Awards Decision Council
The judges that form the Awards Decision Council is comprise of seasoned marketing professionals, accomplished experts in the marketing field and leaders in the industry. The Council is deliberately infused with some sectoral representation to enhance ownership by the industry.
The judging will be a rigorous two-stage process including pre-scoring to determine shortlists and a judging meeting where entries are discussed and evaluated in detail to decide the winning entries. In the interests of transparency and to promote learning, we may give entrants insight into why a winning entry was chosen.
Ekwunife Okoli
Ekwunife is a 1981 graduate of marketing with first class honours from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has over thirty years of FCMG marketing experience in beverage industry with Diageo Plc/Guinness Nig Plc, spanning sales and marketing roles within and outside Nigeria. He has a vast experience with roles that include, but not limited to, Area sales manager, brand management, Marketing Manager, Marketing Director, Africa regional Guinness Brand Director, Managing Director Guinness Cameroun, Managing Director Guinness Ghana, Regional Managing Director Diageo Africa Regional markets.
At Guinness Nigeria Plc, he developed and executed ground-breaking marketing campaigns like the Guinness Michael Power ATL and BTL campaigns. He also launched various innovation project like Malta Guinness, Satzenbrau, Orijin Bitters etc. across different markets in Africa.
He retired in 2015 from Diageo and is now running a consultancy. He is also a non-executive Director of two Nigerian publicly quoted companies.
He is happily married to an amazing woman Unoma Okoli and blessed with four children. He currently resides in the UK with his family.
Ekwunife Okoli (Chairman)
Angela Ukara - Makinwa
Experienced Team Lead with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Skilled in Marketing Management, Experiential Marketing, Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Direct Marketing, and Marketing. Strong business development professional with a BSC in Mass Comm and MPIA in Public and International Affairs from University of Lagos.
Angela Ukara-Makinwa was a former COO of Melvic Gold Communications limited. She is savvy in brand Management, Events, Client Service, Project Management and Public Speaking.
She has over 12 Years cumulative experience in Advertising, PR, Experiential Marketing, Events, and Brand Management, she was instrumental to the successful launch campaigns and activations of MTN, Celtel (now Airtel), BAT Pall Mall. She also worked on other brands such as Glo, BAT St. Moritz (Style Selection inclusive) and Amstel Malt (AMBO), etc.
She is a graduate of Mass Communications from LASU, she holds an MSc in Public and International Affairs from Unilag.
A member of APCON, NIMN, and CIM UK 1st Female Sec-Gen of EXMAN (Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria) July 2017 – July 2019. Current Secretary of Training and Development Committee NIMN, Mentor with WIMBIZ. Merit Award Winner Catholic Archdioceses of Lagos, Nigeria. One of the 100 Inspirational Women in Nigeria as published in the Guardian, July 29th, 2018. She currently works at GA Productions (EXP Group) as a Business Director.
Angela Ukara - Makinwa
Babajide Fagade
Babs is an advertising and marketing professional with over 25 years of experience that cut across diverse sectors like banking, manufacturing, Telecommunications, Advertising agencies, Media agencies and Outdoor Media companies. He has vast experience in marketing communication working with Advertisers, Advertising agencies, Media independent agency and Outdoor Advertising companies. Previously, he has worked with the two pioneer Advertising companies in Nigeria, Lowe Lintas and Afromedia Plc where he once served as the Chief Operating Officer of Afromedia Gambia. He resigned as the MD/CEO of E-motion Advertising Limited in 2013 and worked briefly with Globacom as Director, Out-of-Home advertising before incorporating an Out-of-Home advertising company, Ocean Outdoor Limited. He also served as Director General/CEO of Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA) between 2015 and 2016. In addition, he is the Chairman of Streettoolz Limited an advertising agency with AAAN and the Chairman of Nimbus Media Limited.
He is a Marketing graduate with Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations from Nigerian Institute of Journalism and holds MBA degree from the University of Ibadan. He is also an alumnus of the London Business School, U.K and Lagos Business School of the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos. He is a Fellow of the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON), Fellow of National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing U.K (CIM) and member Institute of Directors (IoD).
Babs has been contributing to the development of the marketing communications industry as the Publisher of OUTDOOR REPUBLIC; Nigeria’s premier Out-of-Home Advertising journal since 2007. He was a regular facilitator at the School of Media and Communications of the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos from year 2010 to 2013. He is an Executive Council member of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) and was among the key speakers at the pioneer African Outdoor Advertising conference and Expo in 2014. He currently serves on the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) of APCON.
He is a Golfer and a change agent through his pet project known as Young Outstanding Undergraduates (YOU), a youth empowerment initiative that promotes entrepreneurship spirit in the next generation.
