The Industry newspaper names panel and moderator for Top 50 Men of Impact 2026
- The Industry Newspaper has announced the panel and moderator for its second Top 50 Men of Impact event.
- The Lagos ceremony on 5 November 2026 will honour 50 Nigerian men and hold a one-hour panel.
- Organisers say the discussion will focus on responsible leadership and building businesses in a tough economy.
The Industry Newspaper has released the names of the people who will lead discussions at the second edition of its Top 50 Men of Impact awards, with the Lagos event set for Thursday, 5 November 2026.
The ceremony will hold at Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, starting at 3 p.m., with the red carpet opening an hour earlier. It is built around a one-hour panel talk, after which the 50 honorees will receive their certificates.
The theme for this year is “Responsibility & Impact: The Role of Men as Builders of Brands, Businesses, and Society.”
Who is on the panel
Five men will sit on the discussion panel. They are Franklin Ozekhome, Executive Vice President for Strategy and Innovation at Chain Reactions Africa; Stephen Onaivi, Managing Director of mediaReach OMD Nigeria; Yinka Adebayo, Executive Director for Media Investments at OMG WeCa, part of Omnicom Media Group; Otis Ojeikhoa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Brands Optimal Limited; and Emmanuel Adediran, known as Charis, a Business Unit Director who also heads strategy, growth and go-to-market at group level for Plus Acuity.
Kenneth Iruonagbe, Group Head of Digital Marketing at Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group, will moderate the session.
Goddie Ofose, Editor-in-Chief of The Industry Newspaper, said the speakers were picked to reflect the different stages of building a business, from running agencies to handling media spending and brand strategy.
“This will not be another talk-shop; it will be a masterclass on responsible leadership and measurable impact,” Ofose said.
He said the event is meant to go beyond celebration and ask what it takes to build brands that last, businesses that create jobs and a society that works.
Why it matters
The Top 50 Men of Impact is an annual list that recognises Nigerian men for leadership in business and in the wider society. For young professionals in marketing, media and advertising, the session offers a chance to hear directly from executives running some of the country’s biggest agencies and brand teams.
Organisers say the conversation will focus on practical lessons for building and sustaining businesses in a difficult economy, a subject that matters to many Nigerians running small firms or looking for work.
The full list of the 50 honorees had not been made public in the reports available.
