#ibukun

Ibuki and Mikan icons/edits

Ibukun Bilikisu Awosika is the Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and most valuable banking brand. She is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Chair Centre Group. The companies within the group include The Chair Centre Limited, Sokoa Chair Centre Limited, Furniture Manufacturers Mart, TCC Security Systems and Cubes and Boxes Limited. These companies are involved in manufacturing, retail and bank-way security systems services.

Ibukun Bilikisu Awosika chairs a number of corporate and not-for-profit boards amongst which are: House of Tara International and Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC), a facility which she promoted to help address youth employability and enterprise issues in Nigeria. She sits on the boards of Digital Jewel Limited, Cadbury Nigeria Plc., Convention on Business Integrity (CBI) and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. She was Chairman, FBN Life Assurance Limited, FBN Capital Limited and Kakawa Discount House Limited.

Ibukun Bilikisu Awosika is a graduate of Chemistry from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria; an alumna of the Chief Executive Programme of Lagos Business School; the Global Executive MBA of IESE Business School, Barcelona-Spain; and Global CEO Programme of Wharton, IESE and China European International Business School (CEIBS).

With a high interest in social issues, including women, Ibukun Bilikisu Awosika is a co-founder and past chairperson of Women in Business, Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ). An ordained Pastor and founder of the Christian Missionary Fund, Ibukun, through this faith-based organization, works with hundreds of missionaries spread across Nigeria to change lives with the provision of medical, educational, and other supplies.

As a fellow of the African Leadership Initiative, Aspen Global Leadership Network, Institute of Directors and Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, Ibukun, through her projects aspires to use her opportunities in life to further the greatness of her dear country by raising entrepreneurs to create jobs for the large unemployed youthful population. She is a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), served on National Job Creation Committee (NJCC), and sits on the International Advisory Board of IESE Business School, Barcelona-Spain.

Week 5

Tue 4th May

We had a presenting workshop with Ore today. Ore gave us some great tips on how to overcome fear and manage our nerves when doing any public speaking. She also gave us a great structure to use when carrying out any impromptu public speaking. One thing that really stuck with me was what Ore said about seeing public speaking as an opportunity and embracing it.

Wed 5th May

Today we talked to Dan Keefe who is an Executive Producer at Coffee & TV. Dan did a really great job of teaching us about the lessons he learned during his journey to his role now. We then had to think of a new concept for an ad campaign based on the Ugly Duckling story.

In the afternoon we had a talk with Lizzie Rivera of LiveFrankly about sustainability and journalism. LiveFrankly works with brands and businesses that are genuinely trying to be sustainable, and the website is about informing consumers so that they can make an informed choice.

Thu 6th May

We reviewed our 90 sec documentaries, with Matty Groves. It was great to see everyone’s work and get feedback from Matty on what to improve.

Fri 7th May

We had a session with LinkedIn today, which was actually really great. I’ve had LinkedIn for a while but today's masterclass gave me a lot of things to think about that I’d never considered. Like the importance of writing a note to someone before connecting, figuring out your professional brand and how to display that, and making use of all the sections on your profile so that people who view your page get a clear idea of what you do. After this session, I spent some time getting in contact with people from the previous masterclasses and made some really great connections, and started updating my profile.

Week 6

Mon 10th May

Today we talked to journalists from News UK. Because multiple papers exist under News UK and each presenter had a different type of journalism they focused on, the day was really varied. We learned about the roles editors of different departments might play, we talked to a radio journalist, a video journalist, a sports reporter and a travel reporter.

Tue 11th May

Today we had a masterclass with Hearst. First we talked to Isabella Silvers who gave us some great tips on finding your tribe, promoting your work and how to find jobs. Then the rest of the day was spent talking to different editors and journalists who work for different magazines owned by Hearst, about their roles and how we could work with these publications. I actually found out about a magazine I’d never really heard of before, Digital Spy, which focuses primarily on film and tv, and I’m looking forward to pitching to them in the future.

Wed 12th May

Today, we had a session with the Guardian. We talked to people who worked in the commercial and editorial side and who had a range of jobs. I loved this session in particular as it was interactive and you could tell that the presenters really love their jobs. I was particularly interested in Leah’s role, as it focuses on filming and documentary-making - things I’m really passionate about. Everyone in the session gave us some great tips on backing yourself and pursuing your goals, which was just what I needed to hear today.

Thur 13th May

The first half of today was spent carrying out mentee training, in preparation for our 60 second intro session we had with the mentors in the afternoon. I know I was nervous pitching myself to a (virtual) room of potential mentors, but I think we were all nervous - mentees and mentors alike. I also learned some really interesting things about my fellow CWS12 cohorts and was so impressed by what everyone has done and accomplished so far. Looking forward to finding out who my mentor is!

Fri 14th May

(the first of many)

Today marks the end of Week 1 of Creativity Works S12, so I thought I’d drop a little wrap up of some of the fun things we did this first week 😜

Tues 6th 

Today was the first day of Creativity Works S12. I got to meet everyone on the course and was introduced to Simone (who I met in my interview), Tangina and Andrew.

The break out rooms where we discussed rules for the season was a great way to start talking and break the ice. 

We talked a lot about what we hope to get out of Creativity Works, our own personal goals and reasons for applying.

Tangina and SImone also gave us some tips on how to navigate the next 10 weeks, and Tangina’s Google Docs idea has already been really helpful and a great way to keep me organised these past 4 days :D

Wed 7th

Wednesday was a whole day dedicated to mindfulness and mental health. 

It was really great to think about the ways I could build my self-confidence with Chris, have T.E.A with Ore, and be mindful with Holly.

I really needed this session. Personally I’ve been on my own journey to be more mindful and better my mental health and taking time for that today was a nice reminder of the work I promised myself I’d do.

The mindfulness with Holly was definitely my highlight. It was great to just sit, close my eyes and focus on what was going on internally.

I also loved how comfortable everyone got in the session with Ore and how open those of us who shared were. Ore’s session was so enjoyable and made me really reflect on how I need to be proactive about my own mental health.

Thur 8th

Today we got the chance to write about what cultural tribes we belong to and had the chance to read them out loud while being timed.

60 seconds goes by fast, but what I loved about this was the opportunity to hear what tribes everyone else belonged to and seeing where we overlapped. It was also great because there were names for cultural tribes I would never have thought of but definitely feel like I belong to!

Fri 9th

After some technical difficulties, I was finally able to get on zoom 😂

Today we focused on personal bios and vision letters, and how to write them.

In terms of the vision letter, it was great thinking about where future me would be, what I’d like to be achieving and also consider how to get there.

Fearless Rebirth: Amazing School Musical for You

Higuys, millions of Nigerians are still in Independence Day (October 1st) celebration mood. I know you are already looking for emojis to plaster to the comment to drive home your points that nobody is celebrating. That’s not true; I am celebrating, so are many students in Nigeria and all over the world, after all; the monster ‘C’ did not defeat us. Students are back in school, though the campuses…