Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis: Promoting Female Empowerment And Leadership
“Women are leaders everywhere you look, from a CEO to a housewife that holds together a home. Our country was built by women who stand alone,” Denise Clark once said.
The above quote stresses the importance of women in any society and organizations. On the other hand, only few organization and societies give the gender the opportunity to rise through the ladder and hold top positions especially in male dominated industries and societies. This is despite, the yearly call for gender-equal world as also reflected in this year’s International Women’s Day theme “EachforEqual”.
In the marketing communications industry, some women are breaking the glass ceiling and contributing remarkably to the growth of the industry and the organizations they represent, and this within a short period has earned them great recognitions and promotions. These great strives and many other contributions to global economy made Coco Chanel to say “Women have always been the strong ones of the world.”
As more young enterprising women are springing up, an agency of high repute is busy empowering women and giving them the opportunity to lead in a highly competitive marketing communications industry.
Interestingly, as at today, women make up the majority of the business and department heads for Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network (MFDAN) Limited, a full-service Integrated Marketing Communications Network led by Emeka Okeke.
It is important to note that aside giving women the opportunity for leadership positions; the agency is equally empowering many other women. Recall, last year, Dentsu Aegis Network announced the global roll out of Female Foundry, an initiative to support female entrepreneurs. Initially founded by iProspect in Singapore, the accelerator programme is now being rolled out across Dentsu Aegis Network globally.
When Women Stick To Vision…
Kara Claypool popular quote reads “Visionaries look into the future and see things not through the lens of current reality, but through the lens of future possibility”
Many women are regarded as visionaries, when they make up their minds to achieve a certain goal, they eventually achieve it. So, when they stick to a corporate vision and mission the results are usually amazing for the organizations they represent.
At Mediafuse Dentsu Aegis Network the women are sticking to the agency’s vision and mission and they are determined to continue to contribute to its growth and development.
Yetunde Adegbite, Managing Director, Posterscope stated “The company has its vision on innovating the way brands are built. That vision aligns with my personal goals and has resulted in a boosted performance and maximized potentials way beyond my primary role in the company.
“Our values of Collaboration, Responsibility, Agility, Pioneering and Ambitious have fueled how I have approached my role daily in ensuring that client’s expectations are superseded and that I have an engaged and optimal team. This has resulted in top notch media service delivery, embarked on with full responsibility as a leader whilst using best practices.”
Correspondingly, Marian Ogaziechi; Associate Media Director, Trading & Investment Management; Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network said the company’s operational processes have made it easy for her to manage global brands easily and such brands have recorded great results, “I believe less can be much more and that’s what I have been able to achieve in Nigeria for these global brands. I know how to get the job done.”
Similarly, Adekemi Alegbeleye, Associate Media Director, Dentsu X added “Mediafuse Dentsu Aegis Network share a set of beliefs which bind us and define what we stand for as a group of people. This has shaped the way I think and do things, ultimately it has made me different and better.
“Running daily with values such as Agile, Pioneering, Ambitious, Responsible and Collaborative, I have learnt to work together with both local and global teams taking ownership, going the extra mile, taking risks to succeed equipped with quick thinking and ruthless focus.”
In addition, Funke Adekola, Business Director, Dare Create Ltd stated “We are encouraged to live by the MFDAN governing pillars which in its own way serve as a guide to excellence in all that we do. Personally, I love the fact that women are both encouraged and emboldened to be ambitious. Excellence is the order of the day regardless of gender.”
Also, Theresa Ogah, Associate Media Director, Vizeum Nigeria explained “The Agency is founded on values that undoubtedly enhance performance and career advancement of her staff. The Pioneering & Ambitious values of the Agency has helped me be more innovative in my performance, coming up with fresh ideas & methods to help my clients achieve their business objectives.”
In the same vein, Ijeoma Phil-Nwanguma, Senior Group Head, Human Resources, Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network said “As an employee, I must embrace the company’s values, by seeing it as an integral part of the business. I take ownership of the mission and vision as if it’s part of my job description. By doing so, it makes it easy for me to carry out the mission of MFDAN in every aspect of my responsibility. As an innovative company, you are pushed to think outside the box, be creative and come up with ideas that helps improve processes and organizational performance.”
Promoting Women Empowerment And Welfare
Yetunde Sorinola, Finance Controller, Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network pointed “Mediafuse Group promotes the welfare of female staff by giving the female gender opportunities to soar without putting limitations. Mediafuse also creates conducive atmosphere for gender equality.”
In another vein, Catherine Abuah, Senior Group Head, Media Strategy & Planning, MFDAN stated “The group has always prided itself in showing detailed attention ‘towards it’s female staff. This is particularly evident in its commitment to ensuring that women have an equal opportunity in leadership positions across all divisions. Media Fuse maternity policy for instance ensures that female colleagues are not at a disadvantage when they go on maternity leave. They are duly compensated during the period and their performance is evaluated fairly and merits are awarded accordingly.”
In addition, Roberta Edu, Group Head, Information Technology, Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network pointed “Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis goes all out for its female employees, ours is a highly respectful work environment for everyone and talent, flexible work hours and paid time off for female employees, for example, the female staff are entitled to 4 months maternity leave, which is higher than the approved 3 months from the federal government.”
Similarly, Abena Annan, Head of Client Services, Isobar said “A couple of years ago, the guardian UK reported that about 50,000 women lose their jobs every year due to pregnancy discrimination. While such prejudice might be a reality in some organizations in Nigeria, women at MediaFuse Dentsu Aegis Network have been fortunate enough to not have to deal with this. The company provides a safe working environment that protects and supports women. Last year, it rolled out its global initiative, Female Foundry, to support female entrepreneurs. This initiative offers experienced mentorship to empower and develop female-led businesses that have demonstrated ability to innovate and lead in technology among others. It is the network’s contribution to creating a more diversified leadership in today’s digital economy. “
Speaking in the same vein, Toluwalase Omotehinse, Company Secretary and Group Head, Legal & Compliance; Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network explained “The environment in Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network (MFDAN) accommodates the performance of women in their maximum capacity; this include being committed wives, dutiful mothers, and carrying on their full responsibilities as women employees. The office hours afford a married woman to be responsible at home while operating to her full potentials in the office. The company’s policy also provides for a 4-month paid maternity leave for nursing mothers, with a comprehensive health care management for women.”
Leading Women Are…
“Some leaders are born women,” Geraldine Ferraro once said.
The above quote in simple term, points that some women are born leaders. In Mediafuse Dentsu Aegis, some amazing amazons and leaders are making the difference that in no small measure has helped the agency grow remarkably. Some of them are below:
Yetunde Adegbite, Managing Director, Posterscope
Yetunde holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology from the Lagos State University, an MBA from the Metropolitan School of Business and Administration UK and another MBA in view from the University of Bradford UK. She is also an alumnus of Lagos Business School (PAN African University)
She is a multi-set skilled marketing and brand building professional with experience in Brand strategy formulation, Product innovation and launch, Brand management, Sales and account management, Experiential marketing, Events and Media. Yetunde is a hands-on project manager that has churned out innovative consumer-centric ideas with commercial value to stakeholders in her over 14 years of experience.
Before joining the Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network Holding Group in 2018, she was the Chief Marketing Officer of Serengeti Group (Optimum Exposures and PromoWorld). Yetunde has traversed the different segments of Marketing communications from Creative, Broadcasting, Print Press, Out of Home and finally Media Strategy, Planning and Buying.
Marian Ogaziechi; Associate Media Director, Trading & Investment Management; Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network
Marian Ogaziechi cut her teeth in media when she joined Tajudeen Adepetu’s Consolidated Media Associates in the production department and then moved to media sales.
There she started her journey in integrated marketing communications and broadcast media dealing with clients from different industries which improved her comprehension in media marketing and how the peculiarities of each industry relate with the media, but more importantly how to perfectly project them in the media.
While in the broadcast sector, her proficiency, dedication and passion took her to the next level where she became the brand manager for Televista and Villagesqaure TV (Now Trybe TV) and one of the most significant of her responsibilities was to ensure the channel is profitable and without fail she consistently surpassed the annual brand target for the channel including ensuring maximum visibility for the brand.
By the time she joined the Media fuse Dentsu group in 2016, she had become well- grounded in Media procurement and sourcing and after joining the group she continued to rise, marshalled by hard work, innovation. Marian is a team player and has led the commercial teams to various bids through competitive investment offerings for multi nationals in various categories such as beverages, FMCGs and dairy brands.
As Associate Director, Trade and Investments, she heads up the trading arm of AMPLIFI.
Adekemi Alegbeleye, Associate Media Director, Dentsu X
Adekemi Alegbeleye is a marketing communications professional with over a decade experience in creating connections strategies to deliver marketing solutions across various industries and over more than 40 brands.
She is a graduate of Lagos State University where she studied and bagged a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.
Before her stint with advertising, she worked as finance associate in an IT Consultancy firm, Quorest Ltd United Kingdom where she helped develop the business until her return to Nigeria in 2008. During this time, she also secured a diploma in Business Management at ICS United Kingdom in 2007.
In 2008, she joined the Troyka Group and spent the next 6 years building brands in Telco, FMCG, Alcohol, Banking, Insurance and Food sector, many of which won local and international awards for their exemplary work and contribution to the society.
Adekemi joined Dentsu Aegis Network in 2014 and dedicated her time to working closely with brands to ensure profitability and growth of their businesses and seeking new business opportunities.
Funke Adekola, Business Director – Dare Create Ltd
Funke Adekola is a marketing communications professional, who specializes in Brand building and Business management, a discipline that involves being an integral part of brand management, client servicing, business operations and the creative business processes from start to finish.
Before her advertising career, Funke started off in finance at the London borough of Lambeth, then moved on to a project management role, leading the strategy and projects team at AXXCorp Ltd , an energy servicing company .
In moving to the marketing communications industry, Funke has worked both on the Traditional, Experiential and digital sides of the industry, working with the likes of DDB Lagos, RockThompson Ltd, and Noah’s Ark where she worked on several projects that have won accolades at both local and international advertising festivals such as, Loeries, African Cristal, as well as the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF).
Currently, Funke is the Business Director at Dare Create Ltd, a Dentsu creative agency birthed out of creative collaboration of Noah’s Ark and the Dentsu Aegis Network. She is responsible for the leadership and the overall business management of the agency. Funke is an avid tennis player and lover of music, art, poetry and photography.
Theresa Ogah, Associate Media Director, Vizeum Nigeria
Theresa Ogah has over 10 years of hands on experience in major fields of integrated marketing communication which includes strategic media planning, implementation planning and media buying for several multinational brands across Africa and Asia.
Media representative for Cannes Young lions competition 2008/2009 Versatile in effective media Planning and buying. Exposure to behavioural research data, using the best software tools available in the market.
Accounts managed include: ABInBev, Promasidor, Guinness, Etisalat, RB, PZ Cussons, Diageo, P&G, Jumia.com, Coca Cola ’15 -’16, Arla Foods, Redbull among others.
Ijeoma Phil-Nwanguma, Senior Group Head, Human Resources, Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network
Ijeoma is a Human Resources Professional with 12 years of experience. Her passion is providing HR solutions for her employers by helping them build their HR infrastructure through technology, compliance and people. ijeoma also enjoys consulting for legal enquiries as she has a degree in law. Ijeoma held several corporate HR leadership positions in shipping, engineering/ construction, retail, oil and gas, advertising and communications.
Ijeoma holds a Bachelor of Law degree from University of Nigeria Nsukka. She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources International (SPHRi), a certified Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Managers Nigeria. Ijeoma is an active member of many prominent HR organizations including the Network of Human Resource Professionals nHRP, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and a member of the local chapter of CIPM.
Yetunde Sorinola , Finance Controller, Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network
Yetunde Sorinola is a Chartered Accountant. She is a first-class graduate of Agricultural Economics from the University of Ibadan and also holds an MSc in Economics from the University of Lagos.
She is a Management professional with over 8 years core experience in finance, audit, financial reporting, financial management, treasury, taxation, budgeting and administrative training and providing operational support to clients. Business minded, eye for details as well as providing business process improvement. Expertise in delivering results in fast-paced, time-sensitive environments while working collaboratively within a team.
Catherine Abuah, Senior Group Head, Media Strategy & Planning, MFDAN
She has over 9 years’ experience proffering creative solutions to organizational challenges. With specific competences in Client Servicing and Media Planning, she has worked on key international and local clients, across a wide range of sectors including Samsung Electronics Plc, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, NASCON Allied (Dangote Salt and Dan Q), Lacasera and Smoov, Procter and Gamble Pampers, Nigerian Breweries Plc Maltina, Climax, Malta Gold, Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services now 9mobile.
Currently, she is the Senior Group Head, Media Strategy & Planning at DCCC a company under the Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Holding Network and responsible for Media Strategy, Portfolio Connections Strategy & Planning, Reporting and Client Service for clients in the company especially the Coca Cola Company account where she delivers media strategy across all categories which includes Sparkling (Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite, Fanta and Limca) and Stills (5Alive, Eva Water).
Roberta Edu, Group Head, Information Technology, Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network
Roberta Edu is the Group Head, Information Technology at Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network.
A multi-skilled specialist with over 12 years of hands-on experience in the areas of Information Technology Management, IT Security, Networking, App development, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Media and Project Management.
She brings to Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network diverse skills to drive the business priorities and see that the company achieves its ambitions through innovation in data, better use of emerging technologies, security, improved processes and systems, modern tools for a modern workplace and strategic partnerships.
She holds a Master of Information Systems Management degree from the University of Salford Manchester United Kingdom and a Bachelors Degree from Olabisi Onabanjo University Ogun State Nigeria.
Abena Annan, Head of Client Services, Isobar
As Isobar’s Head of Client Services, Abena does more than identifying business opportunities and managing the day-to-day activities of the Account Management team. With over 11 years’ experience in three markets (United States, Ghana and Nigeria) spanning across corporate communications, online publishing, television programming/broadcast/production and advertising, Abena is passionate about creative and innovative projects that deliver solutions for brands.
With a Bachelor’s degree from Bernard M. Baruch College, New York, NY, some of her work have involved developing communication strategies for private and public sector organizations, building brand equity for a bouquet of 10 channels online and offline for a leading private-owned TV network in West Africa, developing digital strategies as well as digital planning and buying for brands ranging from Telco, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), personal care, financial institutions and FMCG.
Toluwalase Omotehinse, Company Secretary and Group Head, Legal & Compliance; Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network
Toluwalase Omotehinse is a foremost Legal Practitioner with vast experience in various aspects of law such as: Corporate Law, Telecommunications Law, Privacy and Data Protection Law, Intellectual Property, Taxation Law, and so on.
Toluwalase Omotehinse (Toluwa) works with Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network Holding Company Limited (MFDAN), a global media and advertising agency, as the Company Secretary and Group Head, Legal & Compliance. She pioneered the Nigerian legal & compliance department, which has now become the backbone of the organization and its subsidiary companies through the wide range legal services being offered, such as contract management, regulatory, risk and compliance services, privacy and data protection responsibilities, trainings on sectoral laws and regulations, amongst others.
Prior to joining MFDAN, Toluwa worked as the Legal Manager at Tecno Telecoms Limited, the manufacturers of TECNO, INFINIX, and ITEL mobile phones. She founded the legal department which has now become a formidable department within the organization. While in Tecno Telecoms, she worked closely and effectively with regulatory bodies such as the Standards Organization of Nigeria, Nigerian Communications Commission, Corporate Affairs Commission, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, to mention a few.
