Nigerian Ukonwa Ojo becomes MAC Cosmetics Senior Vice President for Global Marketing

Many women of colour are shifting paradigms and leading multi-million-dollar companies/ventures and changing the narrative about black folks and Ukonwa Ojo, a passionate marketer and business leader, is not an exception.

This week, beauty brand MAC Cosmetics announced Coty’s Ojo – a Nigerian – as its senior vice president for global marketing, a newly created role at the company.

Ojo who left the company in January as chief marketing officer will now resume into the newly-created role of senior vice-president for global marketing effective from December 2.

Ojo reportedly played the most significant role in the brand’s 60-year history that led to the Covergirl brand exceptional facelift and also introduced ‘I Am What I Make Up’, a tagline which highlights her idea of a company with strong diversity and inclusion.

She isn’t just an ordinary woman. She is a graduate of UNC Kenan Flagler Business School. She also holds an MBA in finance, marketing and international business from the Kellogg School of Management. She was named as World Federation of Advertisers’ Global Marketer of the Year, and WWD’s Brand Builder of the Year.

She has also been named on Business Insider’s list of 25 Most Innovative CMOs, Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 and the Financial Times Top 100 List of Minority Executives for three consecutive years.

With her 22 years wealth of experience, Ojo’s new role entails overseeing MAC Cosmetics’ Consumer Marketing and Product Marketing teams as well as its brand positioning and strategy.

She will also serve as the key global partner to MAC Cosmetics’ regional teams whilst working through regions to bring consumer engagement strategies, product innovations and brand awareness in key markets.

MAC Cosmetics Senior Vice President/General Manager Philippe Pinatel whom she will be reporting to describes her as “a true brand builder who imbues a fast-moving entrepreneurial spirit and truly embodies the brands that she works on.”

“She looks at brands holistically from the viewpoint of everyone, not just one singular consumer, which is crucial to the DNA of MAC, and I am excited for her to lead our marketing teams in this consumer-centric approach,” he added.

Ojo did not just rise to the top, she held the role of Senior Vice President of Covergirl for three years and repositioned the brand. Before joining Coty, Ojo worked with leading companies such as Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser PLC, General Mills Corporation and Meadwestvaco Corporation.