Anyone who knows about business, marketing, luxury and politics in Nigeria has definitely heard of Mr. Charles O’Tudor or met him.
O’Tudor hails from Cross River State, in the south-southern part of Nigeria. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Jos and is an alumnus of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he bagged Certificates in Management and Measuring Organizational Strategies, Product Strategy and Brand Management. He is an Associate Member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) and an Associate Member, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
O’Tudor began his career in advertising and branding with a three-year stint as an Advertising Executive at Shops Bankole Sagie Advertising. He went on to become the Deputy Manager at Explicit Communications where he managed Multinational Accounts before he moved to become the Client Services Manager at Solutions. In 2001, he founded ADSTRAT BMC, a branding and advertising company, of which he has been Principal Consultant till date. ADSTRAT has handled accounts of brands spanning the Construction, Aviation, Fashion, Telecommunications, Banking, Furniture, Entertainment, Education, Hospitality and Pharmaceutical industries.

O’Tudor has been helping Nigerian companies and entrepreneurs to brand themselves and develop strategies to improve the welfare of the companies, entrepreneurs, and Nigeria as a whole as he is passionate about growing and encouraging the creation of successful businesses in the different industries of Nigeria’s economy. He has invested in educating the youths and coaching the players in the different sectors of the economy to enable Nigeria operate at a world level through hosting free Master classes and seminars, one of which was the ‘Charles O’Tudor Brand Master Class 1.0’, which he hosted on his 46th birthday and which broughttogether the big names in different businesses in Nigeria.
O’Tudor is the brain behind BrandsArise, a social emancipation initiative anchored on the philosophy that when individuals rise, their communities will rise and ultimately the nation will rise. The programme is targeted at creating an awareness of youths becoming strong, formidable, and positive brands that extol values such as integrity, honour, enterprise, and patriotism. It is about translating an unknown brand into a successful brand. BrandsArise has been hosted in several locations in Nigeria.BrandsArise made its debut as a series of articles published in BusinessDay over a period of time.
He is also the brain behind the ‘Charles O’Tudor Brands To Watch Awards’, a brand-led movement which recognizes that in the 21st century, brands are an asset and a vector of image, reputation and competitiveness of nations. The Award aims to help re-awaken brand awareness and stimulate growth in Nigeria. The Award recognizes that successful Brands create and sustain a strong, positive and lasting impression in the mind of consumers. As part of the Maiden Edition of the ‘Charles O’Tudor Brands To Watch 2017’ project, the organisers would be announcing three lucky indigenous brands, nominated from the three existing categories; government, corporates and Individuals by the Brand Council, that would benefit from the ‘Brand Make Over Give Back’ at the grand Awards night.

Charles O’Tudor is a public speaker, commentator and role model who has graced public functions where he gave lectureson branding. He was, at some point in his career, the anchor of the Bank PHB-sponsored show, ‘The Intern TV Show’, the first ever business reality television show in Nigeria. In April 2005, Charles O’Tudor was appointed a member of the Lagos State Health Advocacy Implementation Committee, ‘an initiative inaugurated to create necessary awareness on the availability of various free health care programmes and services put in place by the Lagos State government for public consumption’.O’Tudor’s ADSTRAT was endorsed by the State’s Commissioner of Health, Jide Idris, ‘to deliver on the promises of the Health Advocacy Implementation Committee’. O’Tudor led a team of brand strategists that bid for and won Cross River State’s pioneer ‘Out of Home Media Project’ which was recently passed into law by the State House of Assembly. In 2007, his ADSTRAT emerged as the ‘preferred marketing and branding company’ to market the 2008 edition of Zuma Film Festival. In 2005, he entered the Junior Chamber International Hall of All Time Fame of Exemplary Leaders, becoming the 4th individual to be so honoured in the history of the Nigerian chapter of the organisation. Brand Consultant of the Year Award, CITY People Magazine, is among numerous honours bestowed on him. He was appointed member of the Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race Marketing Committee and Chairman of its Sub Committee on Brand Strategy, Marketing and Advertising by the Governor of Cross-River State, Senator Liyel Imoke. He is a member, Board of Judges, The Future Awards; Member, Roundtable, the Wits Business School Alumni Association, University of Witwatersrand,Johannesburg, South Africa.

Married to Virginia O’Tudor with three kids, Daniel, Dorothy and Vanzale O’Tudor.
Charles O’Tudor has managed to keep his personal life out of media scrutiny despite his many achievements.
He had his primary education at Command Children School in Lagos State; his secondary education at Command Secondary School, Ikeja, Lagos State where he bagged his West African School Certificate, (WASC) in 1987. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Jos and is an alumnus of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he bagged Certificates in Management and Measuring Organizational Strategies, Product Strategy and Brand Management. He is an Associate Member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) and an Associate Member, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).
The firm, with two affiliates (Axle and Stratis) has crafted phrases and words like, Cerebral Filtration Processes, Processed Thought to Finish, O2ygenation, Re-O2ygenation and O2yculturation as the terminologies employed in its day-to-day branding activities.
More on Charles, visit www.adstratbrands.com