Babajide Fagade
Bunmi Oke
Bunmi OKE Frpa, is currently the CEO / Lead Consultant at Ladybird Limited. She has a distinguished career in the marketing communications Industry and has been at the helm of affairs / key leadership positions in world class ad agencies and organisations like 141 Worldwide, National Open University of Nigeria (Abuja/ Lagos), United States-Nigeria Development Institute, Abuja & LTC-JWT worldwide, Lagos, etc. to mention a few.
Bunmi is a globally skilled and analytical marketing communications and advertising practitioner with extensive track record in strategic brand building for international, regional and local brands in all segments of the economy. Cogent expertise in digital, social and mass media advertising platforms, reputation enhancement, corporate revenue contribution, team building & training, general management and Key account management expertise.
Nominated and awarded amongst leading women in advertising in Nigeria & Corporate Africa. Fellow & member, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) and member International Association of Advertising (IAA- Nigeria Chapter).
2012-2014 President & current corporate member of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).
Bunmi has board experience across Advertising & Marketing Communications, tertiary education, Regulatory bodies, women, faith based & non-women focused NGO’s and was a delegate at the 2014 National Conference, representing the entire marketing communications industry in Nigeria.
Bunmi Oke
Prof. Ogechi Adeola
Ogechi Adeola is a Professor of Marketing and the Head of Department of Operations, Marketing and Information Systems at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. She is a 2016 Visiting International Fellow, Open University Business School, UK, a 2017 Paul R. Lawrence Fellow, USA, and a Series Editor of the Palgrave Series on Marketing in Emerging Economies. Her multi-dimensional research focuses on the advancement of knowledge across the intersection of marketing, tourism, and gender studies, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Her co-authored articles won Best Paper Awards at international conferences for four consecutive years (2016 – 2019). She is ranked among the top 4 scholars in Nigeria (Marketing), top 15 scholars in Nigeria (business & management) and top 25 scholars in Africa (Marketing) by AD Scientific, 2022 as of March 2022. In March 2022, she received the 2022 Female Achievers’ Recognition (co-sponsored by American Corner Ikeja, Lagos) for her contributions to women empowerment and was also listed as one of the top 100 inspiring women in Nigeria. Adeola currently serves as the Associate Dean of Business Administration at the California-based University of the People, an accredited online institution. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria, and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria.
She is the Founder of the Digital Business Tutelage for Women Empowerment in Africa Initiative, a platform designed to enable young African women to unlock their potential. Adeola’s international marketing consultancy experience spans Africa, Asia, the UK, and the USA.
Dr. Ogechi Adeola
Adedayo Adefila
Adedayo Adefila, FSM, MNIMN, is a senior marketing and communications professional. He has over the past 20 years, led high performing teams, nationally and regionally to build successful brands, drive commercial success and execute successful digital marketing transformation initiatives.
His experience is diverse, serving at various times as Group Head, Copy; Head of Strategy, at blue chip companies like Insight Communications (Insight Publicis); Brand Specialist at Vmobile Nigeria.
As a digital marketing pioneer, he led HotSauce Digital as Co-Founder/CEO between 2011 and 2017 and helped brands like Samsung Mobile, Flour Mills, Transsion, to realize the measurable impact of digital on their businesses, helping to trigger a faster adoption of digital marketing in Nigeria by more brands.
Today, as the Head of Digital Marketing at PZ Cussons in Africa, he leads the implementation of a data-driven and Africa wide digital marketing framework and digital capacity development for marketing teams and partners to enable accelerate new value creation for market leader brands like Morning Fresh, Cussons Baby, Premier Cool and Thermocool.
A sought-after industry resource, he has served in the following capacities:
Business Mentor – the Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM) 2021
Juror – 15th edition of the prestigious Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival Awards (LAIF) organized by The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) in 2020
Lecturer and Examiner, Digital Media with the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) 2011 to 2019)
Pioneer Faculty, Digital Marketing at the Orange Academy School of Branding (2009 – 2014)
Visiting Faculty, Digital Marketing, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Simon Page School of Marketing, 2013-2014
He is a member of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria and was recently appointed Vice-Chairman, Membership and Chapter Development Committee of the same institute.
He is also a Fellow (FSM) of the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria (ISMN), a member of the Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN) and a pioneer Director, Founder Institute (FI), a global start- up accelerator in Lagos 2015.
Adedayo holds a Bachelor of Science (Honors) from the University of Lagos, AKOKA, Lagos, is an alumnus of the Senior Management Programme of the Lagos Business School (2009) and a regular speaker on advertising, digital marketing at local and international events such as Marketing Edge Summits, events by CIO East Africa, Association of Digital Marketing Professionals of Nigeria (ADMARP) and others.
Adedayo Adefila
Dr. Tayo Oyedeji
Dr. Tayo Oyedeji currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Publicis Groupe Nigeria, One of Africa’s leading marketing communications group. With extensive experience in both startup ventures and corporate environments across Africa, Europe, and North America, he brings a wealth of expertise to his role. Dr. Oyedeji earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ilorin, a doctoral degree in Media Management from the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA, and a Master of Business Administration in General Management from Oxford University.
