Adenike Ogunlesi
Adenike Ogunlesi is a leading fashion entrepreneur in Nigeria. She is the proud Founder and Chief Responsibility Officer, CRO of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, a premium lifestyle brand that specializes in the design, manufacture and retail of children’s clothing, footwear and accessories in Nigeria. Adenike started out in 1996 first, by selling the clothes she made from the boot of her car at local outlets and in bazaars. Today, the Ruff ‘n’ Tumble fashion brand is unarguably one of the top manufacturers of children’s clothing across West Africa. With Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, Adenike Ogunlesi successfully satisfies the unique and trendy fashion needs of youngsters – infants to the age of 16.
Adenike spent her early years as an apprentice for her Scottish mother, Mrs Elizabeth Okuboyejo at her growing fashion label, Betti O, which helped to discover and develop her gift in design and garment making. Those early years developed her love for fabrics and the knowledge to use them into making stylish, comfortable, and practical outfits.
As an entrepreneur, Adenike Ogunlesi has carved a niche for herself as one of Africa’s most recognizable builders of children clothing brand with a network of stores across Nigeria. Through the Ruff ‘n’ Tumble brand, Adenike provides quality products and services by mixing indigenous lifestyle trends with an international appeal.
For over 25 years, Adenike has built her career in the fashion industry working as Chief Responsibility Officer at Ruff ‘n’ Tumble while also overseeing the company’s operations as founder. She has lead a high-performance team in the achievement of strategic objectives in sales, marketing, customer service, brand development, retail operations and general management. Under her leadership, she has also driven the rapid expansion of the Ruff ‘n’ Tumble brand into the Nigerian market.
Adenike is an alumna of Ahmadu Bello University’s School of Basic Studies. She is also a founding member and first president of the Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) at the Nigeria Employer’s Consultative Association (NECA). Additionally, she is an advisory board member of the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) at the Lagos Business School and for Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), a structured mentoring program for young women. Adenike is also a mentor at the Mara Foundation and a passionate motivational speaker.
She is a recipient of various awards and a finalist at the CNBC AABLA, All Africa Business Leaders Awards in the category of the Business Woman of the year 2014 and 2015.
Adenike currently sits on the board of Lafarge Africa Plc as a Non-Executive Board Member.
Adenike Ogunlesi is one of the few entrepreneurs whose remarkable success stories refuels the hope and passion of Nigerians as well as Africans. She is a trendsetter in the West African children fashion industry and we are rooting for her.