Our mission to move Nigerian economy forward- Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Change consultant, Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta is the organiser of Change Leadership Executive Roundtable billed to hold in Toronto this July, which will bring together a group of Nigerian executives and business leaders to chart a course towards achieving change and innovation in the Nigerian economy. In this interview, Akpoveta who is also the CEO of Olive Blue, a global change management consultancy firm talks about the upcoming event and other issues. Excerpts… The current business environment is posing serious challenges to many CEOs of companies. How do you think they can survive?

 Simple as it may sound, the survival of organisations will require strong leaders. Leaders who are able to successfully lead change; innovate and diversify, be responsive to change, mobilise, engage and motivate employees, swift in making critical decisions, and focused amongst other skills. That is why we are putting together the ‘Change Leadership Executive Roundtable’, which provides a forum to help and equip leaders to successfully lead change in times of economic uncertainties, and achieve higher levels of success, growth and market leadership in their respective sectors, and increase return on investments. How receptive are Nigerian companies or CEOs to change? There is the saying by Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher that change is the only constant thing in life. Whether or not we are receptive to change, it has never stopped it from happening. In my experience, Nigerian companies understand this philosophy of change. From the banking to the telecommunications industry, taking on tremendous change in the past 10years, constantly reinventing themselves to stay relevant and some are doing so successfully over the years. While some may fall through the cracks or struggle to remain relevant and successful, by and large every organisation is in the business of succeeding, and therefore needs not only to be receptive to change, but embrace it. This roundtable is an opportunity to bolster our effectiveness in leading change to drive higher returns on investment and collectively move the Nigerian economy forward. And one of the ways this can be done is through effective change leadership. You are organising a programme to empower leaders and organisations … (Cuts in) The Change Leadership series is a Pan-African corporate and entrepreneurial sequence of events that is held annually, and is aimed at driving positive change by empowering leaders, entrepreneurs and corporations to become effective change leaders and to lead transformational change. For successful change to occur, it takes strong leadership and commitment, and strong leadership requires growth and continuous learning. ‘The Change Leadership’ roundtable meets these needs and provides a forum to help leaders and organisations become more effective in driving results, achieve higher levels of success, growth and market leadership in their respective sectors. Does your programme recognise the fact that change management involves identifying and adjusting to some form of cultural norms from country to country? How do you adapt that to individuals or companies from different regions of the world? The Change Leadership series definitely recognises the need to tailor our content to fit the respective nuances and culture of its participants. The aim of the Executive Roundtable being held for Nigerian business leaders in July is to strive for the leaders to learn from one another on how they have been able to achieve success and manage challenges within the Nigerian context and culture. Your firm Olive Blue is a global change management consultancy, which notable companies have you worked with previously and what did you help them achieve? OliveBlue Consultancy and our consultants have worked with JPMorgan Chase, Loblaws, General Motors, Delta State Government, Phillips Consulting, Royal Bank of Canada, Deloitte &Touche, The Project Management Institute and British Telecom to deliver training, as well as strategic and business critical projects. These include transformational projects such as organisational restructuring, mergers and acquisition, business re-engineering, regulatory, and technology implementations. Tell us more about the executive round-table billed to hold in Toronto this year The Executive Roundtable holding in Toronto will take place from the 6th – 8th of July, 2016 at the renowned Ritz Carlton Hotel. It is an exclusive event that will bring together fifty executive and business leaders to mastermind with each other on leading change, innovation and exploring opportunities for diversification, and to also learn from the number one global leadership expert, John Maxwell and other renowned speakers. Why did you decide to have it in Toronto? Toronto was chosen as the location for the Executive Roundtable to provide something different, as well as provide untapped opportunities. Also, Toronto is the business and financial capital of the country and one of the world’s largest financial centres. Nigeria is one of Canada’s largest trading partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, with growing opportunities for bilateral trade. Canada has also cultivated relationships in Africa for over five decades working with countries to boost development outcomes including promoting economic opportunities. Who are the primary targets for this event? The Executive Roundtable is primarily targeted at bringing C-Suite executives together. This encompasses a range of leaders from CEOs, Executive leaders, and Senior Management of organisations to senior public sector leaders in Nigeria focused on leading transformational change. In attendance also at our opening cocktail reception and dinner gala will be Canadian business people and government officials, and members of the Nigerian and African Diaspora. Give us a brief background on some of the major speakers that will be attending this event We have a great line up of speakers but we would like to emphasise that this is not a conference where speakers talk to you from a podium. To this effect our line up speaks to individuals who have over time through experience gained strategies to lead change and innovative practices that work in our unique environment. These leaders are here to share and impart knowledge as well as receive from their peers so there is something for everyone. On that note we have John C. Maxwell, number one New York Times bestselling author, coach, speaker and America’s top leadership authority. He is founder of the John Maxwell Company and has trained more than 5 million leaders in nearly every country of the world. Other notable guest speakers include: Foluso Phillips, CEO& Chairman, Phillips Consulting Nigeria; Jeremy Gutsche, award winning Innovation expert; Segun Agbaje, CEO GTBank Nigeria; Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the Nigerian President on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora; Arole Oodua Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife and an astute Real Estate mogul; and Samuel O. Oboh, an accomplished Architect in Africa and Canada, and 2015 President of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and President of INSPIRARQX. What major organisations have you partnered with for this event? The event is being presented by OliveBlue Incorporated, alongside well established partners and collaborators such as The Guardian, Phillips Consulting, Planet Africa Group, Bella Naija, Mayday Live Nigeria, and AfroGloblal Television.