Advisory Board
Prince Yemisi Shyllon
Prince Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon graduated in Engineering from the University of Ibadan with second Class upper division (1977), with distinction in Business Administration – Marketing & Finance Specialization (MBA) from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University 1980), in Law from the University of Lagos with second class upper division (1990) and second class upper division in the Nigerian law school (1991). He is a Chartered Stockbroker (FCS) and Fellow of some other Professional bodies within and outside Nigeria. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Port Harcourt, in 2012.
He started his career as Marketing Research and Market Development Manager of Tractor and Equipment, the caterpillar agents in Nigeria from 1981 to 1983 and was promoted to the position of Marketing Manager in September 1983.
At 31years of age, he was appointed Executive Director (marketing) of Nigerite Ltd and for some years in between, he was the Executive Director (marketing) and the legal adviser of that company.
He has served and still serves as Chairman and Member of many Corporate and Statutory Boards and was a Member of the National Think Tank, President & Chairman of Council of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (2005/2006) and the vice chairman of the Ogun State Economic Summit (2004-2010). He is currently the sole representative of Nigeria’s SOUTH-WEST, on the National Honors Award Committee (NHAC).
Prince Shyllon with over over 7,000 artworks, is the founder of the Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF) which is widely acknowledged and globally ranked to hold Africa’s largest and most balanced private art collection and was rated to be one of the one hundred (100) largest private art collectors in the world by Art News.
Prince Shyllon has financed the establishment of the First Privately Funded University Museum of Art in Nigeria, with a grant of one thousand (1000) of his artworks to the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art at the Pan Atlantic University (YSMA@PAU), in Lagos. He serves as the Grand Donor and chairman of the museum supervisory council of the museum of this prestigious private University in Nigeria.
Prince (Dr.) Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Bsc (Hons) Engr, LLB, BL, MBA, D.Litt, F.loD, FNSE, FCS, FNIM, FCIM, FNIMN, FEPHM, FNIAE, FCIAN, C.Engr.
Prince Yemisi Shyllon, fnimn
Chairman
George Thorpe
George Thorpe has over 33 years of post-MBA experience in marketing, general management and entrepreneurship in industry, academia, training and consulting at local and international levels. He started his career at Lever Brothers (now Unilever) from where he left as a Senior Brand Manager in 1982 to join Pfizer heading up OTC Marketing and subsequently total pharmaceutical marketing. George Thorpe joined Sterling Health, makers of Panadol, in 1988 as head of marketing and sales for OTC and prescription medicines. He led efforts that took Sterling Health to pharmaceutical industry leadership in Nigeria and drove Panadol unit volume to #2 ranking in the world. With that came an appointment as the first Marketing Vice President for Sterling Health Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa & the Indian Sub Continent (MEEASC) based in Guildford UK in 1991 – most remarkable for the successful launch of Sterling Health and its OTC brands in Russia in 1992 – then a return home as the first Nigerian Managing Director of Sterling Health in Nigeria and Regional Director for Sterling Health West Africa. Soon after the global and local merger of Sterling Health and GlaxoSmithKline Beecham in 1995, George Thorpe resigned to go on his own. In between his industry and entrepreneurial career, he was lecturer for business strategy on executive courses and the MBA program at the prestigious Lagos Business School (now the Pan Atlantic University).
Since 1995, George Thorpe with his partner have founded and built the biggest and most reputable network of marketing support service firms in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon with affiliates across West and Central Africa. His transition from being a consummate marketing professional to a relatively successful serial entrepreneur has been as rewarding as it has been fulfilling. His research interest as a doctoral student at the Walden University is to understand the drivers of student satisfaction in entrepreneurial education in Nigeria. George is married and likes spending time with his grandchildren.
Mr. George Thorpe
Member
Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi
Garba is a highly motivated, target-driven, energetic, and passionate team leader and goal-getter, desirous of exploring new frontiers with the benefit of his varied experiences, networks within Nigeria’s advertising industry and bureaucracy and teamwork capabilities.
He holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications. Garba started his career as a commercial salesman with the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) 1974 – 1978. He later joined the Kano State Broadcasting Corporation (Radio and Television) in 1978 where he made an outstanding career, rising from the position of Commercial Officer in 1982 to the position of Director, Commercial Service in 1993. He was appointed Managing Director of Radio Kano in 2003.
He is an active member of the Advertising profession and has represented the broadcasting sector of the industry in the Advertising professional and regulatory Council for about 9 years. He became a Fellow of the profession in 2004.
In 2006, he was appointed Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria – APCON, the government professional regulatory agency for Advertising practice in Nigeria.
He has served at various times as member, Board of Trustees Nigeria Media Merit Award; member, Central working Committee, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria; Vice Chairman, World Youth Championship (Nigeria 99) Kano sub-seat; Chairman, Kano Pillars F.C; Chairman, Gymnastics Association, Kano State; Chairman, Marketing Committee of the Nigeria Football Association; Chairman Government Liaison Sub- Committee, International Advertising Association Africa Congress (Abuja 1999).
He has also served as resource person as well as participated in several local and international conferences and training seminars, sharing experiences in broadcast media marketing and management, public administration, and advertising regulations. He has co-authored study manuals for Advertising professional training and certification in Nigeria.
He currently occupies the following positions – Chairman, Federal Task team on Audience Measurement, Chairman, Advisory Committee Kano Sports Development Plan, Trustee/Patron Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN). He is a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria.
Alhaji Bello Kankarofe, fnimn
Member
Anthony Agenmonmen
Tony graduated with B.Sc.(Economics) from ABU, and MBA, (specialising in marketing) from UNIBEN. He has attended many senior marketing programmes in Nigeria, Cote’ Ivoire, India, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and Singapore.
He is a consummate marketing man. He has lived a life of marketing with a wealth of experience spanning Bangladesh, where he successfully managed some major UNILEVER household brands and Nigerian breweries, where for over 32 years, he led the teams which built some of Nigeria’s iconic brands.
On retiring from Nigerian Breweries as Senior Strategy Manager, after a glorious marketing career, he founded OE&E Consulting Ltd, a management and marketing consulting company.
Tony’s first book published in 2016 – “Excellence is not by luck” has received very good reviews.
He is a result driven person, relates well with people and is a strong team player. He has a proven track record of insistence on high standards. He indeed believes strongly that “excellence is not by luck”.
Tony is an industry player and has served on the Council of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN). He is a fellow and Immediate President of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN).