Oliver HR chief Amina Folarin to be new UK group CEO

Inhousing specialist Oliver has promoted chief people officer Amina Folarin to be UK group CEO, in a move which the agency claims will put “talent, teamwork and technology” at the heart of its UK growth strategy.

Folarin joined Oliver as HR director from DigitasLBi in 2016 and has been credited with growing the business’ internal recruitment and DE&I teams over the past six years; she was promoted to global chief inclusion and people officer of parent company The Inside Ideas Group in 2021.

She will now appoint a new senior team to help take the UK towards its growth, innovation, sustainability and DE&I goals – all of which she will personally spearhead.

Oliver and the Inside Ideas Group deputy group CEO Sharon Whale said: “We looked for someone that could be a brands’ closest partner; someone with ambition, fresh thinking, problem-solving aptitude, organisational know-how and the ability to inspire 1,000 people and 60 teams across the UK.

“Despite the challenges of the last few years, we’ve remained one of the fastest-growing marketing companies globally. We’ve also remained intensely people-first and operationally-slick, and that’s down to Amina’s directorship.

“There’s no one that knows how businesses work better, or that cares more about building better. We’re looking forward to her steering the next era of marketing with our teams and our clients.”

Folarin added: “The UK has long been Oliver’s most recognised market – one that I am very excited to help take to its next stage of maturity. Despite the economic disruption, we will remain focused on solving the challenges of modern marketing while making the business a force for good in the world.”

Oliver UK was one of the pioneers of the in-house agency model when it launched in 2004 and it claims the UK arm has grown exponentially year on year since 2019.

Folarin will take up the new role from January 1 2023.