Mba-Uzoukwu, other top talents join Airtel Nigeria

...as Nigeria's Gemini Okoeguale Heads Customer Service in Airtel Sierra Leone

Lagos, Nigeria; June 16, 2011: Multi-award winning marketing communication expert, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, and several other notable Nigerian professionals have joined leading telecommunications service provider, Airtel Nigeria, as the company continue to attract top talents to its fold.

Additionally, Shola Adeyemi, Unoko Edwin Dadson, Oladokun Oye and Abidemi Ajagba have joined Airtel in furtherance of the company's goal of identifying, targeting and recruiting top Nigerian talents and providing them opportunities for growth, develop leadership skills and achieve overall professional fulfilment.

Speaking on the new appointments, the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop expressed Airtel's commitment to continue to generate fresh perspectives, sustain its innovativeness in the developing products and service by hiring top Nigerian talents in the various areas of its operation.

Swaroop said as a world-Class organisation, which is global in outlook but locally relevant, Airtel would continuously seek ways to help Nigerians to grow within the organisation not only in the Nigerian operation but in other countries where the company operates.

Mba-Uzoukwu who has held a number of important marketing positions in top companies including Brand Manager, St. Moritz at British American Tobacco and Strategic Marketing Manager, COLAS Portfolio at Coca Cola Nigeria (CCN) has been appointed Head of Brands and Marketing Communications at Airtel.

A graduate of University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Institute of Direct Marketing UK, Mba-Uzoukwu, is also expected to deliver on specific tasks such as developing relevant, clear and easy to understand communication that drives consumers to make Airtel their first choice, identifying key strengths of brand and planning key tactics to increase Top of mind Awareness (TOMA) and determining the creative direction for Airtel marketing communication in line with the brand clearly stated guidelines.

Another new employee, Shola Adeyemi, a Solicitor and graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, who until recently was the Head of Regulatory and Compliance at telecommunication network operator, Globacom has been appointed Head of License and Compliance in the Regulatory and Government Affairs Directorate of Airtel Nigeria.

Adeyemi who started his career in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja as a Research Officer in the Civil Litigation Department and rose to the position of Senior Legal Officer in the Department before joining the Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration in Lagos as a Senior Arbitration Counsel. He later moved to the Nigerians Communications Commissions (NCC) as the Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolutions Unit and had responsibility for coordinating NCC's adjudication process, drafting and reviewing contract agreements, legal documents, telecommunications guidelines and regulations, and establishing NCC Dispute resolution centres, amongst others.

Abidemi Ajagbe, adistinguished salesman, is now the Zonal Business Manager, South East Zone in the South Region of Airtel and has been assigned the tasks of managing the Sales team in the South East Zone comprising Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu and Imo states.

Abidemi who brings over 20 years of sales experience to his new role at Airtel has previously worked with GlaxoSmithKline, where he rose to the position of Head of Channel Development and until recently, Elizade Nigeria Limited where he was the Deputy Head of After – Sales group.

Also, Oladokun Oye has been appointed Head of Zonal Business (Post paid and Corporate), Lagos Region at Airtel. A graduate of Hertfordshire, UK, Adekunle Ajasin University, Lagos State University, and Lagos Business School, started his career as Assistant Brand Manager, Trans-Global Market International, before joining Avdel Limited (formerly Act Global Technologies) UK as Senior Sales Manager.

At Avdel Limited, he was responsible for managing customers in Northern UK and Scotland, managing key portfolios that included Ford, Jaguar, Electrolux, Roll Royce, Caterpillar, Siemens and Scheider, coordinating concessionaires/ distributors in Norway, Finland and Holland as well as managing ongoing product forecast, implementing product training programmes for the sales force, amongst others.

Meanwhile, erstwhile Manager of the Airtel Nigeria Call Centre in Abuja, Gemini Thomas-Okoeguale has been named the Head of Customer Service Delivery, Airtel Sierra-Leone.

The appointment of Gemini Thomas-Okoeguale as head of Customer Service Delivery for Airtel Sierra-Leone underscores the rising profile of Nigerians within the Airtel family. In her new role, Thomas-Okoeguale will be reporting to Raj Vardhan Singh Bhullar, Managing Director, Airtel Sierra-Leone.

Prior to her appointment, she was also a key member of the team that defined and developed the Customer Service Delivery model for Zain Ghana in 2009. She has over 10 years experience in customer service management.