation management, and quality management.

She also has a strong passion for people, coaching, and building high-performance teams.

Bunmi has worked in multinationals such as Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Mondelez International, Reckitt, among others where she has contributed to the growth of the brands

Commenting on her career path and how she ventured into branding and marketing industry, Bunmi said she actually did not choose branding and marketing at the onset. I think my natural inkling to curiosity and deep thoughts steered me to it.

“Starting off at the Quality Control end of things, I was genuinely intrigued at the number of goodies I knew some of the brands I was then accountable for packed in their formulations. I used to wonder if the consumers really knew what we had ‘loaded’ into these products”

“These thoughts stayed with me a while and quickly morphed into ‘perhaps we are not giving them what they really want?’ ‘Are we gold-plating when all they want is this minimum viable offering?’ ‘Do we really understand the consumer expectation?’ Then I went into another season of questioning whether consumers really wanted basic products or if they wanted a fusion of social needs and shared values expressed by their brands”

“I finally decided to do something about all these thoughts and ponderings. I took a career break, went off to study, and came back to the support of the organisation and visionary leaders at the time who supported my career switch and helped me thrive.”

She said she started off at Cadbury as a management trainee and with glee, I still describe my one-year stint as a solid mini MBA, both in class and off class during the rotational stints.

 

 

read more
AppointmentWomen of Substance

Dentsu International Hires Nnenna Ilomechina As New COO

by Women Times on

Dentsu International has hired Nnenna Ilomechina as its new global chief operating officer. She will join the company in May, taking over for the retiring Neil Gissler.

Ilomechina comes to dentsu from Accenture Strategy, where she has been managing director and partner, head of communications, media and high tech (CMT) strategy practice for the U.K. and Ireland since 2016.

Dentsu is tasking Ilomechina with driving and supporting profitable growth for the business globally. The internal role will also find her accelerating dentsu’s ongoing digital and organizational transformation efforts, according to the company. Ilomechina will work with global CEO Wendy Clark and the international leadership team to operationally unite dentsu’s capabilities across its three service lines—media, creative and CXM.

“Nnenna’s proven capability and rich experience leading transformative outcomes across digital, technology, media and business services make her the perfect addition to our global executive team,” Clark said in a statement. “She’s an exceptional leader with the rare combination of business savvy, operational know-how, cultural sensitivity and a deep understanding of people and their motivations.”

Empowerment and mentorship

Ilomechina joins dentsu with over 20 years of leadership experience, with a focus on driving digital transformation across digital, technology, media and services. Prior to Accenture, she was a senior director at AlixPartners, a performance advisory firm, and before that was a senior manager at Sapient. She has received accolades including being a senior professional services finalist at the 2020 Black British Business Awards and one of Cranfield’s 50 Women to Watch in 2019. She is a member of the development advisory board for Music Masters and mentor for Women in Cable and Telecoms.

Dentsu also stated that Ilomechina is a strong believer in empowered employees and is a longtime mentor of minority leaders; she will continue to do so at her new company.

“Wendy has set an ambitious agenda to become the most integrated agency network,” Ilomechina said in a statement. “I am energized by the opportunity to work together with the exceptional talent within dentsu, across media, CXM and creative to create an environment and operational infrastructure that will enable dentsu to seamlessly offer a truly integrated client experience, making our teams successful and delivering long-term value for dentsu.”

Ilomechina’s hiring follows several key executive hires by Clark, including Michael Komasinski as global CEO of Merkle, Fred Levron as global chief creative officer and Alex Hesz as global chief strategy officer.

 

 

 

 

Credit: Ad Week

read more
Appointment

Chanel Appoints Leena Nair

by Women Times on

Chanel, the world-renowned fashion house has appointed Leena Nair, an executive from Unilever, as its new global CEO. Nair who until this appointment was the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), the highest management body in Unilever brings immense knowledge and experience to her new position.

The group said Nair, who at Unilever oversaw 150,000 people, would join at the end of January and be based in London. It added that the new appointments would ensure its “long-term success as a private company.”

The recruitment of Nair, who rose through the ranks of Unilever having started out as a trainee on the factory floor, comes as the fashion industry is under pressure to show a more inclusive approach.

