Forever Nigeria will soon be up and running again. The new boss, Daniel Ikechukwu, Biochemist, with intimi dating credentials, is already a testament to hard working business owners. Ikechukwu, the one time regional head at Abbott, was with Nestle Nigeria, then to Pfizer Nutrition and back again at Nestle, when the later acquired the former, and now in Forever Living Products Nigeria as Country Sales Manager.

•Daniel Ikechukwu

To many distributors and employees, Ikechukwu is reincarnation at Forever of Mr. Cornelius Olanrewaju Tay, the man who propelled Forever to an enviable third position in World Forever ranking. In this interview, Ikechukwu says he would reposition Forever Nigeria ranking again, in the world map of Forever International. Excerpts:

Your Lagos Success Day at Gradeur Ikeja, Lagos, was hot. Are you ready to shepherd this world renowned Health and Wealth Company in Nigeria?

First, let me use this medium to once again congratulate all our Forever Business Owners (FBOs) who were decorated during our just concluded Lagos Success day. Success days are set aside for us to recognize our FBOs and live our overarching commitment of making individuals and families look better and feel better. It is a celebration of courage, hard work, consistency, performance and above all greatness. What you saw was nothing compared to what we have packaged for our esteemed business owners. We will work hard and play hard as well.

You said 3,000 FBOs were going for an all-expenses paid trip?

The month of October is synonymous with celebration within the Forever Family. It is a month that we host, globally, our most prestigious incentive – “Eagle Managers Retreat”. The qualification criteria for this retreat is well-known by all our Forever Business Owners. The qualifiers are tagged “Eagle Managers” which is an epitome of business excellence, consistency, leadership and team work. For 2017, our Eagles are going on a boat cruise across three cities. They are going to cruise from Barcelona (Spain), Monte Carlo (France) and Rome (Italy). This is an all-expenses paid incentive. A Royal Caribbean ship powered by Forever International will house over 3,000 dynamic and business-oriented FBOs as they, with fun, re-equip themselves with strategies to better grow their businesses. So, it’s an incentive, it’s a recognition and if you want to build a sustainable business with us, aim to be an “Eagle Manager”.

This is a top executive job by any standard. Where are you coming from?

Daniel has been around for a while now. I presently have over 18 years of experience which cuts across FMCG, Nutrition, Marketing, Sales, Network Marketing, Healthcare Management and Management. It all started from a laboratory experience at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, where I spent one year and proceeded to a hospital in Ikoyi as a marketing executive. With my quest for more exposure, I was enrolled as an Independent Monitor for another year under the National Programme of Immunization (NPI) under the then leadership of Dr (Mrs.) Dere Awosika. Eager to have a multi-national experience, I joined Nestle Nigeria Plc., where I spent 5 years. Within this period, I developed the needed skills to manage an FMCG business, hence I made a move to Pfizer Nutrition. This move was short-lived, as just after 2 years, Pfizer Nutrition was acquired by Nestle which then necessitated my second missionary journey to Nestle Nigeria Plc. With one additional year, I moved to Abbott Nutrition as the regional head. At Abbott, I spent two years and here I am today. My network marketing experience spans over 5 years. All these, as you can see, was the reason why I said I have been around for a while and this puts me in a great position to understand and drive the growth of Forever Living Products Nigeria.

At thr Lagos event, FBOs said this Daniel is another Cornelius Tay. Do you know the man?

Our business model requires a leadership style that is not just visionary and authentic but also charismatic in style. Our FBOs want a leader with a lot of charisma, energy and is ready to set the pace. These qualities they saw in Cornelius Tay and they in-turn crowned it with their support and work. I am not Cornelius Tay, I am Daniel Ikechukwu. And as Daniel, I will deliver the qualities and unique leadership style associated with Daniel. It might not be the same with what they are used to; it might even be better. The bottom line is that we want to be identified with success that posterity can relate with.

And how would you handle competition?

The direct selling model is fast becoming an acceptable distribution channel globally. This is basically due to the fact that it is a model that pays for performance. Therefore many companies are adopting this model, hence growth in competition. Irrespective of this, Forever Living Products is a house-hold name in Nigeria. Our name resonates with Network marketing in Nigeria. We value our products, our people and our company. So, for us, our strength lies in our reach (170 countries globally), quality of our products, our compensation plan and our Forever Business Owners. Again few months from now, Forever Living will be 40 years and in Nigeria we are 17 years.

There are big names in the business here. Are you on the same page with them?

I am FOREVER grateful to all our leaders for the immense work they have done within this 17 years of our existence in Nigeria. Our business model celebrates excellence. Therefore, the Idigos, Ekperigins, Attahs of this world we hold in high esteem. This is our legacy and we are forever proud. As we celebrate and work with our existing leaders, our focus is to build leaders that are recognised so that the voice of the business owners in Nigeria will be heard globally. This is our objective and what we want to achieve for our country.