The merger between Larfarge and Holcim to become LafargeHolcim is one that is indeed the highest among its peers. Why do I say so? Well, when an organisation is situated in 90 countries, with 2,500 operations, 32.6 billion CHF net sales, and 115,000 employees and listed at SIX Swiss Exchange and Euronext, then that certainly has to be LarfargeHolcim.
Occupying the enviable seat of Director of Communications, Public Affairs & Sustainable Development, Lafarge Africa Plc is the graceful and cerebral Folashade Ambrose Medebem.
Folashade holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from London Guildhall and a Masters of Business Administration from the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
She was appointed as Director of Communications, Public Affairs & Sustainable Development, Lafarge Africa Plc in October 2016. Prior to this role, she worked as Integration Business Transformation Consultant for LafargeHolcim (LH) focusing on enabling a speedy integration (following worldwide merger of LH) in order to deliver the country business ambition as one holistic organization in Nigeria. She also successfully led culture transformation phase one project towards a safe and high-performance culture project team in alignment with LafargeHolcim values.
Folashade has 25+ years multi-faceted experience across strategy, finance, project, performance and change management functions consistently delivering world-class strategic business transformation solutions in Nigeria and across Europe with a variety of global FSTE 100 businesses including Diageo Plc., PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ford Motor Company (UK & Germany), Zurich Financial Services, Learning & Skills Council UK, Nigeria Ministry of Finance and Department for International Development (DFID) UK, London Borough of Sutton’s Smarter Council, Growbridge UK Management Consultants, Grey Advertising, Bankers Trust, AMP Asset Management and Cohn & Wolfe.
Her track record includes leading and directing cross-functional teams in the deployment of large-scale business system outcomes, change transformations, technology infrastructure and business development initiatives. She has strong communication abilities, is highly business focused and results-oriented with strong influencing leadership skills (inclusive of delivering board level advice/performance reviews) coupled with strong coaching/mentoring of high-performing teams successfully.
A very impressive profile I must say and meeting her just confirmed to me that all I read about her is indeed all she represents: class, brains, calmness, exquisiteness and guts!
It’s one thing to read a lot about an organisation and another thing to get to the organisation and meet exactly what they say they do…talk about ‘practicing what you preach’ and LafargeHolcim is your perfect example. Why do I say so? I say so because one of their core principles among several others is health and safety being an overarching value. They do not take safety literarily because as I walked into their head office building in Ikoyi, the amiable receptionist took her time to share guidelines on safety with me in case of an emergency and she did it so well that at a point in my conversation with her it felt like I was on a flight and the hostess was giving me safety tips.
I was ushered into Folashade’s office and after exchanging pleasantries, the interview commenced.
Folashade was born in England and spent most of her growing up in the UK. She tells me she is greatly inspired by her parents among other things. Hear her “Most of my formative years I gained from being in Nigeria, my parents are my inspiration. My mum helped to shape who I am and also my father too. Aside my parents, leaders who have outstanding legacies inspire me. I am also inspired by books and experience. My intuition influences and guides me so basically, these are things and people that are my inspiration.” She says.
I asked Folashade why she joined LafargeHolcim and her response sufficed “LafargeHolcim is incredibly interesting because no two days are the same for me. My duties which include public affairs agenda, serving in advisory capacity to the board, working and leading the team among others is indeed exciting and so far so good, I am enjoying it. I joined initially as a business transformation consultant and later on kicked off in my new role. I joined them because they are incredibly renowned. It’s a result driven organisation with ethics and integrity that is not negotiable. I love that I am here to make a difference and add value to the organisation” Folashade reveals.
Folashade is committed to lots of learning and leveraging on the digital foot prints but that is not all. Being in such an enviable position as a woman isn’t often the norm but for her, it’s about ceasing the day and challenging the status quo. Again, she speaks “Clearly, there is an imbalance globally so it is about challenging the status quo and like I love to say, its ‘carpe diem’, it is about doing more than just talking and Larfarge is also going to start an initiative for women soon. Engaging with fellow women who are trail blazers is inspiring to me”
Still on the same line of thought, Folashade’s response to the issue of few women on board is something you need to listen to. In her words, “We don’t have enough women on the board and those who are there should feel mandated to mentor and coach others, you must be accountable to those who look up to you. If you have gotten to that pinnacle how many people have you carried along?” very well said, food for thought indeed, I couldn’t agree less with Folashade, we must help others up the ladder too.
Ask Folashade what her professional challenges are and she will first and foremost let you know that they are Opportunities not Challenges. “In my current capacity, my challenge is how I can deepen the stakeholder management and engagement; it’s about partnering and engaging. I am relentlessly ensuring my eyes are on the ball.” She states.
Striking a balance between work and family is what Folashade does efficiently. She reveals this to me when she says “it’s about discipline and knowing that family matters, my family comes first. In the course of my career and journey to where I am today, when I had to move back to the UK, I did, it affected my career but it didn’t matter because family to me isn’t negotiable, they are my priority but even at that, my work excites me and I am enjoying it. My purpose is to invest and inspire myself and then others.”
As busy as Folashade is, she tries her best to catch some fun in her own unique way by spending time at home with her family and also mentoring and coaching too. She tells me more “I am trying hard to learn the piano…it’s been really hard, my daughters are proficient at playing than I am but I think my biggest constraint is finding the time to learn it. I also love travelling because I enjoy experiencing new cultures and visiting museums, I find it fascinating.” Says Folashade.
Being a woman empowerment supporter that she is, I asked Folashade what she would say if she stood in front of a sea of women with different backgrounds and various professions and as the interview drew to a close, her answer said it all. “Be the best you can be and believe it. In life there will certainly be obstacles but it is up to you to decide what you want to do. Be relentless in achieving those presented opportunities, it is very important that you believe you can surmount all hurdles. Learn to reflect inwards and trust your gut intuition. Learn to challenge the status quo and be a trail blazer”
And finally, as a nation, she admonishes “Nigerians needs to speak up more. We have almost forgotten how to speak… say “No”, “YES”, “I suggest”, “Yes I can” and so on… when the need arises. We also need to be united in thoughts that will lead to positive results.”
Kemi Ajumobi