His professional journey spans over two decades, encompassing various sectors including advertising, finance, marketing, and management consulting. Notably, he served as the Regional Managing Director at Starcom, Africa, where he spearheaded the expansion of Publicis Groupe’s media brands across 34 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to this, he held the position of Managing Director at Media Perspectives, a digital-first integrated media solutions company based in Nigeria.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Oyedeji served as the director of business development at MediaReach OMD, where he pioneered the digital media business and led the Etisalat account service team. He also gained valuable experience at Ackermann McQueen, a full-service agency in Oklahoma City, USA. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with clients such as MTN, Intel, HP, Visa, Virgin, Etisalat, Guinness, Reckitt Benckiser, and GlaxoSmithKline.
In addition to his corporate endeavors, Dr. Tayo Oyedeji has made significant contributions to academia. He served as an Assistant Professor of Media Management and Economics at the University of Georgia, USA. His research, particularly focused on branding and brand equity management, has been published in journals such as the American Behavioral Scientists, the International Journal on Media Management, and the Journal of Media Business Studies.
Ijedi Iyoha
Iquo Ukoh
Iquo Ukoh is currently the CEO, of Entod Marketing Ltd an organisation that provides dynamic marketing services to businesses in the West African market and helping them succeed, has made significant impact on the Nigerian marketing space, where she is now a role model and a highly sought after resource person for marketing seminars, workshops and conferences.
The marketing Amazon is also the founder of 1qfoodplatter, an instafamous food account that effectively uses colors, lighting styling to get her followers spend minutes with her in her creative food world.
Ukoh is a fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) and also a member of the American Marketing Association. She is a member of Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Dieticians Association of Nigeria, and Ist Vice President, Advertisers Association of Nigeria, as well as a council member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (Membership & Privileges Committee).
In details, Ukoh joined Nestle Nigeria PLC in 1981 as a Medical Delegate and held several key positions, such as Marketing Manager, Marketing Services Director and Marketing Services Executive Director.
As regards academics, she had her secondary education at Methodist Girls High School in Lagos and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition/Dietetics from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. She has attended a lot of training programs including, Strategic marketing at the Lagos Business School, Leadership program at prestigious London Business School and Leadership and innovation program of Institute of Management Development, Switzerland.
Her sterling career spans through the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, National Institute of Medical Research, Lagos and Nestle Nigeria.
Iquo Ukoh
Joan Ihekwaba
A passionate Marketing and Management professional with over 25 years at senior and executive director positions in core FMCG sector, Joan is a champion of people capacity development and transformational leadership. She recently retired from the corporate private sector as Managing Director/CEO of UAC Restaurants Limited, a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria Plc.
Joan worked in UAC for over 33 years, having joined the Group as a Management Trainee in 1987. She held various positions within the group, her functional experience cutting across General Management; Brand Building; Strategy formulation and execution; Strategic Talent Management; Production; Quality Assurance, Product Innovation; Quick Service restaurant and Franchise management.
In the course of her career in UAC, Joan received diverse training within the country and overseas. She is an alumna of Cranfield UK and IMD Switzerland. Educationally, she holds Bachelors and Master’s degrees in Microbiology from the University of Calabar and University of Lagos respectively. She also holds Diploma in Advanced Marketing from Institute of Marketing Mangement, South Africa and MBA (Marketing) from ESUT Business School, Lagos.
Joan has contributed immensely to the body of marketing professionals through active involvement in driving marketing programs and development of young talents. She is a Fellow – National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN). She was 1st Vice President, Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) 2015-2017, and member, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).
Joan is currently the MD/CEO of BJ37 Resources Limited, an integrated Food Services company.
Joan Ihekwaba
Nkechi Ali-Balogun
Nkechi Ali-Balogun is one of the leading Public Relations experts in Nigeria. She is a multi-talented industry veteran with over 25 years of professional experience in client services and public relations consultancy proffering value-adding solutions to managerial problems and turning issues as they arise into opportunities.
In the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Nkechi has provided creative thinking initiatives and seamless execution for brands and companies in both the private and public sector. Nkechi who has been at the forefront of building capacity for the industry understands that the PR industry is rapidly changing. Therefore, she is committed to the consistent design and delivery of the best available public relations and management strategies especially around crisis management and governance.
Her company is poised to become one of the leading and most referenced PR consultants in the country. Her wealth of experience includes serving as Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos State Chapter. She is a gifted strategist with intuitively creative abilities. As a result, she is an in-demand industry facilitator, perception manager, motivational speaker, crisis manager and mentor.
