Global PR firm, PRovoke Media, has listed Anthony Chiejina, group head of corporate communications, Dangote Industries Limited, as one of the "100 most influential communications and marketing executives in the world" in 2024, and for the fourth consecutive year.
Mr Chiejina was among the 100 influencers for 2021, 2022, and 2023, and shares the 2024 illustrious list with global communications, brand and marketing executives such as Bea Perez, executive vice president (EVP), global chief communications, sustainability & strategic partnerships officer, Coca-Cola; Andreas Bartels; head of communications, Lufthansa; AJ Jones; EVP, chief corporate affairs officer, Starbucks, and Steve John, chief communications & brand officer, HSBC.
Unveiling the list for 2024, PRovoke Media said, that against the "backdrop of major geopolitical, economic, societal, cultural and environmental upheaval around the world, corporations and brands continue to face intense consumer, media and stakeholder scrutiny," even as "...their senior communications and marketing executives are expected to deliver more than ever, faster than ever."
It noted: "Meanwhile, smart CEOs recognise that trusted communications counsel is not only integral to reputation and transformation but is business-critical in such uncertain times - and the 100 names on our 2024 list provide ample evidence of this recognition."
In terms of demography, 44% of the 100 Influencers "are new entrants this year, although a handful are re-entries who are now in different high-profile roles," PRoke Media said, adding: "Unsurprisingly, CMOs, CCOs and corporate affairs chiefs based in the Americas remain dominant, making up 50% of the list, the same as last year."
Asia Pacific representation is about the same as last year, at 12%, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa, make up 38% of this year's cohort.
"Of these, European leaders constitute 28%, (including 11% from the dominant regional UK market), and Middle East and North Africa representation at 10%," the PR firm said, explaining that "Overall, 20 countries are represented in the 2024 data, demonstrating the global reach and power of the communications industry."
The gender ratio of the 100 influencers for 2024 is 59% female and 41% male.
PRovoke Media's senior editorial team compiles the list every year based on research and external nominations, according to the following criteria:
The nominee's status within their organisations, as well as the profile and topicality of those organisations. Only one person can be selected from each company.
The nominee's influence over the PR agencies where they work, and the budget they control.
Their thought leadership within - and occasionally beyond - the communications industry, and their reputation for innovation, and gender balance and racial diversity, as well as geographical spread.
Also, on the list this year are Abhinav Kumar, global chief marketing officer, TCS; Alex Aiken, communications advisor, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Allyson Park, chief communications officer, Walmart; Amy Bonitatibus, chief corporate affairs & communications officer, PayPal.
Other include Zenia Mucha, chief brand & communications officer TikTok; Vanessa Broadhurst, EVP, global corporate affairs, Johnson & Johnson; Valerie Tan, SVP corporate communications, CSR & Media, Emirates; Sally Susman, EVP, chief corporate affairs officer, Pfizer; Sandy Rodriguez, global chief communications officer, McDonalds, and Karine Jean-Pierre, US White House Press Secretary.
Mr Chiejina was selected alongside 99 other communications and marketing executives of highly rated government agencies, global corporations and conglomerates.
A 1981 Mass Communications graduate of the University of Lagos, Mr Chiejina has acquired advanced degrees including an M.Sc. Industrial Relations & Personnel Management, University of Lagos (1984), an M.A. in Organisational Analysis & Behaviour, University of Lancaster, UK (1988) and an M.A. Development Studies, Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague, Netherlands (1994).
He served in senior roles as a journalist including Associate Editor & Deputy Editor of African Economic Digest, London, Editorial Advisor for the Seven-Up Bottling Company, and African Concord, Lagos.
He has worked with Zenith Bank Plc and Oceanic Bank International Plc where he left indelible communications, brand and marketing stamps as Assistant, Deputy General Manager and Group Head of Corporate Communications.
Mr Chiejina has repositioned communications service delivery at Dangote Industries Limited. As group chief branding and communications officer, he oversees all communications strategies across business units and the group's pan-African operations. Mr Chiejina has been with the company for 14 years in senior communications roles overseeing the group's scooping of awards across the African continent.
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The Dangote Group has been named the most admired/favourite indigenous brand on the continent for the last six years by Brand Africa.
This year it came second in a newly introduced sustainability category for "brands doing good for people, society and the environment."
"The (Dangote) brand portends the inevitability of Nigeria's global ascendancy and a gateway to regional and continental development," Mr Chiejina says of his employer.
Mr Chiejina is a recipient of numerous academic distinctions and awards including Salzburg Fellow for Gifted Mid-Career Professional, Austria; British Government Scholarship for Graduate Studies, Netherlands Fellowship, University of Lagos Scholar 1982 and 1984, University of Oslo, Norway, Fellowship, and Fellow of the Oxford University Centre of Corporate Reputation.
He is also a member of the American Public Relations Association, the British Public Relations Association, an Associate Member, of the Institute of Directors, and a Fellow of the Association of Sustainability Professionals of Nigeria.
