“Luxury means a benchmark; it’s for people who want to live a specific type of lifestyle and have discernment for the fine things of life, and in every society, this class of people always exists.”
Born in Ogun State, Nigeria. Mrs Omodunke Adelakun has about 29 years of experience in the banking and marketing sector after working in various banking institutions, including Chartered Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Wema Bank, and Courtleigh Investment Limited.
She has extensive experience and expertise in areas of credit, real estate, operations, and marketing.
Her success and track record have transcended the Nigerian borders as she represents German television and audiovisual brand Loewe technology across West Africa.
Currently heading the Loewe Franchise in Nigeria as the CEO, she’s driven by a specific focus on introducing and marketing a luxury lifestyle to the African continent.
- Given your experience, you have made a lot of progress in recent years. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, educational and professional background?
My name is Omodunke Adelakun. I was born into the family of Mr Abiodun & the late Iyabode Odulana. My father is an Economist, and he worked with the Ogun State Government. He was a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Budget before his foray into Banking. He retired as an Executive Director of Gateway Bank. My mother was an Educationist, and she worked with the Ogun State Government serving in various capacities. She retired as the Principal of Lantoro High School, Abeokuta.
I grew up in a close-knit family of four children. My parents were very family-oriented and despite their intense work schedule always spent quality time with the family; I have very fond memories of my childhood. My parents significantly influenced my life with values like discipline, integrity, hard work, and loyalty.
For my early education, I went to St. Benedettes Private school in Abeokuta. From there, I went to the Federal Government Girls college Shagamu in Ogun State.
After secondary school, I got admission to Ogun state university, where I read accounting. Shortly after graduation, I served in Oyo State at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. I started working in Chartered Bank almost immediately after my youth service.
- What particular memory stands out for you while growing up as a young girl, and in what way has it contributed to who you have become today?
Growing up, I had the opportunity to watch the Nine O’Clock News on television with my parents. And I remember seeing beautiful and intelligent women, such as the late Bola Kuforiji-Olubi and Mrs Toyin Olakunrin. They were both accountants that led big organisations. Mrs Bola Kuforiji-Olubi was the MD of the United Bank for Africa then while Mrs Olakunrin was one of the top-ranking members of the ICAN. I got inspired to do what they were doing, and that was why I read accounting in school, wrote my professional exams, and became qualified as a chartered accountant in 1999.
- Tell us a little about your company, Courtleigh Investment Ltd?
Courtleigh Investment Ltd is a marketer of luxury brands in Nigeria; We market brands such as Bang and Olufsen, which are luxury brands of Electronics, and Raumplus, into interior design and partitioning. We also represent Brabus automobiles – these are custom-made high-performance motor vehicles. And the company recently got the franchise to market the Loewe brand of Audio Visual Products.
- Looking at your academic qualifications and professional certifications, what prompted you to transition from banking to heading Courtleigh?
As a young girl, when I started my banking career, even though I studied Accounting. I realised that I didn’t want to sit down in the office, practising and juggling figures. I knew I wanted a career where I will have more interface with people. This made my request for a transfer to the Credit and Marketing Department in the bank.
I worked in the banking industry for about 29 years. I grew through the ranks and gained a lot of knowledge and skills in the industry. The experience was worthwhile. However, I decided to retire this year to join my husband in managing Courtleigh investments.
We also have a real estate arm, Roseville estate, where we build premium Luxury homes for sale.
- In June 2021, Courttleigh Investment Limited signed an agreement with Loewe technology GMBH to represent the brand across the Nigerian Markets. How did Courtleigh Investment Limited get into the Loewe Franchise?
Loewe is a german brand that has been around for 98 years, they major in television and audiovisual systems. They recently decided to re-launch the brand across all the markets in Africa, America, and Europe. We got recognised by Loewe technologies limited to introduce and market their brand in Nigeria and West Africa because of our success and track record in marketing the brands we have.
In terms of looking at the economic landscape, we are marketing a luxury lifestyle. Luxury means a benchmark; it’s for people who want to live a specific type of lifestyle and have discernment for the fine things of life, and in every society, this class of people always exists. And that’s why the Loewe brand will fit into what we are doing already in Nigeria.
- Following the recent global economic disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic, how would you say this agreement will fare towards retail distribution to partners and customers in Nigeria?
As a country, we have our challenges, but as a people, we are very resilient.
Right now, we as a country have challenges with our balance of trade. We have challenges of sourcing for FX to pay our partners abroad. However, the market is still good, and we have demand for our products. One thing that Nigeria has is a booming youth population. Our people are globally recognised as hardworking and resilient. We don’t have any challenges in marketing these products. And also on the issue of getting FX. We try to use our foreign partners abroad to source for foreign exchange. We also explore the alternative foreign exchange window from time to time.
- You earlier mentioned some women that you looked up to growing up; what would be your advice to young girls out there aspiring to be in this kind of luxury lifestyle company market that you’re in now?
My parents gave me a solid foundation by instilling a set of values. They were my first mentors supporting my aspirations, believing, and cheering me on before I came across Mrs Kuforiji-Olubi and Mrs Toyin Olakunrin, who gave me something to look forward to.
My advice to parents is to give a proper spiritual and physical upbringing for our children to have high self-esteem. The Bible says to ‘teach your children the way of the Lord, and they will not depart from it.
It is just about being intentional and actionable about what you want to achieve. And, of course, you need mentors, which will also help you achieve your goals and recommend you. I had some excellent mentors who helped me achieve some measure of success in my career.
Also, I always advocate that it is good to dress appropriately; dress the way you want to be addressed.
And, of course, integrity, hard work, passion, and honesty are vital; in anything, you’re doing in life.
- As with other countries globally, every sector of the Nigerian economy has felt the negative impact of the pandemic. As an expert with extensive experience in credit, operations, and marketing, what economic recovery come-back measures would you suggest for business owners reading this?
The Covid 19 came entirely new to everybody in the world. The people who survived were able to transform themselves quickly and look for opportunities that they could use to either expand or keep their business going. One of them was having an online presence and excellent digital marketing skills so that your products are out there for people to see.
Another thing is to have multiple streams, either of products or income, by adding complementary businesses to support it. At any point in time, with a solid online presence, and good digital marketing without leaving your home, you can make money.
As a former banker, I also advise women to have good records of accounts and have a bank account set up and running, so at any point, financial support is needed, access to funding would be easy.
- Is there an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of? Why?
I don’t think I’ve achieved my full potential as an individual. I’m still striving every day to learn and also impact my society. As a company, we have a support program for widows and indigenous students. On a personal level, I thank God for what I’ve achieved because I was in banking for 29 years, I decided to retire and join the family business without any issues.
Also, in the early part of my life, I was able to do my professional exams. Despite all that, I was working at that time. It also made me feel like I did something, but, really, I still have not achieved my full potential as an individual.
- What is the next big surprise from your company?
As I said, we’ve got the franchise for the Loewe company in Nigeria and West Africa. So we’ve activated activities in our digital marketing network ahead of our product launch in late August.
We are also planning to set up our showroom in other west African countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, etc.
“The Covid 19 came entirely new to everybody in the world. The people who survived were able to transform themselves quickly and look for opportunities that they could use to either expand or keep their business going. One of them was having an online presence and excellent digital marketing skills so that your products are out there for people to see.
Another thing is to have multiple streams, either of products or income, by adding complementary businesses to support it. At any point in time, with a solid online presence, and good digital marketing without leaving your home, you can make money.
As a former banker, I also advise women to have good records of accounts and have a bank account set up and running, so at any point, financial support is needed, access to funding would be easy.”