MBA candidate fine-tuning business acumen to pursue sustainability executive role
MBA candidate Nnaemeka Onoyima has made great strides in global sustainability efforts. Working in Nigeria and varying regions of Africa, Onoyima brings an extensive and diverse set of experiences to the Moore School.
Beginning his sustainability journey as an environmental sustainability and systems manager at Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, Onoyima managed the company's environmental compliance, sustainability, and document-control system at one of its plants located in Owerri, Nigeria.
He said his duties included “optimizing water and energy usage, creating corporate social responsibility initiatives for the surrounding communities and annually enhancing the organization's global sustainability index through continuous improvement.”
From 2019 to 2023, Onoyima joined the Lagos Business School of Africa, serving as a senior associate for industry services and research in the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre, a center that collaborates with global organizations and provides sustainability advisory services and best practices.
In Lagos, he oversaw strategic engagements with organizational leaders to understand their challenges and propose value-driven solutions to help shape their sustainability strategies, assess their social impact, and provide executive training as needed.
Onoyima also fostered strategic partnerships with organizations such as the World Economic Forum to establish a circular economy chapter in Nigeria known as the Nigeria National Plastic Action Partnership to address plastic pollution in the country.
While in Lagos, he also oversaw the Personal Social Responsibility Project of full-time Lagos Business School MBA students, a core curriculum component.
This project aims to “instill in business school students the idea that they can create more value by being socially responsible and contributing to society,” Onoyima explains. “This project has contributed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1-17 in various capacities through a wide range of projects such as skills acquisition initiatives, the provision of pipe-borne water systems, book recycling programs, the establishment of libraries for community schools and other educational support.”
Another significant contribution of Onoyima in sustainability at the Lagos Business School is the coordination and hosting of the annual International Sustainability Conference, which works to promote responsible business and leadership practices, an event that attracts high-level speakers from around the world and participants from more than 10 countries, presenting best practices in sustainability among several companies.
Knowing he wanted to continue his work in global sustainability, Onoyima chose the Moore School because the MBA program “automatically opens doors to a world of global experience, especially with functional global knowledge in international management, strategic management of technology and innovation, finance, marketing, supply chain, economics and business analytics. The Moore School's commitment to educating global business leaders is impressive, evidenced by its consistent ranking as one of the best in international business for more than 30 years.”
Onoyima said he admires that the MBA program prepares students to someday lead multinational organizations by teaching crucial hard skills like business analytics and strategy while providing plentiful networking opportunities.
“The small class size allows you to interact with students confidently and cooperatively who are from diverse backgrounds and have varying knowledge and skills; this leads to top-notch networking opportunities,” he said. “These personal and diverse classroom experiences have granted me access to events that have allowed me to meet and exchange contact information with numerous industry executives and experts.”
Onoyima also received training in recognizing different innovations and technologies, such as disruptive, radical, sustaining and architectural, through the MBA program.
“These technical skills will prepare me for a corporate strategy role, enabling me to conduct objective assessments, identify critical success paths, measure progress over time, provide reviews that aid in decision-making and make informed predictions about the organization's future while maintaining a big-picture perspective,” Onoyima says.
Reflecting on his strenuous work through the Moore School, Onoyima says his long-term passion is to attain an executive leadership position within a global company where he can drive the business as a force for good.
“I envision working with a business that is resilient, purpose-driven and fosters a strong company culture,” Onoyima says. “I am driven by my passion for sustainable businesses that generate enduring value. The MBA experience at the Moore School is helping me enhance my capacity to effectively engage with people across cultures, including C-suites, and to apply a more nuanced and data-driven approach to managing larger projects.”
-Peyton Palazzo