Marketing Amazon, Ifunanya Obiakor has climbed higher on the professional rung of her career, following her recent elevation as Head of Marketing, West Africa, for multinational dairy giants, Arla Foods.
Ifunanya, a consummate marketing expert with over 10 years’ experience in brand building, was until her new appointment, Head of Marketing for Arla Foods in Nigeria, where she led team of category Managers across Milk Powder, Liquid Milk, Cheese and BSM categories.
In her new position, Ifunanya’s marketing oversight will expand beyond Nigeria to spearhead marketing drives and efforts across the West African region for the dairy company.
Instrumental to transforming the Arla Nigeria business into a sustainably profitable business, she has significantly improved Arla’s flagship milk brand, Dano brand’s metrics and led the successful launch of new products.
Under her watch as Marketing Manager, Dano has grown to become a strong Powder brand in Nigeria, Arla Nigeria set a Guinness World record for the longest drinks-pouring relay in 2018, launched into Cheese, butter, Creams, Spreads and Growing up Milk categories, won prestigious awards, and executed several outstanding Marketing initiatives.
Ifunanya started her Career as a Management trainee at PZ Cussons in 2011 and rose to the role of Brand Manager in 2014. In 2015, she joined Friesland Campina as a Brand Manager beginning her journey in the Dairy industry. In 2016, she joined Arla as Category Manager and has since been a valuable asset to the fast growing dairy company.
Ifunanya was selected among the 40 under 40 Women in Marketing and Communications in 2020, among the top 50 Amazons in the Marketing ecosystem at the prestigious 2023 Women In Marketing and Communications Conference and Awards (WIMCA), Marketing Professional of the Year (Dairy) at the same WIMCA the year before, among other accolades.
A 2008 alumna of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, she has an MBA from the Business School Netherlands; certifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and has undergone the ANA CMO Leadership Program at the Institute for Real Growth, among others. She is also a member of the National institute of Marketing in Nigeria (NIMN).