Oluwarantimi Olaniyan: PR Professional Not Defined by Gender

Olusegun Adeleke

If there is any major dynamic that has changed in the business of integrated marketing communications in Nigeria, it was the “unbundling” of the business which has produced professionals in different segments of the business unlike in the past when everything was under one roof. And with the coming up these professionals, women have formed a sizeable number among them. One of this women is a certain Oluwarantimi Olaniyan who is currently the Chief Operation Officer (COO) and Head of Business at Quadrant MSL, of the nation’s leading strategic communications and public relations firm.

Ranti, as friends call her, is not the regular public relations practitioner who engages the media just to get stories published or dealing with clients to ensure the account balance of the company of the group keeps increasing. She brings a personal touch to her job and with an incredible ability to work under pressure. And another thing that stands her out is her honesty when dealing with both clients and partners. Even her surbordinates attest to her ability to bring the best out of them even while, albeit in a friendly manner, driving them almost to the edge in order to get results and meet clients’ expectations.

“Ranti is one boss who will not shout at you but will ensure you get results even if you have to bend double to achieve that,” one of her team members told THISDAY. “She is one boss I like working with. And there is no way you work with Ranti and you would not like her. She is a goal-getter who us making waves in an industry dominated by men.”

With over 12 years of experience as an Africa-focused strategic communications and advocacy   advisor, Ms. Olaniyan’s  work   spans   development,   public   affairs   and   corporate communications,   including   recent   impact  and  sustainability  work  designing  and establishing foundation programmes for key business leaders and organisations.

As   COO and Head   of   Business,   she   oversees   business   operations   and   directs communications delivery, social impact framework design, influencer management and client service for clients across a variety of sectors, including energy, aviation, financial services, fintech, edtech, fast moving consumer goods and public affairs. She is also responsible for driving compliance efforts in line with the operations standards set by the global MSL group (a part of Publicis Groupe) and the regional Insight Redefini group (Publicis Nigeria).

Since her appointment, innovation has been the major strand of the company’s DNA typified in the creation of three innovation assets: Q-Intel, a public affairs intelligence advisory  asset  shared weekly with business leaders; Q-Impact, a social impact and sustainability aligned service for development-focused players; as well as Q-Talks, an industry-meets-issues  thought-leadership  platform  featuring  business  leaders  in the market.

Under her leadership, Quadrant MSL also expanded its clientele portfolio by over 35% with   new   projects   in   reputation   management,   strategic   communications   and sustainability, while witnessing record revenue growth on the back of new innovation projects in fintech, edtech and FMCG.

Oluwarantimi was recently acknowledged as Changemaker in Public Relations by The Industry Awards in 2023; Young PR Talent of the Year by Nigerian Media Merit Awards in 2022; and one of the Top 35 Marketing Communications Professionals Under 35 by Brandcom Awards.  She is passionate about conversations around sustainability and other ESG practices and regularly contributes on several panels along similar themes.

Some of her previous and current clients include, amongst many others, an international development  actor  driving  health  and  financial  inclusion  discourse;  a  global  dairy company investing in regenerative agricultural practices in West Africa; as well global   non-alcoholic   beverage   company   driving   women   empowerment,   water management and a world without waste globally.

As an ardent advocate for sustainability practices, partnerships and communications for development,  she  believes that Africa’s  development will be driven by partnerships, local  insights  and  mutual  understanding.  She  serves  as  Director of Partnerships at Orisun Collective Inc, a US-based non-profit encouraging creativity and design-thinking among Nigerian youth between the ages of 14 and 19 years.

Oluwarantimi, who started her career in banking, is a graduate of Babcock University, with  a  Master degree in  Corporate  Communications  and  Reputation  Management  from Alliance Manchester Business school.

During recent International Women’s Week, Olaniyan told THISDAY that it was great being a woman but greater being one of those making impacts in her chosen career. She added that she was happy that women are not just breaking the glassing ceiling, they have succeeded in breaking it and are now making waves in their chosen career.

“What we have proved as women is that the opportunities we have been asking for were not just to make the right noises, but to prove that the womenfolk can perform if given the chance,” she stated.

She added that in her career so far, she has been able to prove that she did not have to beg for any opportunity because she was a woman but because she believed she was capable as a professional irrespective of her gender. According to her, this has been her guiding principle; first as a banker and now as a public relations practitioner.

The ‘unbundling’ of the integrated marketing industry might have produced many professionals focusing on various segments of the profession. The greater joy is that it has produced the likes of Oluwarantimi Olaniyan who are making waves. Not because of their gender. But simply because of their competence.