After three years of strengthening consumer data capabilities across African markets at Diageo, marketing transformation specialist Oti Ukubeyinje has concluded his tenure as Regional Consumer Data Lead, marking a career transition towards helping businesses build the data infrastructure and marketing technology capabilities needed to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence.

In a professional update shared on LinkedIn, Ukubeyinje confirmed that he left the global beverage company in September 2026, describing his three-year experience as rewarding and highlighting the progress made in turning consumer data into practical marketing and commercial value across the region.

During his tenure, he worked with the Consumer Digital Transformation team, led by Susan Jones, to shape and implement consumer data strategies that connected global capabilities with the realities of individual African markets.

Through market audits, the identification of commercially relevant use cases and the deployment of marketing technology suited to different levels of market maturity, Ukubeyinje helped establish stronger foundations for data-led consumer acquisition, engagement and personalised marketing.

Beyond strategy development, his responsibilities covered customer relationship management (CRM), first-party data acquisition, audience activation and the implementation of compliant consumer engagement programmes across multiple channels.

ALSO WATCH:MARKETING EDGE HOST GEORGE ISITUA-ONUKWU

Notably, his professional profile attributes a more than 150 per cent increase in consumer data utilisation to his work at Diageo, alongside a 400 per cent improvement in paid media engagement, a 21 per cent increase in e-commerce conversion and a 33 per cent reduction in first-party data acquisition costs.

Furthermore, he helped expand first-party data acquisition across key markets while reducing associated technology costs by as much as 90 per cent, strengthening consent management, data governance and regulatory compliance in the process.

Another significant part of his contribution involved deploying Salesforce Marketing Cloud across Guinness, Johnnie Walker and TheBar.com in three markets within 18 months, enabling more personalised customer relationship management and lifecycle communications.

Alongside these initiatives, he developed data activation applications spanning paid media, e-commerce, events, personalised product sampling and CRM, working with marketing, media, technology, legal, procurement and agency partners to translate strategic objectives into market-level execution.

Reflecting on his departure, Ukubeyinje acknowledged the support of colleagues across the company’s regional and global teams, while expressing particular gratitude to his manager, Waithera Kabiru, for her leadership, mentorship and friendship.

However, his departure from Diageo represents a transition in professional focus rather than a move away from marketing transformation, as he now advises and supports organisations seeking to prepare their marketing operations for AI adoption.

ALSO WATCH:MARKETING EDGE ONTV HOSTADEKOYEJE ABIOLA

Under this new focus, he is concentrating on customer data strategy and marketing technology deployment, with an emphasis on helping businesses overcome fragmented data systems, disconnected platforms and capability gaps that can prevent them from translating technology investments into measurable results.

With more than 13 years of experience across Diageo, Meta, Terragon, Opera and Sponge Limited, Ukubeyinje has built expertise spanning digital advertising, customer data, marketing technology, media strategy, product development and commercial growth.

Earlier, during his time at Meta as Solutions Manager for AdTech, Signal Resilience and Growth Solutions, he worked with advertising partners and enterprise clients to improve campaign measurement, audience strategies and advertising performance, consistently exceeding quarterly revenue targets by more than 10 per cent, according to his profile.

Additionally, he supported the adoption of Meta Conversions API, Meta Pixel and first-party data strategies across multiple markets, helping advertisers strengthen measurement capabilities and adapt to privacy-focused changes in digital advertising.

Before joining Meta, he held senior product and growth positions at Terragon Group, where he oversaw commercial strategy across marketing technology, customer data and audience intelligence solutions.

There, he increased technology infrastructure utilisation by more than 70 per cent and revenue per user by 50 per cent, while helping develop a data monetisation platform that generated month-on-month revenue growth of between 25 and 30 per cent.

His work also included a strategic partnership with MTN to launch MTN Ads, which increased subscriber revenue per user by 15 per cent, alongside customer acquisition and engagement programmes for financial institutions that reduced acquisition costs by as much as 30 per cent.

Previously, at Opera, Ukubeyinje led a cross-functional organisation of more than 35 employees across media strategy, enterprise sales, advertising operations, account management and campaign delivery in Nigeria.

Under his leadership, quarterly enterprise media spending grew by more than 800 per cent, as he developed larger, longer-term partnerships with advertisers and introduced commercial solutions designed to expand the company’s digital advertising business.

Earlier in his career, he served as Media Director at Sponge Limited, managing integrated media planning and digital marketing effectiveness for multinational brands across fast-moving consumer goods, financial services and technology.

ALSO WATCH: AXA MANSARD UNVEILS

During that period, he contributed to the digital launch of ALAT, which reached more than 20 million consumers and acquired 130,000 customers within six months, while also helping grow agency revenue and develop digital advertising solutions with technology partners.

Academically, Ukubeyinje holds a master’s degree in Electronic Business Management from the University of Kent and a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

He has also undertaken specialised learning in artificial intelligence and marketing through MMA Global’s Decoding AI in Marketing certificate, reinforcing his interest in the intersection of customer intelligence, emerging technology and marketing effectiveness.

Looking ahead, his professional direction centres on helping organisations progress from fragmented customer information and underused marketing platforms to integrated, personalised and AI-ready systems that support stronger customer relationships and business growth.

For companies navigating this transition, his experience across regional consumer data strategy, digital advertising, marketing technology and commercial development positions him to advise on the capabilities, partnerships and operating models required to turn data and AI investments into tangible outcomes.

As he opens this next chapter, Ukubeyinje has indicated that he remains receptive to opportunities to collaborate with businesses seeking to rethink how they deploy customer data, marketing technology and artificial intelligence to create greater customer and commercial value.

ALSO WATCH:MARKETING EDGE ONTV HOST ADETUNJI OYEBANJI