A British national, born in India, Nair is a rare outsider at the helm of the tightly controlled family fashion house, known for its tweed suits, quilted handbags and No. 5 perfume.

The 52-year-old follows U.S. businesswoman Maureen Chiquet, who came from a fashion background and was CEO of Chanel for nine years until early 2016.

French billionaire Alain Wertheimer, a 73-year-old who owns Chanel with his brother Gerard Wertheimer and had originally taken on the CEO job on a temporary basis, will move to the role of global executive chairman.

Chanel was founded in 1910 by fashion legend Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel as a hat boutique on rue Cambon in Paris and grew to become a byword for French chic.

read more
EntertainmentAppointment

Linquorose Unveiled As Brand ambassador for Fitness Wear company, as she Bags Her first Endorsement After BBNaija 2021

by Women Times on

Liquorose Brother Naija (BBNaija) Shine Ya Eye finalist,  has bagged a deal as a brand ambassador of a fitness wear company, Deshapeables.

The reality star made the announcement about her new deal via a post on her verified Instagram page.

The deal is her first after leaving the BBNaija show and fans have trooped to her page to congratulate her on the achievement

Liquorose shared a crisp video of her unveiling on Instagram and expressed his excitement about joining the company.

She declared in the caption of the post that it is the brand or nothing:

“I am super excited to join the @deshapeables family, as a Brand Ambassador. Deshapeables offers the best products and it’s about to be an amazing journey.

Join me as we bring you premium products only.”

The company also welcomed her with a beautiful message:

“We’re proud to be welcoming the best into the best family it will surely be an amazing ride with you.”

read more
Appointment

Dentsu appoints Kai Weidie for DEI Media Ops

by Women Times on

Dentsu International has hired industry diversity veteran Kai Weidie as its first SVP of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for media operations in America.

Weidie will lead diversity initiatives across Dentsu’s media agencies, including Carat, iProspect, Dentsu X, 360i and Amplifi, with an emphasis on increasing diversity in the holding company’s talent pool and introducing more support for minority new hires. She will also collaborate with agency teams to create more inclusive client campaigns.

Prior to Weidie’s appointment she was with Bloomberg, where she was diversity and client partner. She previously served as McCann New York’s director of diversity and engagement, and as the director of Mosaic Center and education services for the American Advertising Federation.

Weidie will report to Doug Rozen, CEO for Dentsu Media Americas, and Christena Pyle, chief equity officer for Dentsu Americas.

The CEO said: “Championing meaningful progress with and for our people, our clients and the industry is at the core of everything we do. As we continue our pursuit to make real change in media, Kai’s experience challenging the status quo and tackling inclusion issues head-on in advertising will lead us into an equitable future like never before.”

Weidie in an interview said she accepted the role at Dentsu because the company is taking a new directive to diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Her words: “It was really important to me that I work with an organization that’s nimble and really ready to take a fresh approach.”

Dentsu Americas also released its first diversity, equity and inclusion report, which described the company’s diversity initiatives and provided transparency into the agency’s talent demographics.

Source: Marketingedge.ng

read more
Women of Substance

WIMBIZ lauds Legacy at 20th Annual Conference

by Women Times on

Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) held its 20th Annual Conference on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th, November 2021. The hybrid event, themed Celebrating Legacy, was a celebration of the non-profit’s 20 years of impacting women in Nigeria and beyond, based on the foundation built by its founders.

Speakers charged delegates to build formidable legacies and emulate pace-setters who have shattered glass ceilings, overcome adversity, broken stereotypes, enabled empowerment and created opportunities for all.

Speaking to WIMBIZ’s legacy, Chairperson, Executive Council, WIMBIZ, Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, in her welcome address acknowledged WIMBIZ’s intentionality as a catalyst which inspires, connects and empowers women, as well as its resoluteness in the promotion of gender diversity, sustainability and inclusive prosperity.

In his keynote speech, Founder, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (now GTCo) and FATE Foundation, Fola Adeola, OFR, mni. lauded the seamless transitions of leadership within WIMBIZ’s 20 years’ existence and the sacrifice of personal ambition for the common good in this regard. In his view, the WIMBIZ vision was clearly worked for, shared and realized in a society that scavenges on insecurities.

