Mr. John Ajayi is the publisher/CEO of MARKETING EDGE publication, he has put 30 long years into journalism practice. He was a pioneer reporter on the advertising and marketing beat where he gained his legendary reputation as an authority in reporting the multi-billion naira marketing communications industry. A graduate of English Language from the University of Lagos and a Master’s degree holder from the same institution, Mr. Ajayi worked with some of Nigeria’s renowned media organizations including TheNEWS magazine, THISDAY Newspaper, and The Comet.

His devotion to the growth of the marketing communications industry inspired him to start MARKETING EDGE almost 20 years ago, a publication that has now become the most authoritative voice of the industry, and the leading advertising and marketing publication in Nigeria, with the company itself having metamorphosed into a multi-channel media group that cuts across print, online, broadcast and OOH; and with a subsidiary, Media Edge, that is into 360-degree marketing communications offerings.

In further pursuit of the vision, Mr. Ajayi, in 2013, signposted the 10th anniversary of the company with the flag-off of an annual two-in-one event: the National Marketing Stakeholders Summit and the Brand and Advertising Excellence Awards, an event which, on the one hand, galvanizes the industry to rub minds on a contemporary and topical issue in an effort to extend the frontiers of knowledge in the business of brand management and the management of the brand business as well as provide the environment for stakeholder engagement to chart the way forward for the industry. The awards event, on the other hand, is a platform that honours outstanding product, corporate, institutional, and personality brands across marketing communication and other sectors. The two-in-one event has since grown to become another pace-setting and torch- bearing initiative from Mr. Ajayi and, over the last ten editions, has enjoyed a consistent rise in profile and equity, both locally and internationally.