Our people are our biggest strength. They are experienced, smart and status quo busters, who come here every day, not to work but, to have fun and get paid for it. This way, they remain fresh and fertile.

Some of their ideas could be outrageous, but then, who builds a truly great brand without doing outrageous things?

THE BOARD

John  Ehi. Addeh (Chairman)

A 1978 Geology graduate from the University of Benin, John spent the first 22 years of his career as an explorationist, moving through the various parts of oil and gas exploration (subsurface, regional geology and geophysics interpretation and synthesis, exploration information Management) before moving out into Corporate Communications in 2001 and Public Affairs in 2002.

Over the years, John Addeh has had extensive development in General Management, Human Resources Management, CSR Management and Crisis Communication. He established several world-class models, policies and processes in the various disciplines he has handled.

An alumnus of the London Business School, INSEAD in France and IMD in Switzerland, John’s career spans over 30 years, most of which he spent at Total Nigeria. He was once Chairman of Board of Total’s Pension Fund (2009-Feb 2010) and Chairman of the Governing Board of the Institute of Petroleum Studies, Port Harcourt (2009-2011).  He also served as a Member of the Board of Total E&P Nigeria Ltd from 2007-2011.

A notable Geoscientist whose membership criss-crosses several professional associations, John Addeh also holds Fellowship of notable institutions such as the Nigerian Mining & Geosciences Society, the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists and the Institute of Petroleum Studies.
Prior to retiring into private practice in January 2011, John was Executive Director, External Affairs, Total in 2007, from which position he was promoted to Executive Director, Human Resources & Corporate Affairs in July 2010.

He is currently Chairman of a number of indigenous African businesses, among which include Caritas Communications Nigeria Ltd., Ewalen Corporate & Image  Services Nig Ltd., and S.A. Oguns Advertising Nig Ltd.

Adedayo (Dayo) Ojo

(Managing Director/CEO)

A foremost reputation and corporate communications strategist, Adedayo Ojo has over 25 years experience spanning journalism, issues management, stakeholder relations, and corporate social responsibility programs management.

Prior to setting up Caritas Communications, he spent 15 years with ExxonMobil’s Nigerian affiliate, Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), where he made a mark overseeing the Public Affairs unit. Dayo retired in 2006 as Manager, Government Relations and Head of Abuja Office.  He also had a stint as pioneer Vice President in charge of Corporate Relations with Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc.

A highly trained reputation consultant, he is  credited with pioneering the set up of the Government Relations department of Mobil Producing Nigeria in 1996, and in 2006, the Corporate Relations department of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc.

He has held high level communications position locally and internationally. He was Public Affairs Manager for ExxonMobil upstream affiliates in Nigeria. In addition, he was the coordinator and lead responder for emergency and crisis communications for the Africa upstream operations of ExxonMobil covering Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. Between 2000 and 2002, he was appointed Public Affairs Advisor at the headquarters of ExxonMobil Corporation in Houston, Texas, USA. He was the first African Public Relations professional in that position.

Dayo is a graduate of University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He also holds a 1984 Master of Arts Degree in Communication Arts from the University of Ibadan as well as a Diploma in Public Relations from London. He has also attended several   Senior Management Programmes in the University of Michigan Business School, Detroit, United States, the Lagos Business School and Pan African University Lagos, Nigeria.

PROFILES OF KEY CONSULTANTS

Okwy Onyia – Head, Media

Okwy is the Head of Strategy & Planning at Caritas Communications Limited. He has several years’ experience in media relations, reputation management strategy and consulting. Okwy began his career at C & F Porter Novelli, one of Nigeria’s foremost Public Relations firms. At C & F Porter Novelli, he was part of a proud team of Consultants cutting his teeth by working on renowned brands such as MTN, Pfizer, Stanbic IBTC, and Microsoft among others.

Okwy later had a short stint at Customer Centricity Ltd where he worked as a brand and communications executive and later Assistant Manager. At CCC, he was heavily involved in crafting bespoke communications and brand development strategies for FinBank, FCMB, and Microsoft to mention but a few.

Okwy holds a BA in English (UNN) 2004 and has attended professional development trainings and seminars overseas and in Nigeria. He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.

Adekunle Oladele – Head, Media Relations and Communications

Adekunle Oladele has enormous experience in Integrated Marketing Communications having worked on the leading corporate brands in Nigeria and Africa like Close Up, Ecobank, Transcorp, Skye Bank, and Bank PHB.

Prior to joining Caritas, Adekunle was Head, Media Management at FCB Redline Limited. He was once a Deputy Business Editor of a newspaper having risen through the rank after joining the journalism profession as a Senior Reporter.

Oladele graduated in 1991 from University of Ibadan with a BSc Hons in Economics and thereafter in 2005 earned a Masters degree in Business Administration from University of Uyo. Having distinguished himself as prolific finance writer, Oladele was in 2002 selected by Reuters for a six-month university Fellowship in Green College, University of Oxford; where he joined other journalists from different parts of the world for a research on Policy Framework for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in West Africa.  He is currently a member of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

Aderemi Apatira – Head, Client Service and Business Development

Aderemi Apatira is a consummate media, brand and marketing strategist and policy analyst with a career progression that spans almost two decades. She has functioned at various times as the Group Manager, Adverts, of a number of Nigerian Newspapers.

Aderemi holds a first degree in Accountancy & Finance from Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, capped with an MBA, Corporate Governance from the National Open University of Nigeria. She holds membership position on several professional associations, among which is the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. Aderemi is a Fellow of the Certified Institute of Development Studies, and is a registered advertising practitioner.

She has at various times researched and delivered papers on Corporate Social Responsibility and Reputation, Strategic thinking, Gender Politics and Prospects in Nigeria, Partnerships for National and International Development.

Frank Uzuegbunam – Consultant
Frank has over 18 years of industry experience spanning journalism, outdoor advertising and corporate communications. Frank has worked in firms such as Eric Bertha Ltd, Pedestal Media Ltd and Bluefield Africa Ltd.

He has distinguished himself executing reputation management strategies for high ranking national public office holders. Frank is also the publisher of Nigeria Energy Intelligence, a leading journal on the oil and gas industry.

Frank holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has a Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising (BEEC) and currently pursuing a Master’s from the University of Lagos.