The event’s diverse panel of speakers, provided practical and transformative insights on topics such as ‘Legacy: Build to Last’, ‘Sharing Stories: How I Changed The Narrative’ and ‘Owning The Future: Women in Leadership.’ Other keynote speakers included the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Founder, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Anap Business Jets Limited and Atedo N.A. Peterside Foundation, Atedo Peterside, CON.

The Annual Conference is WIMBIZ’s flagship event which holds in November of each year with an average attendance of over 1500 delegates to deliberate on a contemporary theme with a broad range of topical issues that are relevant to women in the business, corporate, public and development sectors.

read more
Women of SubstanceProfile

WIMBIZ lauds and Celebrate 20 Trailblazers at Legend Balls

by Women Times on

Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) held its iconic Legends Ball in recognition and celebration of twenty female living legends in Nigeria.

The exclusive evening-gown event, to mark WIMBIZ’s 20th Anniversary, held on October 30th in Lagos. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Lady Maiden Alex Ibru, Prof. Ibironke Akinsete, Onyeka Onwenu, Chief Mrs Kofo Olawoye; Dr Sarah Jubril, Chief Nike Davies-Okundaye and Chief Dr Onikepo Akande, OON, CON were among the recognized female pioneers, who through sheer audacity have broken barriers for women and achieved incredible feats in their different endeavours.

Speaking about the legends, Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, Chairman, Board of Trustees, WIMBIZ said: “We are celebrating female legends who dared to challenge the status quo when nobody else could and succeeded.”

In addition to recognizing the female legends, Mrs. Ighodalo emphasized that WIMBIZ has built an institution that is beyond its trustees. “As a founding trustee, I am excited to see younger women take on leadership roles within the WIMBIZ community, 10 years ago, having mentored and worked with our current leaders, we passed on the baton of leadership to them and its been graceful watching them flourish.”

The WIMBIZ Legends Ball is one in a series of pre-conference events leading to the 20th WIMBIZ Annual Conference set to take place on November 4th and 5th, 2021. Confirmed speakers for the Conference are Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Economist and Founder, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Atedo Peterside, CON; former Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria, Ibukun Awosika, as well as Founder, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (now GTCo) and FATE Foundation, Fola Adeola

read more
Women of SubstanceOpportunities

WIMBIZ holds mentorship program in Lagos, empowers school girls for nation building

by Women Times on

In a bid to hold its 20th annual conference, Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), recently held a mentorship program aimed at developing and empowering young girls in public secondary schools with the requisite knowledge and tools to excel in life.

The one week program tagged “Big Sister Program”, which aims to deepen the core mandate of WIMBIZ in ensuring that more women attain leadership positions in all facets of life, held in several parts of the country.

To welcome delegates of the association and representatives from the Lagos State government, the principal, Girls’ Senior Secondary Grammar School, Obalende, Ikoyi, Lagos, Mrs. Omotoye Bamidele who was elated commended WIMBIZ for working relentlessly for the wholesome development of the girl child, noting that to ensure that more women attain the highest level in every human endeavour, it is imperative that they develop skills and capacities to attain set goals.

Delivering an address at the event, First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Ibijoko Sanwo-Olu, represented by wife of the Special Adviser to Mr. Governor on Education, Mrs. Oluwatosin Wahab lauded WIMBIZ for the impressive work done to reshape the mindsets of girls for future endeavours.

She said: “Since the launch of the BSP Program in 2016, which is a mentorship initiative for girls in Senior Secondary school, it is noteworthy that teenage girls have been positively impacted, while the female network of WINBIZ has been deployed to influence the girls by boosting their confidence and leadership capacity.”

The First Lady, who asserted that the female child deserves a life where she is treated as equal to a boy, averred that the girl child should be respected, loved, and given a chance to rule like their male counterpart.

Speaking to the girls passionately, Chairman Board of Trustees, WIMBIZ, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Kihodaco charged them to shun peer pressure and work hard to achieve their dreams.

In her words: “You have to be true to yourself. You have to know who you are. You have to work hard and also smart. When you have problem, seek help and counsel from your teachers, principals and your big sisters. Seek help from the right places not where will put you in trouble.”

