Nigeria’s pioneer innovative marketing firm, GDM, makes the prestigious Brand Communicator’s exclusive list of brand empowering women. This is not unrelated to the fact that the firm strongly believes in supporting and empowering women.
Having evolved as a modest experiential agency from its early stages to what it has become today with women playing a pivotal role, the company has seen that women economic empowerment is pivotal to the health and social development of its business. This has driven it to set friendly policies that not only provide a healthy equal working environment but also serves as a sine qua non for capacity building and female empowerment.
How does it do this? The firm provides equal access and opportunity to its employees. Of note is the fact that women have equal access to rewarding job roles, same pay with their male counterparts in the same role, and equal access to benefits, as well as advancement in careers, finance and productive resources. Barriers to access are removed.
Furthermore, the company identifies the need of women and women empowerment in the workplaceand put in place measures and policies that promote gender equality. This includes active participation of women in projects, leadership roles, and decision-making roles. It comes as no big surprise therefore, that 70% of the company’s leadership positions are occupied by women.
Additionally, GDM encourages and promotes the development and facilitation of learning, capacity development and knowledge among women in the workplace. Access is granted to having resources to add to knowledge in order to drive innovation.
In a nutshell, GDM over the years of its operations ensures equal access to employment opportunity for women to encourage gender equality while continuously developing and implementing policies addressed towards women empowerment, even as it consistently builds capacity through committing sufficient financial resources towards promoting women empowerments.
To do that, the company developed a set of principles for promoting women employment in the company. Among others, the principles include establishment of high-level corporate leadership for gender equality, treating all genders fairly at work without nondiscrimination, protecting women against sexual harassment and intimidation, ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all women and implementing enterprise development, and practices that empower women.
GDM’s Leading Women
Through its evolution over the years, women have always played pivotal roles at the company. Many of these women have been with GDM for a very long time. The spotlight is beamed on some of the company’s leading Amazons:
OmolabakeYussuff
OmolabakeYussuff is the Chief Operating Officer, COO of GDM Group, handling the day to day running of GDM Group and its subsidiaries which includes Pavoreal and Greymedia Limited.
A seasoned marketing professional with over 10 years’ experience in marketing and advertising, her dedication and focus on work as well as her skills and versatility in various fields of marketing and experiential activities has seen her rise meteorically to the top within the GDM Group.
Her market analytics skills and her wealth of experience in the field make her invaluable in planning and execution of both B2B & B2C strategies.
Omolabake holds a master’s degree in business administration from University of South Wales. She is a member of Certified Marketing Communications Institute of Nigeria (CMCIN) and member of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).
Bukola Bodunyefa
Bukola Bodunyefa plies her trade within the GDM Company as the General Manager, Marketing Operations. Bukola has over a decade practical experience in marketing and advertising with proficiency in project management. She is a dedicated and selfless woman who takes pride and passion in her marketing service delivery. Her outstanding performance in projects and leadership management earned her the ‘2017 Best Manager of the Year’ award amidst other promotions.
She has successfully managed series of projects both in and out of the shores of Nigeria, ranging from sales, internal, corporate events to experiential activities.
Bukola is a game changer, team player and a goal- getter. A loving wife and a caring mother to 2 adorable children, she holds a Bachelor Degree in Accounting,
Adeola Akinola
Adeola Akinola works in the capacity of General Manager- Shared Services for GDM Group. She is a Human resource professional with over 11 years’ experience in marketing communications and the IT industry.
Confident,
self-starter, good communicator, analytical and hardworking, she loves to meet
people, to add value and leave a positive impression. She has the skill of
using her influence to get the work done and she is detail-directed problem
solver. Her greatest passion is to see women succeed and achieve their maximum
capabilities.
She is a graduate of Philosophy from the University of Ibadan. She is a professional member of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), and a Certified as a Senior Professional in Human resources by HRCI- SPHRI.
Omotayo Inobeme
Omotayo Inobemeis currently the Group Head, Planning and Marketing Manager for GDM Group, where she flawlessly exercises experience and knowledge gained in the sales and marketing industry.
She is a Marketing Communications and Brand Strategy expert with over 8 years’ experience in Brand Management, Channel Development, Digital Marketing and Market Research/ Analysis.
She is a Postgraduate student of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and an alumnus of Orange Academy. Omotayo relentlessly yearns for more knowledge, skills and proficiency as she is on the verge of acquiring her MBA at the prestigious University of South Wales.
Tayo has proven herself to be highly sought out in today’s brand solutions market due to her comprehension and grasp in certain skills such as innovation in marketing planning and strategy.
Majolie Obaje
Majolie Obaje works as the Marketing Operations Manager for the GDM company. She is a seasoned Brand Marketing expert specialized in Below the Line (BTL) Marketing, Trade Marketing, Brand Strategy and Route-to-Market development.
With over 7 years’ experience in managing BTL
marketing activities for top brands of leading Multinationals within the
Nigerian FMCG industry, she is driven by the passion to see focus brands bloom
in the minds of their consumers; creating exciting and memorable brand to
consumer ties and exceptional consumer experience while driving brand growth and
ROI for clients.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Madonna University Nigeria where she studied Mass Communication and is an Associate of the Chattered Institute of Marketing UK.
She has also garnered several certifications to her credit in a bid to ensuring a progressive career, personal growth and value adding to the marketing eco system.
Adebola Adelakun
Adebola Adelakun or ‘Debola, for short, is the Marketing Operations Manager for the GDM company. A well-rounded and versatile marketing communications professional, she is highly experienced in Event Management, Account Management, Brand Solutions and Client Service Management with over 5 years’ experience in cross functional and cross industry work.
She is currently enrolled in the Chartered Institute of Marketing to spike her knowledge of the industry. ‘Debola has solid record of accomplishment in overseeing Marketing operations, flawless delivery of strategy and executing key account projects for Industry’s top clientele.
Adebola is also skilled in Experiential Marketing and Corporate Event Management. She is well versed in deepening stakeholder partnerships and relationships with exceptional expertise and top-notch communication abilities.
Nkiruka Mbakwe
Nkiruka Mbakwe is currently a Data Analysis Expert in GDM. She has over 5 years industry experience in Marketing and Sales Analysis.
She holds HND in Marketing, graduating top of her class with a distinction. She has a professional certification in Marketing with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, with Professional modular certifications in Marketing Strategy, Driving Innovation and Mastering Metrics as well with the Chartered institute of Marketing, UK.
She also has professional certification in Management with the National institute of Management Nigeria.
Titilayo Okeleye
Titilayo Okeyele is a graduate of accounting from Lagos State University and an associate member of the institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. She holds a certificate in customer service from the Chicago Institute of Business, Illinois.
She is a goal-getter, diligent and highly dependable individual. She is detail-oriented, has passion for excellence and she is a person of integrity.
She is the Treasury Manager in GDM
GDM’s Women Empowerment Initiatives
International Women’s Day Celebration Themed; “Shepreneurs” (11th March 2020)
“Raising Game Changers” was a free sensitization programme to honor female entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
The programme was curated to inspire female entrepreneurs, and also an avenue to meet, interact and network with successful female entrepreneurs from various sectors of the Nigerian economy. This was as a cardinal point for empowering women.
The initiative was a demonstration of the enormous windows of opportunities regarding entrepreneurship and leadership roles available to women in the Nigerian society. Women were deepened on the key technological skills required in todays’ workplace such as Digital marketing, Social Media Management, Cyber Security, etc.
It was graced with the presence of five facilitators, who are well rooted in their field of specialization, also being very knowledgeable about entrepreneurship.