EZEKIEL ADAMU & AKIN ESHO TEAMING UP ON DRINKS!
Two friends, Ezekiel Adamu and Akin Esho, have pooled resources to transform the landscape of the $40 billion Nigerian drinks industry through a first-of-its-kind exhibition and summit called the International Drinks Festival.
Ican’t say if it is the rule. Everyone in the office smiles and acts friendly. This notion of acquaintanceship was deepened for the duration I spent waiting for the arrival of Akin Esho, chief operating officer of Balmoral group of companies. The lady at the front desk, Layo, who says she is a graduate of English and International Relations and got into a heated discourse on Pidgin English. We were still at it when Esho arrives. That conversation ends as I stand up while he courteously holds the door for me to walk through. I make a mental note of it- politeness runs in this environment, not minding your designation.
My encounters with Esho are many. But it is the first time we are meeting face-to-face. We have previously exchanged emails and talk a lot on the phone mainly about his novel exhibition, the Wed Expo. Our meeting was facilitated by ‘Big Sam’ Olatunji, his publicist, at the time. “We meet finally”, I said. Neither of us believe our encounter would be under this circumstance. A few botched meetings in the past, probably made the possibility of running into each other remote.
Since we had already broached the subject matter, the interaction starts as soon as we sit. I know Balmoral. Everyone knows Balmoral for providing cosy event venues. What is yet to fit in is Esho’s connection. It still did not divulge much to understand that he uses Balmoral for his Wed Expo events. I do not want to make any assumption, after all I was sitting right across the table from him. It turns out that a lot of things have changed about Esho’s business. He has entered a business trinity comprising Ezekiel Adamu as Chief Executive Officer, Goke Obembe, Executive Director and himself as Chief Operating Officer. He also collapsed (or expanded it depending on the angle from which you are looking) his Wed Expo dream. He makes no fuss. “We are looking at the big picture. Wed Expo is now under Balmoral Exhibitions, which also handles other exhibitions. Our major concern is to create innovative platforms that are tailor-fit for specific sectors of the economy.”
He went on to explain the transformation of Balmoral. “Balmoral used to be known as just venues. Now we have Balmoral life which is the strategic thinking, marketing and ideas arm. We have Balmoral Exhibitions. We have Balmoral venues which is the old Balmoral. Now we are also adding Balmoral hospitality. We intend to create our own events and we will also partner with people to develop their ideas.”
For Adamu and Esho, working together at this level was a matter of time. In fact they have always had some kind of partnership; because Adamu never charged monies for allowing Esho use his venue for Wed Expo. Therefore, deciding to pool their businesses under one umbrella was not such a difficult decision for both men. They are united in their quest for greater glory. As more venues are opening across Lagos, it was time for Balmoral to look for another area of competitive edge; and Esho, on his part, desired something bigger than Wed Expo.
Esho talks excitedly about the conversion of Balmoral. “We are a 360 events solution company and the International Drinks Festival which is coming up at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos between December 1 and 3 is our flagship since Balmoral became a bigger company. We are going to have several other brands under the Balmoral group. What we pride ourselves on is creating platforms for industries. With the International Drinks Festival, we are creating