Wakanow has appointed Adebayo Adedeji as interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Adedeji, who is the current Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of the company, has been responsible for driving the transition program of Wakanow since mid-2019.
Prior to taking up his CCO role at Wakanow, he was a Senior Finance Manager at Amazon.com, in charge of fulfillment supporting product teams in 16 countries.
He was also responsible for driving topline, profitability, inventory optimization, seller promotion, and improved customer experience through technical product innovation. Previously, he served as a senior finance professional in the consumer retails sector, including Petsmart and Walmart Stores.
According to a statement from Wakanow, “Adedeji is assuming his new responsibilities at a time of great excitement for the company which is on the cusp of transition and significant positive change.
“The Board of Wakanow is confident that Mr. Adedeji will provide an invaluable contribution to setting goals and objectives for the company’s future growth, whilst also providing the administrative guidance and direction required during this period of significant transition and transformation.
“The Board believes this leadership transition will place Wakanow in a strong position to increase its reach and product offering and to deliver on its growth plans for the future.”
Adedeji will replace Obinna Ekezie who has been CEO since he founded the company in 2008. He built the travel company by spending millions on aggressive offline marketing that it became a household name. Another plus for Ekezie is that it was at his behest the Wakanow raised $40 million from The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager.
Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding Ekezie’s exit from the company is unclear as a number of reports say that he was forced out as CEO.
Wakanow is Africa’s leading, a full-service online travel company with offices in Nigeria, and in many parts of the world – Dubai, Ghana, Kenya, as well as in the United Kingdom. Wakanow has been able to grow its customer base and market share since the end of the last calendar year as it continues to service its customers and maintain its best value proposition with improved product offering & customer service.
