Dipo Olowookere
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Mrs Adenike Macaulay has been appointed as the chief executive of the reputable travel platform, Wakanow, effective January 2023.
In a statement, it was disclosed that the appointment of Mrs Macaulay, who has been with the firm since 2021 as the chief commercial officer, was approved by the board.
She is a transformational leader with several years of experience in the travel industry.
Prior to joining Wakanow, she was the first female and first Nigerian to be appointed as General Manager of Sales for Lufthansa Group in Nigeria & Equatorial Guinea, where she led the teams in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Malabo, driving all commercial and sales activities for Lufthansa Group in the region.
“The past 18 months with Wakanow have been immensely exciting as we have recorded several milestones and record-breaking results in the history of the company.
“I’m excited to take on the new responsibility saddled upon me by the board and management of Wakanow and look forward to leading and building with an immensely talented team,” she said.
On his part, the group CEO of the organisation, Mr Bayo Adedeji, while speaking on the appointment, said, “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Adenike Macaulay as the Chief Executive Officer of Wakanow.
“She has been an invaluable addition to the management of Wakanow since she joined us and with her vast experience and exposure in the aviation sector, we definitely will consolidate our growth trajectory in Nigeria”.
“We are expanding into new verticals and Countries in Africa & beyond to take advantage of new business opportunities in the emerging competitive landscape leveraging our deep competence and expertise in the travel tech industry, and I will be leading this venture as Group CEO,” he added.
Mrs Macaulay is the immediate past Chairperson of the International Air Transport Association Local Customer Advisory Group (LCAG) and Vice Chair of the IATA Agency Program Joint Council (APJC).
She holds an MBA from the University of Warwick in the UK, a BSc in Systems Engineering from the University of Lagos, and a Professional Diploma from the Digital Marketing Institute, Ireland, amongst other qualifications.
The new CEO was recently recognized by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Africa’s Travel and Hospitality industry. She was also recognized by Leading Ladies Africa as one of Nigeria’s 100 most inspiring women in 2019, by Guardian Nigeria as Woman of the week in March 2019, and by Poets & Quants as one of the top 100 MBAs worldwide in 2020.
Wakanow has become renowned for her support to local and international airlines and for enhancing the Nigerian aviation industry with distinct products and services.
The travel tech company is built to cater to all the travel needs of travel enthusiasts, from flights, hotels, holiday experiences, visa processing, and COVID-19 tests, among other offerings for Nigerian travellers.
