This rapidly developing region is important to ICOM as the network’s clients expand in these fast-growing markets. ICOM Board chairperson Bob Morrison (also president-CEO, The Morrison Agency, USA) said that in appointing Adeoye-Famosa, the ICOM board wanted a strong member to continue advancing ICOM’s position in the region. Primus Advertising, which joined ICOM in 2008, is ICOM’s longest-serving and most experienced African member. ICOM also has agency members in Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia in the sub-Saharan region.

Accepting the appointment, Adeoye-Famosa said his goals include expanding the number of ICOM representatives in the region by recruiting members in countries not yet represented, building and creating new partnerships, and facilitating better coordination throughout the region.

“We plan to be well prepared to provide our international clients with the broadest African communications footprint available and will aggressively pursue new joint business opportunities for ICOM members and make ICOM a highly-recognisable name across the region,” said Adeoye-Famosa.

His career has spanned a range of marketing and management positions both on the client and agency sides in Ghana and Nigeria. He has managed both major local and multinational brands including Daewoo, Nestle, Panasonic, Peugeot and Texaco. At Primus, he has been instrumental in bringing on board GSK, Microsoft, Pepsi, Samsung and Total Petroleum among many others. Under his leadership, the agency has won a number of industry awards for its work, including the Most Promising Advertising Agency of the year 2005 and a number of GONG GONG Awards of the Advertising Association of Ghana.

In his new ICOM post, Adeoye-Famosa succeeds Peter Jackson, whose Johannesburg agency Volcano Group, resigned from ICOM when his agency was acquired by multinational WPP’s Grey Advertising recently.