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.
Iquo Ukoh
Iquo Ukoh, fnimn 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. She is also an Independent Non-executive Director of Presco Plc. and Saro Lifecare Ltd.
The marketing Amazon is 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 - Chairman
Angela Ukara - Makinwa
Angela Ukara-Makinwa: fnimn, rpa
Director, Client Engagement, Strategy & Creative, EXP Marketing Nigeria | Vice President, EXMAN
Angela Ukara-Makinwa is a performance-driven Brand Activation and Experiential Marketing Leader with over 20 years of experience spanning client and agency roles. As Director at EXP Marketing Nigeria and Vice President of EXMAN, she has been instrumental in shaping industry standards and driving impactful brand experiences for top multinational brands including Coca-Cola, Interswitch, BAT, MTN and Reckitt.
The first Secretary of the Award Decision Council (2022–2023) and one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Marketing & Communications 2024,” Angela is celebrated for her strategic vision, thought leadership, and contribution to advancing marketing excellence in Nigeria.
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 is a highly acclaimed Nigerian advertising expert with over 30 years of
experience in the industry. She’s a trailblazer, known for her innovative leadership
and groundbreaking contributions to the advertising and marketing sectors in Nigeria
and Africa.
Currently, the CEO and Lead Consultant, Ladybird Limited, a budding new-generation advertising agency in Nigeria, known for its strategic, unique and innovative brand building capabilities, Bunmi was the Pioneer COO/ED of 141 Worldwide (now NITRO 121) for 12 years and led a prolific team of professionals, building the agency into a prominent world-class advertising agency in Nigeria and the EMEA region handling multinational accounts like British
American Tobacco, Etisalat, and Cadbury Nigeria Plc.
17th President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria 2012-2014(AAAN) and was a delegate at the 2014 National Conference.A Fellow and past Executive Council member of WIMBIZ, APCON, MAUTECH.
- Awarded as Advertising Personality of the Decade by Marketing Edge Brands and
- Advertising Excellence /Lifetime Achievement by WIMCA Awards etc.
- Recipient, Vital Voices – WIMBIZ & Exxon-Mobil ToT EinH Training 2011,Uganda,for female marketing communications specialists in Nigeria.
- Gerety Awards Grand Jury – Joined other global brand leaders from Philips, Heineken, and PepsiCo on the 2023 Gerety Awards jury and has served on many reputable marketing awards as jury member.
Bunmi is an alumni of University of Lagos, Queen’s College, Yaba, and Holy Child College, Ikoyi.
Bunmi Oke
Tomiwa Aladekomo
Tomiwa Aladekomo is the CEO of Big Cabal Media, which publishes the tech and youth publications, TechCabal and Zikoko. Big Cabal is building the next generation of African media brands and creating some of the most exciting original content from the continent. An experienced executive, Mr. Aladekomo has worked extensively across media and marketing roles in Nigeria and North America. He has taken Big Cabal through a transformation that’s made it one of the most exciting new media companies on the continent, telling Africa’s stories in depth and in innovative and fresh ways.
He is passionate about Nigeria and Africa as a whole. This passion fuels the pace-setting work he does at Big Cabal Media, and also as a Board Member of the Africa Tech & Creative Group; which is working to ensure that the implementation of the AFCFTA (Africa Continental Free Trade Act) works for tech, creative and small business communities all over the continent.
Tomiwa has a BSc in Business Administration from Boston University and an MSc. in Anthropology from Columbia University, New York. He is a fellow of the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship, run by the African Leadership Institute.
Tomiwa Aladekomo
Feyi Olubodun
Feyi is one of the leading authorities on understanding the African marketplace, having developed and published the only proprietary framework to understanding the African consumer psychology.
He currently consults for multi-nationals on how to win in the African marketplace, with assignments across multiple regions on the continent. Feyi is the Founder and Managing Partner of Open Squares Africa, a boutique marketing strategy consulting firm ON a mission to help businesses see Africa through the right lens AND design solutions to win the African.
He is the author of the seminal book ‘The Villager: How Africans Consume Brands’ which articulates a proprietary framework for understanding African consumer.
Feyi sits on the Board of Malaria No More UK, as Trustee to guide the organization regarding the African market. He is also the first African to be appointed to the EMEA Regional Advisory Board of Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He also sits on the Boards of other organizations across Africa.
Feyi Olubodun is an inspiring speaker, presenter, and facilitator. He is a visiting lecturer with the ESCP Europe Business School. He also speaks on innovation in an African context, cultural leadership, strategy and strategy implementation across several platforms and business schools.
He is a Global Executive MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He is SMP 40 Alumni of Lagos Business School and a BSc Psychology graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).
A seasoned business leader, Feyi was previously the CEO of Insight Publicis, Nigeria’s foremost and arguably West Africa’s largest marketing communications firm. While there he led a highly ambitious creative team that solved different client’s business challenges, reformatted the business into a post-digital agency while delivering high value for clients.
Feyi Olubodun
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 thorough-bred business leader and marketing professional with over two decades of experience in different roles and organisations. She is the Chief Marketing Officer of Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University. She was recently appointed to the Editorial Board of Insights Edge, the flagship journal of Lagos Business School and a member of the Advisory Board of Africa Retail Academy, Lagos Business School.
