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Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) has described the death of
Tolu Ogunkoya, regional chief executive officer of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) West and Central Africa (WeCA) as a great loss to the marketing communications industry in Nigeria and Africa
According to MIPAN President, Femi Adelusi, Ogunkoya, who died in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, April 25, as disclosed by his family, was a shining example of dedication, professionalism, and excellence, rare gem, icon, mentor and role model.
Until his death, he was the chairman of the 15-member ministerial task team, set up by the minister of Information and Culture in January 2022, to fashion out and implement five fundamental reforms that would ensure the recovery of the advertising and broadcast sectors in Nigeria, within the next few years, working closely with the director generals of Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
A Fellow of ARCON formerly Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Ogunkoya was inducted as the 87th Fellow of the practice in Nigeria in 2010.
He was a council member and Fellow of the Institute of Directors (IOD) Nigeria, an alumni member of the Lagos Business School and the Ashridge Business School in Berkhamsted, UK.
Ogunkoya started his advertising career 33 years ago at the then Insight Communications and distinguished himself as a thoughtful and reliable young executive.
He was at SO&U for almost 10 years, where he became a key member of the leadership team working simultaneously as the media lead for the agency, when he headed an Account Service Team.
Early 1999, he was head hunted and became the pioneer CEO of MediaReach Nigeria (now known as MediaReach OMD). At the organisation, Ogunkoya assembled and led a team of determined advertising executives to set standards by which the industry now leverage.
With his team at MediaReach OMD, he set new standard of professionalism driven by technology and innovations in the practice of media strategy, planning, buying and implementation in Nigeria, and the West African sub-region.
Under his leadership, MediaReach OMD introduced the Nigerian Media Facts Book in 2001, which has become the industry bible for media audience data and trends for the Nigeria Marketing Communications Industry. The scope of the publication was later expanded in 2006 to cover countries in West and Central Africa, written in English and French as “Nigeria/West and Central Africa Media Facts Book.”
He was bestowed with numerous laurels and commendations, including the MIPAN’s Outstanding Advertising Media Personality (OMP) for three decades in 2021, TIES – The Industry Award 2020 – Lifetime Award Winner (of three recipients in 2020), and the Brand Journalist Association of Nigeria (BJAN) Excellence Award 2018 as the Most Professional Media Practitioner in Nigeria.
