Olusegun Osunkeye
Olusegun Osunkeye: Boardroom Guru
If we were to rank corporate chieftains in Nigeria like footballers, Olusegun Osunkeye, managing director of Nestle Foods Plc, would comfortably be in the first eleven. He would in addition, be one of the possible players to wear the captain's band.
No doubt, Osunkeye is a star player starring for an equally well know team. Or, how else can one describe the well-respected manager who runs a big efficient company like Nestle Foods Plc. For those who thought that the change of name from Food Specialities Nigeria Limited would impact negatively o the company now know better. The company has maintained, and even improved, on its record of high quality brands and encouraging profitability. Without any iota of doubt, Nestle Foods is the best known name in the production of high quality baby formulae. Its other brands like Milo, Nescafe, Maggi cubes and Maggi two minute noodle, and other highly -sought-after products, are market leaders. In fact, Nestle Foods is synonymous with high quality.
This is, however, not surprising to the watchers of the industry in the country who are aware that Nestle Foods is a highly capitalised company. A few years ago, the company took a bold step by commissioning a N550 million hydrolised protein plant factory at Agbara industrial estate in Ogun State. The plant serves as a regional production centre for the ECOWAS sub-region. The move, Osunkeye had then explained, was anchored on the belief of Nestle in ECOWAS noting that "we can do inter regional trading, produce to the maximum and export to other countries and increase trade in the region."
Nestle Foods, despite the harsh and often unstable operating environment, has continued to do well. A very notable example can be found in the company's operating results in 1994. That year witnessed the worst crisis precipitated by the ruling class through its unexplained annulment of the presidential election held the previous year.
It is instructive that under that situation, the company recorded a rather mind-blowing turn over of N2.35 billion, a 33 percent improvement over the performance of the previous year while profit after tax stood at N220 million as against the 1993 figure of N180 million, a 39 percent jump. Expectedly, the company's fortunes continued to rise steadily. Nestle Foods is truly resilient. So is its chief manager.
A popular maxim has it hat those who fail to play are only plotting their own failure. Osunkeye is among those who assiduously plan to succeed. AS a young man, he had adequately prepared himself by acquiring all the knowledge and skill he needed for his future role. He attended the Nigerian College of Arts and Science, Ibadan between 1960 and 1962.
After a spell as an accounting staff of Peat, Marwick,, Ogunde and company, a firm of chartered accountants, the young Osunkeye proceeded to London in pursuit of his dream of being an accountant. With that achieved, he returned to Nigeria and pitch his tent with the then Food Specialties Nigeria Limited, a decision that turned out to be his best in life.
Not too long after, he made it to the exalted position of executive director in 1973. His visit to Malaysia in 1978 must have revolutionised his outlook as he was a witness to what has become as the Malaysian miracle' his visit to Switzerland, the international headquarters of Nestle in 1980, also exposed him to a number of courses, which no doubt, had an influence o his business administration outlook.
Newswatch June 29, 1998
" Newswatch 1998