Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade

Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade is a Nigerian integrated communications professional, currently the communications and public affairs manager for Google West Africa.

Early life and education
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His early education took place at Bols International School in Lagos, Nigeria. For his junior and senior secondary education, Taiwo attended Molusi College, an illustrious co-educational institution established on 27 January 1949. Molusi College is renowned for developing innovation and creativity through quality education. After completing his secondary education, Taiwo pursued higher education at Lagos State University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry. Subsequently, he obtained a Master of Business Administration.

Insight Publicis
After completing his academic education, Taiwo began his professional career at Insights Grey, which is now known as Insight Publicis. Insight Publicis is an integrated communications group based in West Africa, with a focus on branding and integrated marketing communications. He joined as a Management Trainee and, through dedication and a display of astute professional skills, climbed the ranks to become an Accounts Director. During his tenure at Insight Publicis, Taiwo played a crucial role in supporting and eventually overseeing accounts for several prominent brands, including BankPHB, Samsung, Nokia, Tecno, and Infinix.

Google
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade joined Google in 2011 and is currently serving as the Communications and Public Affairs Manager for the West Africa region, based out of the company's Nigeria office.

In this role, Taiwo is responsible for managing communications and public relations. He has established and maintains strategic relationships with the press in West Africa. He also leads conversations with publishers and editors related to Google News Lab and the Google News Initiative (GNI), supporting press and media in Africa. His work involves facilitating innovation and storytelling within African newsrooms.

In addition, Taiwo supports with coordinating press and media training engagements across Sub-Saharan Africa, emphasising data skills acquisition in newsrooms and maintaining Google's media relations. He has collaborated with various organisations, including the World Bank and Code-4-Africa, to enhance the use of online technologies in African newsrooms.

Furthermore, Taiwo works with editors and publishers in conducting skills analyses and developing training programs. He also disseminates resource materials to support specific skill training in newsrooms.

As a spokesperson for Google West Africa, Taiwo represents the company in various news events, panels, and consumer initiatives across multiple media platforms, including broadcast, print and online media.

Impact
In addition to his responsibilities at Google, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade has been involved in several media and communication initiatives. In 2013, he was a member of the expert assessment panel for the Nigeria Social Media report conducted by Alder Consulting, which evaluated the state of social media in Nigeria. In 2017, he served as a judge for the Innovate Africa Challenge, a program that aimed to provide grants and funding to projects focusing on data-driven journalism, investigative reporting, and the digitisation of newsrooms in Africa.

Furthermore, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade participated in the Google News Innovation Challenge in 2021 and 2022, where he was part of the team responsible for selecting news publishers to receive funding in support of innovation within the news industry.

Recognition
Voted Top 100 most influential young Nigerians in 2016