Nnenna Onyewuchi is a seasoned strategist with 27 years of experience spanning three continents and over 50 brands. She has a rich background in advertising, experiential marketing, film production, and pay TV. As the Founder of The Barefoot Strategist, a business and marketing consultancy, she helps brands achieve their ambitions through insight-driven, outcome-led solutions that drive real business results.

Her illustrious career began at McCann New York, where she managed multi-regional pitches across the global network before transitioning to the Strategic Planning department, eventually rising to Vice President. She co-founded Tag Ideation, a lifestyle marketing practice group, before returning to Nigeria in 2004 to take on leadership roles at CPMS, TBWA/Concept, and ZK Advertising. In 2022, she joined Halo Financial Services to spearhead its growth and commercial strategy. She is also the Co-founder of YBR Lagos, one of Nigeria’s most respected communications agencies, which she helped establish in 2010.

Nnenna’s achievements are diverse, including co-designing a proprietary branding model, pioneering innovative research tools, and contributing to the creation of new products, coffee table books, TV shows, and video games. She has collaborated with over 50 brands, including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Canon, MTN, and UNICEF. Her accolades include being ranked number two among strategists in Africa and the Middle East in the Loeries’ 2021 Official Rankings and serving as a juror for the prestigious Innovation Lions category at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. She has been selected to be part of the Gerety Awards 2025 MEA Jury.

A passionate advocate for storytelling and African progress, Nnenna is deeply committed to empowering African communities and enterprises. She is a staunch supporter of women’s issues and believes in their transformative potential in industries and economies. Nnenna also serves on the boards of several indigenous companies and chaired the board of WAVE, a non-profit addressing youth unemployment in West Africa.