The picture of success: Alaba Fagun
As Group Managing Director of legacy manufacturer Berger Paints Nigeria, Alaba Fagun is drawing from her rich palette of experiences to propel the company into a bright and colorful future.
When a company has a long history of success, the temptation to rest on its laurels can be strong, especially for legacy firms, which brim with an innate confidence that prosperity will last forever. This isn’t the case for legacy paint manufacturer Berger Paints Nigeria, with a history that dates back to 1959.
However tempting it may be, the company’s Managing Director, Alaba Fagun refuses to let complacency creep in, instead committing to drive the company forward and look to the future.
"Berger Paints Nigeria is a company that has been around for about 65 years, and we need to keep attracting a younger audience," she says. "Innovation is one of our core values."
Creating a blueprint
Fagun’s previous roles have equipped her with valuable and detailed knowledge about buildings and what makes them special.
"Every role I’ve taken has prepared me for the next," she says. "I studied architecture and practiced both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom before transitioning back into the Nigerian property management space.
"My career in architecture gave me an insight into the intricacies of buildings and how they are put together, which gave me a suitable foundation to build management requirements."
"We’ve achieved a gender balance in management roles with 50 percent female representation."
This experience culminated in her current executive role, which she began in October 2022. Since then, Berger has already made some impressive strides.
"A significant achievement of my leadership has been the rebranding of Berger Paints’ corporate identity to be more customer centric," Fagun says. "We’ve also expanded the footprint, increasing the availability of our products and enhancing the engagement with all sectors of the built industry."
A more inclusive executive team has also been a key target for Fagun, and one where she has made progress.
"We’ve achieved a gender balance in management roles with 50 percent female representation," she says. "We also have a strong presence of young professionals. When I joined Berger, the average age in the management team was 45. Now the average age is 35."
Innovative growth
Innovation is one of Berger Paints Nigera’s five core values, and one Fagun is passionately embracing.
"Customers can anticipate new products, enhanced service delivery and innovation of our customer engagement strategies. We’re also dedicated to leveraging technology to enhance our customer experience," she outlines.
Berger Paints Nigeria has recently unveiled a state-of-the-art automated factory with an annual production capacity of 10 million liters of water-based paint.
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As well as the new factory, Berger Paints Nigeria has also revamped its offices to embrace its updated corporate identity as well as implementing customer feedback technology in its outlets to demonstrate its commitment to customer service.
Despite being an idealistic voice for change, Fagun doesn’t underestimate the practical challenges of implementing her vision, and stresses the importance of bringing her employees with her.
"Change is difficult, especially when employees are acquainted with processes that they have been aligned with for a significant number of years," she says. "We’ve had to start inwards first before going outwards. We started inwards by changing the culture so the staff can understand the change in the business approach."
Shared standards
Another important element of Berger Paints Nigeria’s culture is ensuring that the company and its partners uphold high standards, which includes one of its core suppliers, Trisa Nigeria.
"Sustainability is paramount for Berger Paints and this is reflected in our practices, as we continually review our operations to ensure that they meet global sustainability standards," Fagun says.
"We also ensure we have the best suppliers that align with our core values and our business objectives."
"Sustainability is paramount for budget paints and this is reflected in our practices."
A commitment to quality is one of the attributes that helps set Berger Paints Nigeria apart from its competition.
"We’re a 100 percent Indigenous manufacturing organization with a global outlook, and our products are specifically designed to suit the unique environment conditions of the country of Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa markets," Fagun says.
"At Berger Paints, we are committed to ensuring that our customers and employees truly ‘experience their world in color’."