My name is Olaoluwa Osundina. You may call me Ola or Ollie.

I am the Founder and CEO of La Maison Hotels Limited, a small-sized boutique hotel located in the Southwestern part of Nigeria. I founded La Maison Hotels in 2010 (while I was still employed as a Senior Manager with MTN Nigeria, a Telco) but joined fully as CEO in May 2017 after opting for an early retirement exit.

What I will be teaching in this course is the culmination of practical experience and academic curiosity spanning 28 years spent working in FMCG (Glaxo SmithKline Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc), Telco (MTN Nigeria Communications Plc) and La Maison Hotel.

In these 28 years, I have been professionally engaged in Consumer Sales and Marketing, Business-to-Business Sales and Marketing, Key Customer and Key Accounts Relationship Management, Marketing Communications and Marketing Strategy, Business development, Operations management and Performance management, across the earlier mentioned industries, at middle and senior management level.

My professional experience is mainly responsible for the success of La Maison Hotels, a profitable venture that is still growing (despite environmental headwinds) and aiming to franchise her brand, ultimately, across Nigeria.

I earned a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ibadan in 1992 and joined Smithkline Beecham Plc as a sales Representative in February 1996 in the Eastern Region, Nigeria, with sales responsibility for Aba, Umuahia and adjoining towns.

I moved to Nigerian Breweries Plc (a Nigerian subsidiary of Heineken International) as a Graduate Management Trainee in May 1997. After extensive cross-functional training across Sales and Marketing roles spanning North, West and East Sales Areas of Nigeria, I was appointed Sales Office Manager in charge of Lagos – North region in January 2000.

I was at different times Acting Field Promotion Manager, Lagos (2001 to 2002), Regional Retail Manager, West (Jan 2002 to Feb 2004) and Evaluation Manager, Sales HQ, Lagos (Feb 2004 to April 2004).

In April 2004, I resigned from Nigerian Breweries to join MTN Nigeria as Regional Marketing Manager (RMM), West in the Marketing department. My duties and responsibilities centered on business development using tools such as research, promotions, sponsorships, public relations and media. As RMM West, operating out of the Regional office at Ibadan, Oyo state, I had responsibility for driving the achievement of the company’s revenue, profitability and market share objectives in the western region. I was promoted as Senior manager in 2011 and relocated to the company Head office at Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos.

From 2011 to 2017, I had work stints across Sales, Marketing and Logistic job roles as shown below –

- Senior Manager, Channel and Regional Marketing operations (June 2011 to March 2012)

- Senior Manager, Trade Communication and support (March 2012 to October 2014)

- Senior Manager, Logistics (October 2014 to March 2015)

- Senior Manager, Channel Development (March 2015 to April 2017)

I opted for an early exit (voluntary retirement) from MTN on the 30th of April 2017 to run La Maison Hotels full-time as Chief Executive officer. Since venturing into the Hospitality sector, I have developed a passion for Hotel Operations, Hotel management as well as Hotel management consultancy and am excited to share my experience with the world.

An Alumnus of the Lagos Business School, having attended several LBS programs such as Management Development Program (2001), Strategic Marketing Management Program (2007), Strategies for Service Excellence (2008), Effective Brand Management (2008) and Mastering Competitive strategy and Blue Ocean strategy (2013), I also attended the Sales Directors Program at Cranfield University (UK) in June 2012.

I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Directors, Nigeria (as well as a certified Independent Director) and currently the Governing Board Chairman of Grace and Mercy Household Improvement Initiative, an NGO focused on providing financial opportunities for the poor and low-income demographics via small loan disbursements to support their businesses. I also represent La Maison Hotels at the Ibadan Chamber of commerce and industry.

March 2025