Senator Akinola Babalola Odunsi has always wanted to be an Advertising man right from his days in school. An old boy of the CMS Grammar School, Bariga, he studied mass communication at the University of Lagos where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in 1972. He immediately left for the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA, graduating with a Masters in Advertising in July 1973.

He worked briefly with Vince Cullers Advertising in Chicago before returning to Nigeria in 1974 to join Grant Advertising. He later moved to Admark Advertising where he became the first Nigerian Chief Executive in 1976.

Two years later, in 1978, Odunsi co-founded Rosabel Advertising with Steve Omojafor and Tunde Adelaja. He was the agency’s Managing Director until 1997 when he became its Executive Chairman. He held various positions with then Association of Advertising Practitioners of Nigeria, before serving as President of the association from 1989 to 1992. Odunsi retired as Executive Chairman of Rosabel Leo Burnett in 2003, turning his attention to community engagement and politics.

In 2011, as a candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, he won the Ogun West Senatorial District and gave his people quality representation in the Senate. Four years later, he ran unsuccessfully for the Governorship of Ogun State on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He remains a great pride to his roots in Ogun State, a good mentor to many in the marketing communications world, a supporter of worthy standards, and an accomplished professional and worthy entrepreneur in various sectors of the communications business.

For his lifelong devotion to advancing the frontiers of knowledge and strengthening the media as a market place of ideas for free and commercial speech to thrive, the Trustees of DAME are delighted to confer on Senator Akin Odunsi, the 24th DAME Lifetime Achievement Award.