Have you ever knocked yourself for making a poor buying decision? Well, on many occasions I have, but I’ve made some remarkable decisions in recent times. And enrolling at Orange Academy was one of them. Looking back, I can’t help but just document the roles these remarkable people played in making that ‘buying’ decision a worthwhile experience.
Doyin and Moraloke Phillip-Ladipo of Orange Academy
If I had not met and worked with Doyin at Rocket GmbH, I wouldn’t have heard about
Orange Academy. You challenged me to attend Orange and not allow the seemingly exorbitant fees to dissuade me. I’m glad I listened.
Your restlessness and desire for a higher purpose as well as your eagle-eyed perspective towards life rubbed off on me. You challenged me to “leave good behind and be better”. I’m glad I listened. Thank you,
Adedoyin Philip-Ladipo.
And of course, congrats yet again on your marriage to your Orange Academy sweetheart, Morolake. You guys deserve each other!
Lampe Omoyele, MD The Nielsen Company
Lampe Omoyele. This man is an institution. He is a case study in excellence, professionalism and humility. He’s one of the very few (m)ad men who still wear the badge of their faith proudly. At the time he taught me in
Orange Academy, he was Marketing Director at GSK and a Choir Master at his church, among other caps he wears.
For crying out loud, how can you be in such a crazy industry and stil
l combine such volatile responsibilities with your head still properly screwed to your neck? Well, that’s the stuff Lampe is made of. I wasn’t surprised upon learning of his current gig as MD at The Nielsen Company. Such men can only keep rising and rising and rising…
Back at Orange, Lampe taught us New Product Development – from Conception to Launch. I represented my team (Oddbox) at the final presentation of a tightly contested Product Development assignment. At the end of the day, my team won. And Lampe rewarded us with the best gift anyone can give you: Books.
Lampe gave me
Kolawole Oyeyemi‘s KILL OR GET KILLED: The Marketing Killer Instinct. For this treasure, I am grateful.
If you need just ONE reason to attend Orange or recommend it to someone, Lampe Omoyele is ONE.
Fanen Acho, Principal Consultant, Headstart | An Orange Academy Guru
Aside
Leke Alder who introduced branding as a discipline in Nigeria,
Fanen Acho is one genius who will definitely go down in the Branding Hall of Fame as a Foremost Nigerian Branding Innovator and Strategist Extraordinaire. The first day he came to our class, he just didn’t look the ‘type’, I must confess. All eyes were on his bulging tummy. And surprisingly, he keyed into that ‘truth’ by making a
brilliant joke out of it. Before we could blink, the class had began…
By the time he was done with us, we had all gone ‘mad’. Fanente had upsetted our apple carts. This highly cerebral strategist had dealt an eternal blow to our psyche. What manner of man is this? You need to experience the journey he took us through that day as he meandered from the ephemeral to the metaphysical.
Fanen opened our eyes to the world we had never seen. After that class, I concluded that I had underpaid
Orange Academy. I felt like I had wasted time in the university. I felt like going to Ife to retrieve my fees and add it to my Orange fees as compensation. Ah Fanen!
I ‘envy’ the folks at
Headstart Consulting. They have a Colossus and Titan as a leader. Can’t forget the 5-hour encounter at Fanen’s office ‘after’ Orange. It was one of the most grueling negotiating sessions I’ve ever been through. I’m glad it ended well though. And I cannot forget the two remarkable darts he shot at me that day. 1.Be Selfish. 2.Never Underestimate Yourself.
I’m grateful my path crossed Fanen’s. My life had never remained the same ever since.
Yvonne Okonedo of Keystone Bank
Does the lady to the right ring a bell?… Look closely…
Yes, that’s Yvonne Okonedo Orobosa, one of my seniors back at Federal Government College, Ikirun, Osun state.
Well, I chanced upon her at Orange and she is just an amazing woman. She is IBX 11, I am IBX 12.
So why am I telling you this?
Well, while preparing for my final 5-minute DEFEND or DIE project, I reached out to her for help and she was really gracious and generous with her time and knowledge. She once drove all the way to my office just to give a brother her flash drive containing resources I might need. Her insights and contribution to the making of my final presentation were indeed priceless.
If you see her, please tell her Thank You. I owe her one.
Sam Adeleke been decorated with the Orange Induction Shawl
And once again, it was a great honour receiving that phenomenal Induction Shawl from the great
Orange Academy. I am grateful.
From the advertising matriarch
Olubunmi B. Oke of 141 Worldwide who ‘decorated’ me to the enigmatic Orange CEO,
Chisom Ohuaka, I can only repay this honour by being the best at what I do and making the world a better place in my own little way. The future is indeed bright. Thank you once again.
Sam Adeleke and other Inductees at the Orange Academy 2015 Immersion Ceremony
That gosh of goodness that runs through your bloodstream while taking the Orange ‘Hippocratic’ Oath was heavenly. It’s a feeling worthy of comparison to drinking a Bowl of Cold Water and Garri Ijebu accompanied with Grounduts and Boli on a hot afternoon.
Femi Odugbemi, Provost Orange Academy | Kenny Brandmuse, Founder Orange Academy
I conclude by eulogizing these two gentlemen. Femi Odugbemi and Kenny Brandmuse. They do not know me personally.
Kenny asked me during that one-on-one class: What do you do? Errr… I sauntered into staccato mode, reeling out English upon English.
By the time I was done, he softly and gently asked again: “Sam, what do you do?” And by that he meant, what is that ONE THING that makes people rem
ember me when my name is mentioned? Or what is that one thing I’m good at – the fulcrum on which every other thing I do rest on.
That day, Professor Kenny opened my eyes to THAT ONE THING – the vertical stretch of the letter T. Prophet Kenny taught me to seek first the VERTICAL kingdom and all other HORIZONTAL things will rest on it. That changed my life forever. I have never forgotten that insight and never will.
Finally, Femi Odugbemi, the provost of
Orange Academy. My decision to pursue an MBA is owed largely to this Man of Honour. After Orange, an opportunity for postgraduate studies opened up; but I had a dilemma. MSc or MBA? So I asked him. And his response was epic:
“Frankly, if you have the wherewithal please do an MBA. The fastest growing economic sector is the Creative industries of which Film and TV is very vibrant. That economy will continue to expand and will need support services in the area of strategy and Business engagement. That is the ‘space’ most people are currently not occupying. You may have the unique opportunity to pioneer those areas of the sector. Broadcasting and digital content is also on the verge of expansion in Nigeria. Your fastest way to stay ahead of the curve in a profitable way would be to understand how business works so that you can tap into the ‘business of the business’ in this area of your interest.”
Femi Odugbemi, thank you.