Nkechi holds a first degree in English/Education and a master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. Nkechi also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and an MBA in Management from the same University. In addition, she has attended Public Relations Management courses in Frank Jefkins School of Public Relations, London, and the prestigious Lagos Business School. She is currently a Doctoral research candidate in the University of Lagos.
Nkechi has won many awards and is the first female to receive the prestigious PR Golden Eagle Award as the Most Outstanding Public Relations Practitioner from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos (2010 and 2011). In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the media industry in West Africa, she was one of the recipients of the Red Media Living Legend Industry Award (2015).
In addition, she was honoured with the coveted African Women Leaders Organization (AWLO) award as the Phenomenal Woman of Worth; 2018. She is a Fellow and a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and a Senior Member of the African Public Relations Association (APRA). Nkechi is also an active member of the Public Relations Consultant Association of Nigeria, PRCAN and a founding member of the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB).
In 2018 she was awarded the Female Public Relations Personality of the Year, NIMCA. Recently, 29 August 2020 precisely she was listed by the Guardian Newspaper as one of the leading women in Public Relations/Marketing in Africa. In March 2021, she was again listed as one of the 50 most inspiring Nigerian Women by Business Day Newspaper. In Dec 2022, she was recognized as the Most Inspiring Public Relations Personality, 2021 by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
She is the founder and convener of the foremost annual PR roundtable, NECCI Public Relations Roundtable now in its 21st edition. Nkechi is founder and anchors of Chat with NAB a 15-minute social media talk show on life skills.
Nkechi is married with a daughter.
Nkechi Ali-Balogun
Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe
Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe is a Business Leader and Marketing Professional, the Principal Consultant and Chief Growth Officer at Gotcha Communications Limited, a people-first, technology-driven Marketing Communications firm. She is the recent Marketing Director at Unilever – where she led Marketing Strategy and Innovation to drive growth across various brands and categories in Africa.
Nsima has built diverse experience in building brands across Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Markets to deliver outstanding results. From her stint in Quality Assurance and Product Development at UAC Foods, her over two-decade long career has evolved from Quality Assurance, through Brand Building and Development, Planning, Project Management, Marketing and Business Strategy. Her leadership roles include Foods & Refreshment Director, Unilever Ghana-Nigeria, Marketing Director Foods, Unilever Nigeria, Tea Platform Marketing Director, Unilever Africa, Country Project Lead – Unilever West Africa.
Nsima obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She is an alumna of the prestigious Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University where she got her MBA degree in Management. She is a Member, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), a Member, Institute of Directors, a WIMBOARD Fellow at IE Business School, a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN).
Nsima is a strong advocate for gender and talent diversity in the workplace and has championed coaching and mentoring initiatives that has promoted positive externalities within the industry and her community. Her purpose is to inspire with calm, to unlock hidden potentials and nurture talents for today and for the future. She is a mentor and coach to several young girls and professional women, inspiring them by her experience to achieve their full potential at home and in the workplace. She is a trained Mental Health Champion.
She is a Foodie with interest in promoting family values, writing, photography, wellness, nature and gardening. She loves to teach and work with children and young people. She is married to Kizito and a joyful mother to the FantasticFive+
Nsima Ogedi Alakwe
Deaconess Martha U. Onyebuchi
Deaconess Martha U. Onyebuchi, frpa, is presently the Director, Regulations, with the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, (ARCON), Nigeria’s Advertising Regulatory Agency, with industry wide experience spanning over 25 years. She has a Master’s of Business Administration, majoring in Advertising and Public Relations, from ESUT Business School.
An experienced manager who over the years acquired quality skills sets in Management – Client Service, Planning and organization, Professional Training, examinations and Tutorials, Examiner, Inspection, Monitoring and Enforcement, among others, and have had results of profits and volume increases for various jobs handled over the years.
She has been very instrumental in some major policies that positively affected the Council and the Advertising Industry in general, being a member of ARCON Management for over 22 years.
She has over the years held the following positions and served in various committees – Client Service Executive, (Candid Communications Ltd.), Senior Vetting and Monitoring officer, ARCON, Head Publications, Head Vetting, Monitoring and Enforcement Department, Secretary, Advertising Standards Panel (ASP), Head Operations –North Central Zone, Assistant Director Registration Career Matters and Corporate Licensing, Deputy Director –Southern Region, Director Regulations, Steering Committee of The Industry Media Summit, ARCON Editorial Board member, Editor, Advertising Annual, Outdoor Agencies Association of Nigeria Poster Award Panel Of Judges, Member ARCON Accreditation Committee, Resource Person- National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Member ARCON Management. Member Ministerial Committee on Audience Measurement, among others.
She has facilitated several seminars and workshops and is a recipient of many awards.
Her hobbies include mentoring, reading and traveling.
She is a Fellow of the Advertising profession, and Fellow, Institute of Credit Administration.
Philosophy: What ever will be, will be. & Proverbs 6 v 6: Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.