Global Brands Magazine Interview with Mr. Omoboyede Oyebolanle Olusanya(Boye) – Group Managing Director/ CEO at Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc

Global Brands Magazine recently had the privilege to interview Mr. Omoboyede Oyebolanle Olusanya (Boye), the Group Managing Director and CEO of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN). Mr. Olusanya shared insights into the strategies and philosophies that have driven the success of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN) under his leadership.

1. Congratulations on winning the award title of Leading Food and Agro-Allied Group, Nigeria, 2024. What does this recognition mean to you and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc?

Thank you. This recognition is a testament to the Group’s unwavering commitment to driving food self-sufficiency in Nigeria and progressively, across the continent, with the end goal of building sustainable food systems.  At the core of our operations are our people whose commitment inspires the Group to feed and enrich lives every day.  So, this recognition is a testament to the tangible effects of our commitment as a sustainability-driven business.  Our consistency in developing local content to reduce dependency on imported raw materials positions us as invaluable stakeholders in growing Nigeria and Africa’s food system. Our footprint remains indelible as we continue to innovate and sustainably build our company in line with global best practices and standards.

Our other major strength is innovation. Our footprint is wide and indelible, but what gives us a strong presence in the consciousness of Nigerians and markets beyond Nigeria is our Golden Penny brand, which contains a rich variety of nutritious food products. Behind this rich variety is a vibrant innovation pipeline, working hard to connect our local content development upstream to value for consumers downstream.

2. With your extensive educational background in Civil Engineering, Computer Science, and Environmental Civil Engineering, how have these diverse fields influenced your approach to leadership and management at FMN?

The concept of leadership allows for positive influence and the ability to honour processes not just an instant end goal. To be able to acquire these trainings and successfully go through the required processes takes a certain level of commitment and discipline. So, progressively, these learnings contribute to every leadership position that I have taken to date. As a Group with about 22 subsidiaries, it is a key management imperative that we put the needs of the consumers at the heart of all we do, and this is attained through established discipline and insights. Therefore, my diverse field portfolios instilled the discipline for process adherence, and the need for innovation across various focus areas. These learnings contribute to the required leadership insights needed to profitably and sustainably run an organization like FMN on a day-to-day basis while managing both existing and emerging human capital needs of the organization.

3. You’ve held various leadership roles across different industries, from telecommunications to manufacturing. How has your experience in these sectors shaped your strategies for leading FMN?

I can capture this in one word “Experience”.  When organizations look for capable human resources to drive their businesses across sectors, the keyword is always ‘Experience’ – the practical acquisition of viable insights in a particular sphere(s) or sector that will be utilized in serving the needs of the organization. The same applies to my experiences over the years, the learnings and insights garnered are what I apply as the GMD/CEO of the Group to ensure that our people are aligned with the Group’s purpose of feeding and enriching lives, every day.

So, if you take a full measure of the FMN Group and its subsidiaries, you will find that our activities cut across some of the major sectors of the Nigerian economy. We are an agribusiness with investments and operations in five agricultural value chains and inputs; obviously, we are major manufacturers too, not just of a very wide range of superior quality food products, but of packaging material at one of our divisions.

One other thing that such diverse exposure at least partly prepares you for is having to deal with a multiplicity of stakeholders. Understanding, for instance, regulation in multiple industrial clusters as well as cross-regulatory issues can be immensely helpful too.

4. Can you share some of the key strategic business and operational changes you have implemented at FMN that have contributed to its current success?

Innovation is at the core of operational and strategic changes. Some of the key pointers here are our use of technology to reinvent our secondary distribution channels, and our adoption of a regional strategy approach for our products to ensure that we can effectively meet the needs of our consumers/customers. Also, we have established innovative solutions in line with our supply chain structure for better access, and to bring our products to our consumers at their various needs’ locations. We are also actively utilizing ERP upgrades for faster decision-making processes and enhancing automation for more effective service deliveries. Our key operational decisions are embedded in our commitment to innovating across various touchpoints through research and real-time data that gives us insights into what the consumers need and how to tailor our products/services to meet these needs.

FMN’s expansion beyond Nigeria is underway. Until recently, we were a wholly Nigerian company whose international presence was largely expressed in a small export footprint. That footprint has been growing significantly in recent years. However, we are now more purposefully taking advantage of the generational opportunity afforded by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to widen and intensify our presence across Africa, beginning with expansion into the West African neighbourhood.

5. Innovation and technology adoption are central to your leadership at FMN. Could you provide some examples of how FMN is embracing these elements to stay ahead in the market?

Emerging and existing data depict that brands that are successfully and sustainably competing in different sectors are brands that are constantly innovating across various focus areas. At the heart of all our processes is the vision of becoming the leading Food Company in Africa, enriching lives with quality brands. To be consistent with this vision, we are constantly renewing our commitment to providing our consumers with superior-quality products that enrich their lives every day. We are not just creating products, we are also creating value, resources, and experiences that allow for long-term growth in line with global best practices and standards. As stated earlier, our technological utilization in the business is across all our focus areas, from operations to supply chain and secondary distribution network.

We are also actively making our product available on e-platforms to enable easier and faster purchases wherever and whenever the consumer deems fit to do so. Also, in line with our local content development mandate to minimize dependency on imported raw materials, we are introducing smart farming techniques like smart irrigation and the utilization of improved seedlings. Also, with the progress made in artificial intelligence, our ERP processes will be an applaudable shift towards automating our processes thus improving process effectiveness and appropriate time utilization.

