Pharm. Tolulope Olugbadebo Ajayi is the Chief Executive Officer of Shekinah Specialties Limited, a retail chain pharmacy business and one of the fastest growing pharmacies, with branches in Lagos and Ogun States of Nigeria.
The 1996 graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University Pharmacy School is a self-driven, resourceful and result-oriented management executive, experienced in high volume, multi-unit business operations. He is adept at change management, cost optimisation and systems development, amongst others.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria (FIBM) and the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria (FIMC).
He started his career with locum pharmacy experience at Bernados Pharmacy and was at Nigerian-German Chemicals Plc in 1998 for internship training, which spanned the various aspects of industrial pharmacy practice. He later served under the Hospitals Management Board in Kano State, before being employed as a medical rep at Zoomota Nigeria Limited, representing Novo Nordisk AG Denmark.
Ajayi’s further interests – marketing, management and leadership development – led him to the banking industry with appointment as relationship manager at Standard Trust Bank Plc, which later merged with United Bank for Africa Plc. He grew into branch management positions at the bank, pioneering and stabilising two branches before returning to the pharmacy profession by establishing Shekinah Specialties Limited in 2010.
His passion for coaching and talent management made him secure internship accreditation for Shekinah Specialties Limited. He has successfully mentored about 20 interns to date. Shekinah also partners with Industrial Training Fund for SIWES training of pharmacy students and other science undergraduates.
Ajayi has attended several leadership and management courses and trainings in Customer Service, Relationship Management, Financial Analysis and Control, Lending Ethics, Advanced Credit Structuring, Change Management, Turn Around Strategies, Sales and Marketing with global outfits like Franklin Covey Inc. USA, Leadership and Vision Limited, and many others. He is currently finalising his Fellowship programme at the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists.
He currently serves as vice chairman of ACPN, King Zone Lagos, and has been instrumental to successful anchoring of public health campaigns, both at the zonal and state ACPN levels. He was also chairman, Planning Committee, for the fully self-funded ACPN Lagos 2019 World Pharmacists Day, held in partnership with NGOs, donor agencies and pharmaceutical companies. The programmee impacted over 700 members of the public through health promotion lectures, free health screening, free product samples etc. Unsurprisingly, he is an award winner with ACPN Lagos.
Pharm. Tolulope Ajayi is an alumnus of Abadina College, University of Ibadan, where he serves as chairman, Health and Wealth Committee. He was the pioneer president of the 1988 set that donated 24 units of toilet facility to the college in 2018.
At leisure, he loves solving puzzles, reading and playing indoor games. He is happily married with children.
