Dr. Bamidele Osuolale Makanjuola graduated with a B.Sc. (first class) in Chemical Engineering from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1976. In 1978 he obtained an M.Sc. degree in “Process Engineering and Economics” and by 1980 completed his Ph.D. programme in Chemical Engineering from University of Technology, Loughborough, UK. He was a commonwealth scholar during his 3years studies in the UK.
On his return to Nigeria he commenced his industrial career by joining Vitafoam Nigeria Plc. in February 1981, and there he was for the next 10years. The highlight of this initial exposure to manufacturing and engineering practices are:
- 1. He championed the establishment of a standard functional laboratory for carrying out chemical and physical tests, development of various grades of foam products and quality assurance studies. The laboratory was eventually upgraded for use by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
- 2. He designed and developed various grades of adhesives using local rubber as base material.
- 3.His team was the first in the country to introduce fillers (calcium carbonate and kaoline) into foam formulations. By this achievement the resultant cost savings ranged from 5-10%.
- 4. Through some engineering ingenuity, the engineering team he was part of modified the foaming plant in use to improve foam blocks profiles which resulted in significant drop of scraps generation.
After he left Vitafoam early 1991, he worked as both Management and Engineering Consultant between 1991 and year 2000. He initially worked for PFM Consulting Limited and later set up a firm of consultants, TEMM Consulting Limited.
As a consultant he was involved in the following:
1. He developed a “Total Quality Management System” that was deployed in many organisations (Dunlop, Texaco, Vitafoam, Academy Press, etc.) across the Country.
2. He led engineering teams that consulted and trained personnel of numerous manufacturing companies.
3.He participated in process optimisation of factories that do the following: sugar refinery, oil extraction from nuts, lube oil and grease manufacturing, flexible foam manufacture, batteries production, lithographic processing, etc.
By the middle of 2000, Dele dropped out of consulting work by his formal return to corporate life when he re-joined Vitafoam Nigeria Plc as a “Corporate Planning Executive”. Between 2000 and 2012, he was part of the company’s management team and he reached the zenith of his corporate career when he assumed the leadership position of Managing Director/ Chief Executive in April 2006. During his tenure
(61/2 years), the company achieved the following:
- 1.By revenue the company grew over 4 ½ times while profitability multiplied over 6 times.
- 2. In addition to the parent Company, seven additional subsidiaries were either established
- 3. The first (and till date only) ‘’System House’’ in Sub-Sahara Africa was established in Ikeja. A “System House” is a hi-tech chemical blending and formulating plant.
- 4.Through in-depth collaboration with numerous foreign consultants (from the UK, Italy, China, Brazil, Taiwan, etc.) highly sophisticated engineering and manufacturing techniques were acquired by the company.
- 5.Many new products (to the delight of customers nationwide) were developed, engineered and manufactured to world-class levels: spring mattresses, fibre- filled soft furniture, moulded foams (e.g. visco- elastic), insulated panels for construction, shoe soles, bespoke lifestyle furniture, etc.
Shortly after his retirement as MD/CEO of Vitafoam, he was appointed as Chairman of the main board and still occupies this position till date.
Dele is a COREN registered engineer a fellow of Nigeria Society of Engineers, Nigeria Society of Chemical Engineer and Polymer Institute of Nigeria. As a thoroughbred corporate executive and passionate practicing Chemical Engineer, he has over the
years attended numerous technical conferences and seminars and exhibitions locally and abroad. He had been privileged to work in laboratories in the UK, China, Taiwan and Brazil.
In addition to the above listed involvements, he is periodically invited to make presentations at both technical and management conferences, workshops and seminars. He has continued to formally and informally give technical and management support, especially to various manufacturing outfits in areas of re-structuring for improved performance, product development processes and R&D.
He is married to Ayinke, a professor of entomology. They are blessed with 4 children and many grandchildren. He is a practising and committed Christian and an