Restating the association’s objectives, Ngover Ihyembe Nwankwo, Chairperson, WIMBIZ Executive Council, disclosed that the association is built on four pillars, which include to inspire, empower, connect and advocate, adding that the “Big Sister Program” was birthed five years ago to deepen its impact on young girls.

To shed light into what the program entails, Chair, Big Sister Program, Awuneba Ajumogobia said the program, which will avail participants the opportunity to learn valuable skills that will reshape their mindsets, will also inculcate certain values needed to attain success.

In her words: “We are holding the Big Sister Program, a mentorship program where WIMBIZ members who are associates come and share a curriculum with the girls and share their experiences. The subjects they cover include financial literacy, careers, entrepreneurship, self confidence, personal hygiene, interpersonal skills among others.”

She added: “What we hope to achieve is a shift in mindset. We are hoping that every single girl that attends the program today goes home with a shifted mindset in terms of what they can accomplish and how to get there. Goal setting is an important aspect. The goal setting module is the one that actually brings it alive. It helps the girl document tangible stuffs to be able to achieve their aspirations.”

Some of the girls who benefitted from the mentorship program expressed appreciation to WIMBIZ pledging to deploy all the skills and knowledge acquired to attain their life goals and purpose.

One of the students, Umar Aishat said: “This program is an interesting one and very educative. The organization has empowered us. We appreciate their support and we would not let them down.”

Another student, Ngbede Rejoice said: “I want to say a big thank you to WIMBIZ for coming to my school. I have learnt so many things from the Big Sisters. I have learnt to always be true to myself and know who I am. I should be responsible and don’t take no for an answer. I have also learnt to be confident so I can earn my respect.”

Certificate of participation was awarded to the girls at the end of the program.

Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) is a non-profit organization that has, over the last 20 years, implemented programs that inspire, empower and advocate for greater representation of women in leadership positions in the public and private sector.

read more
Women of Substance

Bola Atta, The sage behind UBA’s marketing and corporate communications

by Women Times on

Bola Atta, the recently crowned Outstanding Corporate Communications Personality of the decade, has earned her right and place in the media, marketing and corporate communications niche in Africa.

Notably, her current position as Group Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications Department, United Bank for Africa (UBA), as well as the CEO of UBA Foundation, positions her to oversee the designing and mapping out of marketing and corporate communication strategies across eighteen countries.

She graduated from the University of Sussex with Bachelors’ degree in Economics in 1988, and completed her MBA, majoring in Marketing, at Duquesne University in 1991. Speaking about how she came about her career choices, she said in an interview that she chose to follow the path of least resistance when she decided to work in the banking industry at first.

“So when I say that I thought I would work in finance, this was not necessarily because I particularly had a passion for it, but because I was good in maths and later in economics and I thought that was the way to go,” she said.

Atta soon got bored and decided to go with her passion, and so delved into publishing. She was Editor-in-Chief of True Love West Africa Magazine, an entertainment-savvy and fashion-forward publication for almost six years, between 2004 and 2010.

In May 2010, she moved to head Flair Productions, West Africa and spent about a year and a half there as the CEO. She was also Executive Producer of Africa’s Next Top Model, a reality television show and spin-off to America’s Next Top Model show which premiered in 2012.

Atta worked as the Program Manager for M-Net (Electronic Media Network) West Africa. During her time, she drove for more channels promoting Nigerian and African movies. She worked on the concept, development and programming of this channel – ‘Africa Magic’ which was successfully launched in 2003 and is now one of the most-watched channels across the African continent.

She was appointed Group Director and Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, UBA Plc. She is also now the Executive Producer of REDTV, an online network that UBA supports. In a way, this brings Atta’s wealth of experience in the entertainment sector to bear on REDTV, and the results for the platform has been nothing short of stunning over the last couple of years. Atta heads the UBA Foundation as CEO – a body that has been impacting lives through grants and other initiatives.

In an interview, she stated that her way of dealing with challenges that have come her way over the course of her almost three decades career was to pause and strategise.

According to her, ‘‘No matter what one is confronted with at every point, there is always a way out of every situation.” She noted also that the diversity and sheer size of UBA has challenged her to grow even more.

