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 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 - 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.
Prof. Ogechi Adeola
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
Mrs. Ijedi Iyoha
Mrs Ijedi Iyoha is a professional advertising regulator with the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), an agency of the Federal Government charged with the regulation of advertising in Nigeria where she is currently a Director. She is also a Fellow of the Advertising Profession with vast experience and proven skills of more than two and half decades in Advertising Ethics, integrated marketing communication and related areas.
She has served in various capacities at the Council and has represented the Council at national and international programmes, delivering lectures in advertising and advertising regulatory topics in diverse spheres.
Mrs Ijedi Iyoha holds the following qualifications: B.A (ED), M.sc Mass Communication, other Certificate and post graduate diploma in Advertising and Event Management, Human Resources Management among others. She has acted in the capacity of Registrar/DG for a period of 3 years in APCON, she is a core professional who is also a member of the International Advertising Association (I.A.A).
A motivational speaker, youth and women empowerment executive and inspirational communicator, Mrs. Ijedi Iyoha devotes her time and resources in inspiring young talents to reach their ambitions through constructive engagements in their desired fields of endeavours.
She is blessed with an illustrious husband and three beautiful children.
Ijedi Iyoha
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
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
Yomi Benson
Yomi Benson is a consummate Entrepreneur l, an astute lover of Brand marketing and an optimist who believes in people and their super abilities to create lasting legacies in business when they take the leap.
Graduated at 21 in 1988 with a bachelors degree in humanities, an MBA and an alumni of the prestigious Lagos Business School, Yomi’s career spans Advertising, Brand Marketing and leadership roles.
He worked in the best organizations in Nigeria before starting his own marketing communications outfit called Culture Communications where he pioneered disruptive locally relevant brand communications. Some of the places where he has performed creditably are Oglivy Benson and Mather and STB McCann in the 90s. He then moved to British American Tobacco where he was brand manger Benson and Hedges / London Kingsize in the early 2000s. Key accomplishment was the successful multi billion Naira migration of Benson and Hedges and London Brands to local production.
He joined Insight Communications in 2004 and left 5 years later as Group Account Director overseeing over N2 billion in yearly billings with Major accounts like Hieneken, Amstel Malta, infinite, GSK, Starcomms, Visafone etc.
Yomi is currently the chairman of Culture Group, serves as Vice President and board member of Vertical Bets and Gaming Limited and also chairs the Board of Feed Tonight Foundation.
A philanthropist and business initiator, YB as he is fondly called, is a Fellow of The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria and a winner of the Marketing Edge advertising of person of year 2018. YB loves nature, Tennis and Swimming.
Yomi Benson
Obinna Justin Aniche
Obinna is a seasoned Marketing, Brand and Management business leader, with significant cross industry experience (20+ years) gained with industry leading organizations like JWT Advertising, Population Services International (PSI), Diageo (Guinness Nigeria) Bharti Airtel International BV Netherlands, Airtel Nigeria and Globacom Nigeria. He was the Director/Vice President, Brand and Marketing Communication at Airtel Nigeria and immediate past Director – Brand Sponsorship, Events and Promotions at Globacom. Currently, Obinna is the Group President of Red Slate (Group) Limited. Red Slate is a Growth Marketing and Investment Management Group with diverse mix of businesses in Marketing, Technology, Commerce and Consulting.
Obinna is a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (FNIMN), Fellow of Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria (FIMC), Fellow of Registered Practitioner of Advertising in Nigeria (frpa), and a Certified Management Consultant (ICMCI Global). He is also a product of Federal University of Technology, Owerri, University of Zimbabwe and University of Uyo. He started his marketing career with JWT Advertising in 1995 as an Account Executive, he subsequently moved to PSI Nigeria (Society for Family Health) as Communications Coordinator before working with Guinness Nigeria as the pioneer Media Manager working on all the company’ s brand portfolio. He joined Vmobile Nigeria in 2005 (now Airtel Nigeria) as the Media Manager and was expatriated to the company’s Africa Group Office in 2007.
During his international assignment that spanned a total of seven years, Obinna worked in the various Africa HQ locations – Amsterdam (Celtel Africa), Bahrain (Zain Africa) and Kenya (Airtel Africa). At Zain Group Office, he was the pioneer Group Marketing Manager – Brand & Media for 22 countries in Africa and Middle East. In this role, Obinna framed strategic direction for brand and media within the Group and provided specialist direction that impacted about 50%+ of marketing budgets in those markets as media budget across the markets was in excess of $100m. At Airtel Africa Group Office, he was the General Manager – Brand Assets across 17 African countries. In this role, Obinna managed Airtel Africa portfolio of Brand Assets (football and music) valued over $55m to create relevant affinity and points of differentiation for brand Airtel, whilst generating revenue out of the ‘properties’ for the business.
After a hugely successful stint on international assignment, he subsequently returned to Airtel Nigeria where he held the position of Director/Vice President, Brand & Marketing Communication, responsible for managing the functional and emotional resonance of the Airtel Brand in Nigeria.
At Red Slate Group, Obinna works with other business leaders in ensuring that the three companies within the Group operate independently, but share one backbone and vision, which are shaped around the Red Slate values; Passionate about Consumer, Agility, Commitment To Excellence, Entrepreneurship, Integrity and Growth-Driven.
Obinna is a thoroughbred professional with numerous awards and accomplishments. His major credits include the successful rebranding of Vmobile to Celtel in Nigeria; the rebranding of Celtel to Zain across 15 African countries, the conceptualization of Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) brand property which became the biggest U17 Grassroots Tournament in Africa with over 25,000 participating teams after 4 years of launch. Bharti Airtel operations in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had adopted the ARS brand property after a successful launch in Africa, as ARS ran across 20 countries in Africa and Asia. Obinna was also the Airtel Africa Group Project Director on Airtel One8 Project (Hands Across the World) as well as the Airtel Africa 2010 Project Lead on MTV Africa Music Award with Airtel, that covered 17 African countries.