Ronke Bamisedun is a Public Relations Consultant and Founder of BWL Agency, a Lagos-based strategic brand development and communications company.

With an undergraduate degree in Media and Communications (Public Relations) from Birmingham City University and a Chartered Institute of Public Relations Diploma in Public Affairs, she began her career in music PR where she had the opportunity to work with some of London’s big music agencies who represented artists like Mark Ronson, Madonna and Florence & The Machine. She talked with The Guardian. Excerpts:

Tell us about your growing up, education, and professional background?
I am the third of four girls. Yes, my dad was a lucky man, right? We were raised to be hardworking females – if you want it, you go get it. My sisters and I are fiercely independent. My dad always told us there was no place for us in ‘the family’ business and my mum always said ‘my girls cannot be housewives’ – even though she is a housewife. Those words removed any safety blanket as well as sense of entitlement from a very young age. We knew we had to go out there and make it by ourselves.

Growing up I had a lot of male friends who were like brothers to me and that has continued. This has made it easy for me to handle male situations in a work environment because I am seen as ‘one of the guys’ whatever that means.

My younger years were spent in Lagos where I went to St. Saviour’s School, Ebute Metta and then unto Vivian Fowler Girls College before I moved to the United Kingdom to finish my studies. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media and Communications (Public Relations) and I hold a CIPR Diploma in Public Affairs and Political Communications.

I’ve been working since I was 16 years old and yet to take a break from my career. My first role was at a Butcher’s store in London. I wanted the extra cash and so worked there on weekends. Then I went into fashion and worked for a bunch of High street stores. Right about the same time, I was struggling on my course in Business school. I hate numbers and anything quantitative so I took a year out to explore Communications which was the best decision I ever made. I interned in a couple of music PR agencies in London.

Can you imagine getting to meet some of your favourite artists? Eventually, I got my first PR job with an agency called Kaizo PR where I worked on some amazing accounts such as House of Marley – a range of products by the Bob Marley Family. I moved back to Nigeria four years ago and took on the role as Head of PR for the InterContinental Hotel and last year I joined Grayling, a top global agency where I headed the Nigerian team.

I now run BWL Agency – the exclusive affiliate of Grayling in Nigeria. We look after the Pernod Ricard Nigeria Portfolio handling brands such as Jameson, Martell, Chivas and Absolute Vodka. I’m also in the process of launching a new fashion platform called SLKT Fashion. SLKT will provide fast fashion for a very under-served demographic at budget prices.

As PR consultant, is there an experience from your career that stands out as one that helped you develop the person you are today?

Click here to continue reading