The 2024 Global WiM Awards shortlist has been announced, celebrating exceptional women who embody this year’s theme of "Exemplary." As we look forward to the upcoming Awards Ceremony, we spotlight the remarkable talent and achievements of the shortlisted nominees from across the continent.
For the third of the shortlisted nominees from the WiM Africa community, we speak with Ifeoma Jibunoh, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Cassava Technologies.
WiM Africa: What has been one of the most defining projects of your career, and what impact did it have?
IJ: This is a great question and not an easy one to answer. I have worked as a marketing professional for over 20 years, and during this time, I have had the privilege to work on iconic brands across different countries. I can think of at least 10 projects that defined my career in different ways. That is the beauty of working in our profession; no two brands are ever the same. More times than not, each brand or product has its own set of unique challenges, from changing target audiences to market dynamics, which typically results in varied jobs to be done and must-win battles. These unique challenges have always kept me intrigued and inspired.
If forced to pick one, though, it would be the project which started with only a question. While working in the FMCG industry, I was given a task that initially posed the question: Does the Heineken company have the right to play and win within the global speciality beer category? At the time of this question, Heineken only had a limited number of truly global beer brands within the well-known and established lager category. This question led to an evaluation of the company’s ability to successfully enter into a niche beer category globally and culminated in the relaunch of a 1,000-year-old speciality brand, which was made and partly owned by monks in an abbey in Belgium. Many marketeers get the opportunity to develop a brand or product and work on innovation projects, but this project required me to be a steward of a 1,000-year-old legacy that had to be relevant for modern times globally.
It involved historical market research, insight development, brand and product redevelopment, brand redesign, supply chain management, stakeholder management, business development and storytelling of a very different nature. There were quite a few firsts for me in the process that defined my career. Successfully launching the brand globally in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa and achieving double-digit growth within a 2-year period was not just a professional achievement, but also a deeply rewarding experience. It was a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team. I acquired critical skills and competencies during this project that shaped the marketing professional I am today.
WiM Africa: How do you approach fostering inclusivity and diversity within your work and teams?
IJ: Collaboration, curiosity and insights lie at the heart of a successful team. Marketing should always start with insights, so in my team, I always encourage the team to seek to understand and listen first. This often requires my team members to suspend their knowledge and judgment, not always easy to achieve when you have years of experience and are a subject matter expert. However, this behaviour typically encourages a culture of curiosity and openness that ensures that different views are explored and included as part of the insight-generation process of all marketing initiatives. It applies externally and externally when working with customers and key stakeholders. Internally, within the organisation, I encourage the team to actively collaborate with different teams across the organisation, not only across different geographies but also across respective functions.
From my experience over the years, I have discovered that the more diverse the teams, the greater the likelihood of success in achieving business objectives and growth. To ensure diversity, I often use personality profiling tools that give insights into the personality types within the team. Gender and race diversity are also critical, but the best teams have a mix of different personality profiles. Where there are gaps, I build this into the recruitment process for new hires.
WiM Africa: What advice would you give to other women aspiring to make a mark in the marketing world?
IJ: I've always believed, "If you want to change the world, start with women". So, my top three pieces of advice to a woman marketer aspiring to work her way up the corporate ladder are:
Check out all the 2024 Global WiM Awards Shortlisted nominees.