6. Your career includes notable achievements in business process reengineering and strategy development. How are you applying these skills to drive FMN’s transformation into a dynamic, consumer-focused powerhouse?

Through direct and practical transmission of experience. As a leader, I understand that impact cannot be fully achieved if knowledge is not effectively transferred and utilized in solving real-life challenges. Under my leadership, we have been able to introduce various topline food products that are direct response to our consumers’ needs and nutritional requirements. From our superior quality breakfast cereal called Amazing Day cereal to Chocoh spread, and great tasting noodles flavours that have become our consumers’ favorites. The same approach was adopted in the strategic business growth process for all the Group’s subsidiaries to ensure that we remain at the forefront of growth and innovation.

For instance, one of the Group’s subsidiaries Premier Feed Mill Limited (PFM) launched a new variant (Pro-line), a sophisticated new formulation developed to ensure better outcomes for chicken farmers. Also, to attain the envisaged height, we understand the importance of human capital thus our commitment to propagating relevant structures and policies designed to uplift, transform, and carter for the holistic well-being of our employees. For the past six decades, we have been consistent in affording our consumers superior quality products which endeared our brands to many. We are consistent in our drive to go beyond product offerings to providing a better brand experience. Our innovative efforts allow us to create brands that meet our consumers/customers at their various points of need. This commitment is already being demonstrated by our creation of different product lines that uniquely speak to the needs of consumers through our iconic brand ‘Golden Penny’. While sustainably building our business, we are also committed to maximizing value for shareholders.

7. You have a strong focus on deepening local content within FMN’s operations. Can you elaborate on the initiatives and investments you have introduced to strengthen FMN’s local content-based innovation agenda?

As stated earlier, every achievement and milestone attained by the Group was reached with the people, that is, through the unwavering commitment of the FMN employees and stakeholders. The Group is a functional system and as the GMD/CEO, I am focused on ensuring that our output aligns with our set Purpose and vision. In view of this, I can categorically state that we cannot exhaustively list or discuss FMN’s invaluable contributions towards local content development as this has been an over six decades commitment. for instance, in maize and soybean value chain development, through one of the Group’s subsidiaries, Golden Agri–Inputs Limited (GAIL), in collaboration with West Africa and Investment Hub (WATIH) and USAID we have made remarkable strides in developing local cultivation of maize and soybean. The project was successfully and impactfully executed under the 3^rd phase of project YALWA initiative where over 3, 552 smallholder farmers were empowered to cultivate about 3,680 hectares of maize and soybean.

For over six decades, FMN has been a source of livelihood for millions of Nigerian families a clear demonstration of our commitment to value creation. When we also look at our investment in sugar as a key value chain for the Group, we participated in the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) and Backward Integration Plan (BIP) since its inception in 2012.  Through our subsidiary, Golden Sugar Company, we have invested substantially in the sugar value chain development in our Sunti, Golden Sugar Estate. This is a combined 21,000hectare facility in Niger State in northwest Nigeria, which comprises several vast sugar plantations, a mill, a research and development facility, and supporting infrastructure with over 4,500 small holder farmers functioning as cultivation partners with the Group.

We also initiated progressive agricultural interventions towards driving sugar self-sufficiency in Nigeria and introduced the Outgrower program – a transformative and innovative agricultural intervention designed for local capacity development.  Hundreds of sugarcane farmers under the out-grower scheme were trained and some were sent to countries like Malawi for further upskilling.  The Golden Sugar Company (GSC) by FMN remains a leading driver for self-sufficiency in sugar production by growing the required local capacity to meet the demand for sugar which will stem the tide of unbridled importation of sugar and its by-products.

8. As someone who has successfully led complex transitions and transformations in various organizations, what are the biggest challenges you foresee for FMN in the coming years, and how do you plan to address them?

The Group’s challenges are not peculiar as they relate to other players within our sector. Continuing to adjust, adapt and strategically respond to trends in regional and global economies―let’s remember that there are ongoing regional and global supply chain disruptions, geopolitical instability as well―these will be decisive for any business, including us.

The volatility in the business environment due to unstable macroeconomic indices affects product pricing and as a consumer-centric business, pricing will always be an integral part of our market mix.  Finally, I would also note that the issue of the decline in human capital affects know-how, especially in technical areas like Engineering and finance. I can categorically state that we are already addressing these issues as they emerge. We have maintained an applaudable level of commitment to local content development, and I have cited some notable facts earlier on how we are proactively creating sustainable systems that will ameliorate the effects of these challenges on the business.

9. Looking forward, what are your long-term goals for FMN, and how do you envision the company evolving over the next decade under your leadership?

Every business leader seeks to build a sustainable business that will continue to be of value to humanity and all their stakeholders, and through experience, I know that to achieve this, we must be committed to human capital development. To create a learning, and upskilling enabling environment where we can have the right experts suitable for the FMN of tomorrow. At the top of the list also is the commitment to driving gender parity, especially at the management and Board level, which we have been effectively committing to this mandate within the last decade through the FMN Women Network. It is also a key strategic imperative for us as a Group to operate in line with Global standards and best practices to improve our global competitiveness this is crucial to our vision as an organization.  We are also looking to significantly improve our product offerings based on our consumer data-driven feedback and ensure that all output is of superior quality, a mandate we have maintained for over six decades.

Through this interview, Mr. Omoboyede Oyebolanle Olusanya(Boye) provided a comprehensive view of the strategic direction and innovations propelling FMN forward. His leadership continues to foster growth and sustainability, ensuring FMN’s lasting impact on Nigeria’s food and agro-allied sectors.