Gbemisola Abudu is an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, luxury marketing expert, and social activist with 17 years of experience developing and building businesses, brands, and human capital in Africa, the Middle East, and North America.
She is the NBA Africa Vice President & Country Head of NBA Nigeria, where she is responsible for leading the NBA’s basketball and business development efforts in Nigeria, including grassroots programming for youth, elite player development, relationships with current and prospective marketing partners, media, and merchandise partners, and social responsibility efforts that elevate the lives of Nigerians through basketball. In her role, she was recently recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Women in Sports in the World.
Abudu previously served as Founder and Managing Partner at BMGA Enterprise Limited and BMGA Foundation (where she currently serves as a non-executive Board). BMGA is a non-profit organization focused on fostering gender equity in the business environment through social and marketing intelligence and new learning and leadership platforms that bridge the skills gap. In 2020, she launched the BMGA Fellows Program, a social impact initiative designed to narrow the gender skills gap among university graduates. The program equips young women with employability skills aligned with the Future of Work skills and access to resources and professionals that strengthen their marketability for a successful career in the 21st Century. Supporters of the program include the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Giants of Africa Foundation (GOA), American Express, Yale University Center of Emotional Intelligence, University of Cambridge, UN Women, and Gallup, to name a few. Abudu has been recognized as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD)’s Global top 100 under 40 in the category of activism & humanitarian for her philanthropic work and the impact of the BMGA Fellows Program in human capital development in Africa.
Before BMGA, she worked as a global marketing and management practitioner for some of the most reputable companies and governments across the world. Some organizations include Anap Jets, Polo Luxury, Louis Vuitton, White & Case LLP, The Walt Disney Company, and The Clorox Company. Through all these experiences, she has built a proven track record of driving impact, piloting, and managing businesses into new marketplaces.
Abudu, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.S., holds an MBA (focus on Global Marketing and Development) from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. She is President of the Thunderbird Alumni Association’s Nigeria Chapter. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and public relations from the University of Wyoming.