On January 30, 2025, the PR Fundi Masterclass hosted Dr Ibietan, Secretary General of the Africa Public Relations Association, as a guest speaker. This vibrant virtual masterclass discussed PR Leadership Amidst a BANI Environment and attracted over 97 participants, all eager to elevate their career paths toward the C-suite. Dr. Omoniyi shared about trends in Communication plans, mentorship, Social media, Leadership, upskilling, cultural intelligence, soft skills, and shrinking attention span.
Shift from Communication plans to frameworks.
A call to move away from communication plans and embrace strategic communication frameworks. In the past, people put out communication plans. Today, people talk about communication strategy frameworks. Within a framework, you have a plan. A plan is a component of a framework because it speaks to implementation. Dr Omoniyi argued that we must have communication strategy frameworks because communication strategy frameworks speak in totality to an organization’s operations.
Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan also stated that communication is the most central skill that anyone requires. ”So many people in the United States must be re-calibrating and reworking their plans because of the emergence of a new order in the country. The disruptions are going to be massive.”-Dr Omoniyi.
Upskilling
Upskilling through seeking knowledge. Dr Omoniyi challenged PR professionals to do further studies, buy books, and embrace mentorship to grow. The only person aside from the CEO in an organization, who must know who knows something about everything is the PR professional.”-Dr Omoniyi. Dr Omoniyi stated that books give an an advantage to PR people because everything flows from knowledge and so in personal development.
Mentorship and C-suite transition
Ian Rumanyika noted that over the past 20 years, the most common professions leading to CEO positions include Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), Chief Operating Officers (COOs), and occasionally Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs). He mentioned colleagues in Uganda who transitioned from heads of corporate affairs to CEOs and later returned to departmental leadership roles.
According to Omoniyi Ibietan PR people already have skills for the C-Suite, as the most strategic people in any organization today but they must fight for it and not wait for it just like the bible says from the days of John the Baptist, the kingdom of that kingdom suffered violence and violence taketh it by force.
DR Omoniyi emphasized the place of mentors for sustainability with intentional. He Asked PR people to mentor Genz despite cultural differences. Do we understand the interests of the shareholders? Ian Rumanyika challenged PR Professionals to have a 360-degree understanding of business operations.
Dr Omoniyi P. Ibietan is a social entrepreneur, activist, journalist, writer, author, academic, communication, and multi-stakeholder relationship management specialist. He is currently the Head of media relations at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Secretary general of the African Public Relations Association (APRA).
The PR Fundi Masterclass offers an extensive curriculum covering 100+ PR practice topics, designed to empower participants with mastery over essential PR tasks. This program is a crucial response to the ever-changing PR landscape, where professionals must continually adapt and grow their skills.