OUR PANELISTS

HENRY AKPEDE

Henry Akpede is a marketing communications leader and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience shaping brands, building businesses, and driving creative excellence across Africa’s marketing and advertising landscape. Over the course of his career, he has led award-winning campaigns, helped brands grow market share, and built high-performing creative teams. Henry previously served as Managing Director of Ogilvy Nigeria, where he oversaw the delivery of world-class campaigns aligned with the global standards of the Ogilvy network while expanding the agency’s client base and creative reputation.

Henry is now focused on entrepreneurship and brand building. He is the Founder of Mr Casava, a fashion brand specializing in premium men’s underwear, and the Co-Founder of HKA, an advertising agency built around performance-driven partnerships and breakthrough creativity.

YEWANDE ABIGAIL ADE-ALAO

Yewande Abigail Ade-Alao is an award-winning marketing leader and a Marketing Manager at Seven-Up Bottling Company (SBC). With over a decade of experience across various FMCG sectors, she was recently named one of Brandcom’s “35 Under 35” top marketing professionals for her excellence in driving iconic consumer portfolios and large-scale partnerships.

A seasoned strategist, Yewande champions a philosophy of "Disciplined Creativity" a model rooted in the conviction that no true brand plan can exist without a foundational understanding of consumer needs. She specializes in bridging the gap between operational precision and cultural relevance, ensuring brand growth is both data-informed and human-led.

BOLAJI JUNAID

Few voices in marketing and brand strategy carry the depth of experience and passion that Bolaji Junaid brings to the table. With over 15 years of shaping powerful campaigns and accelerating business growth, Bolaji has built a career rooted in creativity, strategy and purpose.

From founding Just Passion Concepts, a business he grew from zero capital to multimillion naira enterprise as a student entrepreneur to leading ground breaking campaigns at Insight Publicis and Ogilvy, Bolaji's impact in the marketing and communications industry is nothing short of inspiring. He's been behind major brand successes for SONY, Peak Milk, Pepsi, 7Up, Amstel Malta, Golden Penny, Coca-Cola, 5Alive and WIMBIZ, driving innovation and storytelling that connect deeply with audiences. Now, as founder of WhyFinite, Bolaji is on a mission to build Africa's most preferred marketing technology hub in Africa by 2030.

A fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) and an Associate member of ARCON, Bolaji's influence extends beyond boardrooms. He's a mentor, speaker and advocate for the next generation of marketing and tech talents through the BJuMP initiative.

KELLY AMOGU

Kelly Amogu is a strategic marketing and communications leader with over 14 years of experience shaping brands, narratives, and market growth across financial services, fintech, healthcare, and consumer sectors in Nigeria.

She is currently the Head of Brand and Communications at Smartcash PSB (Airtel Nigeria), where she leads integrated marketing and go-to-market strategies across ATL, BTL, digital, experiential, and trade marketing channels. Her work focuses on strengthening brand trust, driving customer adoption, and positioning financial services as a key enabler of financial inclusion at scale.

Prior to this, Kelly was the pioneer Marketing and Communications Lead at Evercare Hospital Lekki, where she launched the hospital as a new entrant in healthcare, built the entire marketing and advocacy function from the ground up for a 165-bed tertiary healthcare facility. She led the hospital’s launch strategy, overseeing stakeholder engagement and media relations.

Across her career, Kelly has developed a reputation for translating complex business strategies into compelling brand narratives that resonate with audiences, regulators, partners, and communities. Her expertise spans brand strategy, integrated marketing, public affairs, reputation management, and stakeholder engagement, with a strong focus on building brands that are both culturally relevant and commercially impactful.

HOST: RAPHAEL IDU

Raphael Idu is a strong creative strategist. a business leader. a vivid ideas person with passion and expertise in brand building; a creative thinker. storyteller and a marketing communications specialist.

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