Our Man Crush Monday, Motolani Alake has an impressive portfolio that merges law and media. As a trained lawyer and media personality, he specialises in law practice, humanitarian aid and finance. Working as a strategic consultant in the entertainment industry, he also serves as the Managing Editor, Nigeria; Strategic Partnerships Manager; and Head of the Podcast Network at Pulse.
Motolani’s encounter with the media can be traced to his secondary school days. As a teenager, he was the editor-in-chief of his school’s press club. Afterward, Motolani has always attracted the infusion of music, entertainment, pop culture, media, content, law, business, partnerships, networking, solutions provision, tech, innovation, and advancement.
He currently stands as one of the most powerful voices in African media and entertainment. This multiple award-winning journalist co-founded three companies in Afrotainment( the combination of the African music and entertainment industry). This happened because he was a member of the Juror For West Africa for the All Africa Music Awards(AFRIMA).
Being highly skilled in his profession, Motolani has worked with top-notch client services, and agency services, as regards User Generated Content (UGC), Professionally Generated Content (PGC), Paid User Generated Content (PUGC), Brand Generated Content (BGC), and more.
Motolani was called to Nigerian Bar in 2015. He switched from Law to international aid, and then co-founded a few media startups. He is back to the corporate world, combining multimedia journalism; creating visual, pictorial, written, and audio content.
Before now, in 2016, Motolani, together with a friend called Kwame, started the entertainment platform called Urban Central. Working as the Managing editor on the platform, he leveraged his editorial skills in writing and editing broad topics. Though the platform witnessed an increased readership base, there was the challenge of managing a remote team compared to now. This period marked a shift in his career. When he still battling with what to do with the platform, the Pulse opportunity jumped at him and he could not refuse.
Prior to joining Pulse in 2018, he worked as a Company Secretary/ Legal Adviser role in a financial advisory firm. During that period, he was also actively engaged in raising funds for his side hustle Urban Central. When he eventually joined Pulse, he brought forth innovative ideas around pop culture. This gesture landed him promotions roles from Senior Reporter, Pop Culture and Metro News Senior Reporter, Pop Culture to Senior Reporter, Special Reports and Pop Culture to Senior Reporter, Special Reports and Pop Culture to Editor, Music and Pop Culture to Senior Editor, Strategic Partnerships Manager & Lead, Pulse Podcast Network to Senior Editor, Strategic Partnerships Manager & Lead, Pulse Podcast Network and finally his current position as Editor-In-Chief, Nigeria; Strategic Partnerships Manager and Head, Podcast Network Editor-In-Chief, Nigeria; Strategic Partnerships Manager and Head, Podcast Network. He witnessed this career progression in the space of four and a half years.
Motolani has established himself as a thought leader in law and media, and he gets invited to speak at notable conferences and events. As a way of giving back to society, Motolani shares his wealth of knowledge in developing the next generation of Nigerian creatives as he replicated at the just-concluded 2022 Lagos Creative Enterprise Week among other related initiatives.
Pride Magazine Nigeria could not have asked for a better Man Crush Monday other than Motolani, who is using his platform to impact lives positively.