Her career began in quality assurance and product development at UAC Foods and progressed to project management, supply chain (planning), brand building and development, and marketing and business strategy across different multinational organisations. Her leadership roles include Marketing Director Unilever Africa, Chief Growth Officer at Gotcha Communications Limited.
Nsima obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and an MBA from the prestigious Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University. She is a Member of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), a Member of the Institute of Directors (IoD), a WIMBOARD Fellow at IE Business School, a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) and a WIMBIZ Life Member.
Nsima strongly advocates for gender and talent diversity in the workplace and has championed coaching and mentoring initiatives that have promoted positive externalities within the industry and her community. She mentors young girls and professional women to achieve their full potential at home and in the workplace. Her purpose is to inspire with calm, unlock hidden potential and nurture talents for today and the future.
She is passionate about promoting family values, writing, photography, wellness and nature. She loves to teach 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.
Deaconess Martha U. Onyebuchi
Anthony Ekun
Anthony Ekun has spent more than two decades shaping how brands speak, behave and connect with people. His career has moved through retail, mass market and social change campaigns, but at the centre of it all has been a single obsession: solving problems that matter.
He has lent his craft to some of the world’s most recognisable names, such as MTN, Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Ariel, ExxonMobil, Glo, Access Bank and UKAid, not only telling their stories but also helping them win both hearts and awards along the way. His work has travelled too, taking him beyond Nigeria into Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the UAE.
Anthony, known to many in the industry as Tyger, is not just a practitioner. He has been a voice at the table of the profession itself: chairing the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) Jury, serving on the LAIF Board, and now sitting on the Advertising Standards Panel of Nigeria.
Today, as Executive Creative Director at SO&U, he carries with him the weight of experience but also the curiosity of someone who still wants to learn, to push, to do better work tomorrow than he did yesterday.
He believes ideas should not just sell, they should shape culture, move people, and sometimes, when the stars align, even make the world a little better.
Anthony Ekun
Anthony Ekun
Blossom Ogechi Ozurumba is a seasoned digital media engagement leader in the energy sector with over 18 years of progressive experience at NNPC Limited, where she has driven results through strategic planning, commercial expertise, and comprehensive analysis, with a focus on sustainable growth. As Deputy Manager, Digital Engagement in NNPC Limited, she currently leads initiatives to strengthen NNPC’s digital presence and stakeholder engagement, aligning multi-year strategies with financial and sustainability objectives to ensure long-term success.
Blossom spearheaded the delivery of the nnpcinnov8, an innovation platform that reached over 7,000 users with over 50% adoption rate, demonstrating her ability to deliver high-value, sustainability-focused projects. Additionally, she led a digital engagement campaign that increased NNPC’s digital media followership by 75%, showcasing her expertise in market-focused asset management. Her leadership in corporate-wide change management has positioned NNPC as a frontrunner in adopting sustainable technologies and media policies, reinforcing its role in energy sector transformation.
Her academic credentials include a Master of Science in Energy Economics, Management, and Policy from the University of Port Harcourt, complemented by a Master of Science in Business and Management (Business Analytics) from the University of Essex. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management from Coventry University and is pursuing a Doctorate in Energy, Economics, and Management at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun. These qualifications underpin her proficiency in financial viability, energy sector strategies, and sustainability-driven decision-making.
Beyond NNPC Ltd., Blossom serves as a Member of the Communications Committee at the Wikimedia Foundation and the Media and Publicity Committee of the Nigerian Economic Summit, where she applies her strategic and communication expertise to influence broader industry and societal outcomes. Trusted by senior leadership, she excels in fostering collaboration and aligning organisational goals with stakeholder priorities. Her career reflects a commitment to driving value, sustainability, and transformation in the energy sector, making her a fitting candidate for the Awards Decision Council of the Nigerian Marketing Awards®.
Blossom Ogechi Ozurumba
Tokunboh George-Taylor
Tokunboh George-Taylor is the Founder/CEO of SKOT Communications. Tokunboh is an experienced Communications Executive with 30 years of experience in creating, managing and sustaining Communications Campaigns locally, regionally and globally.
Prior to starting SKOT Communications, she was the pioneering Managing Director of Hill+Knowlton (H+K) Nigeria, one of the world’s leading global communications where she spent almost a decade. SKOT Communications was founded after a business and asset transfer of H+K.
Before joining H+K Strategies, Tokunboh spent over 14 years at integrated energy group Oando Plc in Lagos where she was part of the Group Leadership Council, heading up the Corporate Services and the Corporate Communications/CSR divisions. She was also the pioneering Director of the Oando Foundation. Whilst at Oando Plc., she also led the communications team for local and international fundraising and the listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
She is a social impact advocate, working with local, regional and global clients to drive impact led communications. She is also an executive trainer at C-suite level with clients such as Shell, NLNG, Novartis amongst others, focused on executive development and media training, internal and external communications, advocacy, strategic guidance, stakeholder engagement and campaign development.
Tokunboh holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, USA.
She is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), Public Relations Association UK (PRCA) and Institute of Directors (IOD. She is also a fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative-West Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She is the Acting Chairman of the Oando Foundation, Board Member of Legacy Office, Advisory Board Member of Terra Kulture & Studios Limited, Advisory Member of CSR-in-Action Advocacy, Member of the Board of Governance for Greenwood House School, Board of Director, FREEE Recycle Limited and Advisory Board Member of WISCAR.