Fela Durotoye was recently appointed as Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Values & Social Justice.
Fela is a business consultant, leadership expert, and motivational speaker. He is the President of the Gemstone Nation Builders Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to training youths in transformational leadership and fostering social change. Also, he was one time the presidential candidate for the Alliance for New Nigeria party (ANN) in the 2019 presidential elections.
Early Life and Education
He was born on May 12, 1971, in Ibadan Southwest Nigeria, as the third child and second son, and was given the name Oluwafeolami, which means “God has enlarged my territory.”
In 1972, along with his siblings, the family relocated to the university town of Ile-Ife, where Fela grew up in the campus’ staff quarters.
He began his education at the Staff Children’s School (1974-1981), where he actively participated in activities such as the Boys Scouts, and School Band, and took on the lead role in a school play.
He continued his education at Moremi High School (1981-1986), where he became the lead singer and keyboardist of the youth band “The Midwaves,” which frequently appeared on television.
He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science with Economics and later pursued a master’s degree in business administration (M.B.A) from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
For his MBA thesis, he focused on “The Management of Change in Complex Organizations”.
Fela is also an alumnus of the Kennedy School of Government Executive Education program at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
He also attended the High Impact Leadership for a Better Society Program at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as well as The Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia, all within the United States of America. Furthermore, he is a certified leadership coach affiliated with the John Maxwell Team.
In 2015, Fela completed the Executive Seminar program on Strategy, Innovation, and governance, with a specific focus on Sustainability for NGOs and Corporate Organizations at the prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS).
Also in 2015, he concluded the supernumerary police training program at the Nigerian Police Training School in Ikeja, where he received the Distinguished Student Award at his graduation and passing out parade.
Career
In 1992, Fela Durotoye began his career as a financial analyst at Ventures & Trusts Limited. By 1998, he had risen to head the customer service department at Phillips Consulting Limited.
In the year 2000, Fela took the entrepreneurial leap and founded V.I.P Consulting Limited, which swiftly gained recognition for its expertise in customer and human management in Nigeria.
This company transformed and transitioned from being a consulting firm to a social enterprise known as Visible Impact Limited.
Fela Durotoye is a sought-after facilitator and speaker at management and leadership retreats, both within Nigeria and abroad.
In 2018, he addressed a gathering of over 200 entrepreneurs at the inaugural Nigerian American Business Forum in Tampa, Florida.
At this event, he shared the stage with notable figures such as senior senator Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi, senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Nigerian Stock Exchange chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo, media pioneer Biodun Shobanjo, former governor Peter Obi, and technologist Ade Olufeko.
Fela Durotoye has also lectured on Ethical Leadership at the prestigious Stanford University and has also contributed to the Seed Program, guiding CEOs of businesses with operations spanning the African continent.
Over the years, he applied his profound insights, knowledge, and experience to assist numerous organizations in managing corporate transformation and culture across various sectors, including financial services, oil & gas, telecommunications, manufacturing, and FMCGs, among others.
In his personal life, Fela is married to Tara, a renowned and celebrated makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur who serves as the CEO of House of Tara International. Together, they have three sons.