A woman of many parts, Bola Atta has earned a number of accolades and awards over the span of her career. She was nominated among the 40 top Nigerians under 40 in 2008 and was also listed among the 100 most influential women in Nigeria in March 2015. She was awarded the Best Marketing Professional in West Africa in 2017.

Atta was also recently awarded Outstanding Corporate Communications Personality of the decade at the just concluded 8th edition of Marketing Edge Annual National Marketing Summit of Brands & Advertising Excellence Awards.

She wrote on her Linkedin page: “I have always loved doing what I do and my objective has never been acclaim or recognition. It’s the milestones; the changing lives! Therein lies the fulfilment. However, it is nice sometimes to receive an award especially from a highly reputable source. Grateful for the award as the Outstanding Corporate Communications Personality of the Decade. Wow! Thank you Marketing Edge!”

Also recently, she received the honour from MIPAD as one of the world’s most influential 100 creatives of African descent for 2021. Atta was selected to be among the 100 panel of Judges to determine the winners of the 2020 prize for APO Women in Journalism Media award.

The award recognizes, celebrates and empowers African women in the Media and also supports female entrepreneurship throughout the African Continent. The list of the panel of judges included top Corporate Communication experts from reputable Organisations across the world including the likes of Microsoft, African Development Bank, ADB, FIFA, Coca Cola, Master Card, Harley- Davidson, LEGO, Twitter among others.

read more
Interview

Medebem-Relationship, collaboration key to accelerate growth of advertising

by Women Times on

Experiential marketing Amazon, Tolulope Medebem, the Chief Executive Officer of Aster Integrated Marketing, and Vice President of the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), has posited that relationships and collaborations are major key elements to accelerate the growth of advertising industry. The agency boss, who emphasised the need for agency owners to nurture good relationships with clients while promoting industry collaborations, noted that “technology does not run a business, but good relationships do”.

The EXMAN VP stated this in a close chat with MARKETING EDGE. Sharing her experience on how she benefited immensely from business opportunities that were birthed out of sustained good relationship during the peak of the pandemic, she said: “I can say that one of the things that has kept us in business so far during the pandemic and even presently, is relationships. All through the period, those that kept working with us were actually those clients that we have relationship with, and strangely this year, based on words of mouth and relationships, we got a couple of new clients as well.”

Mrs. Medebem urged agencies to embrace collaborations to achieve a 360 degree growth of the industry, a success which she added, will be ploughed back to the entire growth of advertising industry.

“We all need to come together to find ways that we can cooperate to ensure that we all grow, because at the end of the day, if somebody holds unto everything and thinks he or she will grow alone, somewhere along the line, it is going to affect not only the person but everyone else. But if we collaborate with healthy competitions, of course, working together also means that we are putting back into the ecosystem. From there we will be able to grow, not just on personal businesses but the industry and the country as a whole.”

The Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Consultants while assessing the experiential marketing within the marketing communications ecosystem, reaffirmed the fact that experiential is growing and evolving despite the direct hit of Covid-19 on the industry, due to the nature of its operations and activities. She stated that experiential, despite being under-explored, has the capacity to contribute exponentially to the growth of the IMC ecosystem in terms of activities and budgets. The Amazon reiterated that technology is integral to experiential and therefore urged industry players to access every innovation for its function. She called on the practitioners to move in line with time and trends so as to be at par with other counterparts around the globe.

“The truth about being in a global world is that whatever is happening internationally, we should continually keep tabs here. Obviously, we need to tap into whatever is going on in the world. Ideally, every activity in experiential marketing is supported by technology. There is need for technology amplification and integration.”

Mrs. Medebem encouraged agencies to ensure value addition in their dealings with clients in order to remain relevant and indispensable in the industry. She advised them to move from the point of agency-client relationship to partnership point in order to enjoy a symbiotic relationship.

The business founder expressed her joy and excitement towards Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) for instituting the long awaited Advertising Industry Standard of Practice (AISOP) which took effect from the 6th of October, 2021, as a legal framework and new guideline for all advertising practitioners.

“With AISOP, EXMAN is now well positioned as an industry player under APCON. As a member of EXMAN, Aster Integrated Marketing can boldly practice experiential marketing as covered by APCON.”

Source: Marketing Edge.ng

read more
1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 13
Page 9 of 13