Ogunnaike Ogundeko is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He joined Michelin Nigeria Ltd. as an industrial engineer. He practiced industrial engineering both in Nigeria as well as in Europe, participating in various major business process changes. As the head of the finished product quality control group, Ogunnaike led the team that guaranteed the quality of the final product in the market both in Nigeria and Europe. In this capacity, he was responsible for solving quality problems within the passenger car, light truck, bicycle, and truck tire categories; as well as participating in the development of new products to enhance the performance of Michelin products in the market.
Ogunnaike spent 6 years in the management of various production processes until he was appointed the Production Manager of the Nigerian factory, responsible for the manufacturing processes from the reception of raw materials to the delivery of the final products. In this capacity, he led various teams, upgrading and modernizing the entire manufacturing process as well as manufacturing the first Nigerian tubeless truck tires. For over 12 years he practiced the management of human, material, and financial resources; planning, scheduling, organizing, motivating, coaching, and training of staff, to help the employees get to the peak of their potential as well as build very effective and efficient teams to help achieve the company objectives.
He ventured into Entrepreneurship by founding and managing a Total Quality and Business process re-engineering consulting firm. As Managing director of Wit Consult, he helped numerous companies re-engineer their business processes, develop functional structures, and regain profitability through enhancement in productivity and reduction of waste. Ogunnaike broadened his scope by wading into the Oil and Gas industry, in the capacity of Operations Manager for “Centrilift” and “Production Quest” (Baker Hughes), 2 product lines offered to the Oil companies for secondary recovery of crude oil using Electrical Submersible pumps and downhole monitoring systems.
He developed his hitherto untapped marketing skills, honing his marketing and engineering application skills to build yearly revenues above 20 million dollars. This he did for 3 years. In his last role in Schlumberger, he was responsible for the logistics and warehousing of all spares and equipment within the Sub-Saharan African region; the ordering, collection, transportation, outward and inward Customs clearance with accessorial port handling, and warehousing, ensuring lead times are kept to the barest minimum, guaranteeing the integrity of the stores and warehouses.
With his background in production, Ogunnaike understood the importance of logistics, and thus took up the vital role of the business enabler to ensure the operations went on uninterrupted. Equally important in this role was the need to develop logistics strategies within the sub-Saharan region to navigate the complex customs hurdles which varied per country and warehouse strategies to constantly ensure the most relevant spares were close to the locations that were most in need of them. To achieve this, and with the consent of Schlumberger management, Ogunnaike created 3 distribution hubs in Ghana, Congo, and Tanzania to serve all the countries in Sub Sahara Africa.
Most recently Ogunnaike has received the prestigious certification as a Black Belt Lean Six Sigma practitioner.
Since Sept 2020, Ogunnaike has been working on various projects within the Telecommunications, Mining, and Oil & Gas industries in Nigeria and neighbouring African countries as a consultant.
Apart from the English language, Ogunnaike is very fluent in spoken and written French.