PRovoke names Ayeni Adekunle among 25 leading innovators in Europe, Middle East and Africa, says he’s a force for good
Ayeni Adekunle, the founder and CEO of BHM, has been announced as a key innovator in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region by PRovoke for their seventh annual Innovator 25 list.
PRovoke Media, also known as the Holmes Report, is the PR industry’s leading source of news, trends, events, career information and intelligence.
The list serves as a tribute to the leaders who embrace and champion the innovations and development of the PR industry.
For the seventh year, PRovoke said it is celebrating professionals who, during this tough second year of the pandemic, have risen to the occasion and innovated within traditional organisations and those leading the way in communications for new industry areas and categories.
Ayeni started his career as a journalist, spending over 10 years in the field before converting to PR and founding BHM, which is now a prominent public relations and communications company, in November 2006.
Stressing the need for PR professionals to embrace innovation, Ayeni told PRovoke that, “if we want clients, and the world generally to take us seriously and continue to invest in us and what we do, then we must urgently innovate around everything we do, from learning and development to reporting; and even our entire business models.”
In March 2021, Ayeni’s BlackHouse Media (BHM) made a historic move when it opened an office in the UK, becoming the first Nigerian PR agency to open in Europe. In the past, “agency growth across Africa has typically been driven by affiliations and acquisitions by agency holding groups from Europe, the US and Asia, so Adekunle’s bold move is notable,” PRovoke said.
The organisation also described Ayeni as a force for good in the industry for creating two global holidays meant to promote the understanding and importance of influence and PR – “Global Day of Influence, which will be held annually on November 22, is his call to the PR industry and beyond to study, inspire and use influence for good, for example by breaking through disinformation and promoting leadership. And Global PR Day, which will be held on July 16, will be devoted to raising the profile of PR to avoid misunderstanding and misinformation,” it said.
Also featured on the list is England men’s football team manager Gareth Southgate. He is one of the 14 Brits on the list of 25 innovators in EMEA.
