Bolanle Ogunpolu: Positioning MSC as a Global Brand

Mr. Bolanle Ogunpolu is the managing director of Morayo Services Canada. Being a passionate business person, he has the vision of utilising business platform to create useful opportunities for clients and the community. He spoke to Zacheaus Somorin in Tor

Arrival in Canada Mr Bolanle Ogunpolu is responsible for MSC’s strategic direction and mentorship of the team working with him on a mission to provide global business services. While leading MSC, the company has been integral in helping three different international hotels in Canada win global awards for Quality Assurance scores – including the Ritz Carlton Toronto - that clinched the highest score worldwide in both 2011 and 2012. He has attended a variety of leadership courses - most recently at the Witz Institute in Toronto and at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.

Ogunpolu who hails from Ijebu area of Ogun State, said he has been in Canada since 1986. ‘’I grew up in Nigeria, and in 1986, I came to Canada to visit and just few weeks before then, Just few years before then, I had just finished my youth service in Nigeria and my desire was to do a post graduate program, but the opportunity back home was much more attractive as at then. So I went back to Nigeria by 1989. At a point, I felt that there was need for me to relocate, so I came back to Canada and I’ve been here since 1989. I later became a Canadian citizen. But the good thing is: I have always looked at myself first and foremost as a Nigerian, so I go to Nigeria regularly and now I’m beginning to look at what we can do to progress back in Nigeria.

In 1995, Ogunpolu established a building services maintenance company with a $10,000 investment and managed the growth to its present size with a staff compliment of over 500 associates. He is skilled in contract negotiations; gained several experiences in international labour markets; with viable practical experience in the development of standard operating procedures for continuous improvements in maintenance operations for clients of MSC which include: Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Ritz Carlton Hotels and Resorts, Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, Marriott Hotels, the Hilton Hotel Corporation and the Delta Hotel Corporation.

Between 1986 and 1989, Ogunpolu was the Director Morayo Services, Lagos, specialising in contract negotiations with government departments, facilitating trade deals with overseas suppliers, developed new markets for existing and new product lines and successfully launched them in Nigeria. He was also a Bank Trainee with the United Bank for Africa, Yola, as an officer.

Presently, he is a Member, Board of Director for MBFC Canada; active in the church, community and passionate about charitable causes with a desire to be helpful to mankind on a global scale.

Ogunpolu stated that for ‘’foreigners’’ business to survive in Canada and anywhere in the world, the number one priority must be excellence: ‘’If you deliver your services, nobody will push aside. Here people don’t care about the colour of your skin or where you come from, all they need is for you to deliver’’

He posited that his company, MSC, has been able to win major global contacts based on its capacity to distinguish itself in service delivery. ‘’Like any great partnership in business, MSC’s vision is only part of the equation for success. Success for MSC involves having a clear understanding of our client’s vision for their organisations and working with them to actualize their campaigns’’, he added.

Out of deep patriotism to fatherland, he opined that Nigeria remains one of the best places on earth to do business despite its infrastructural challenge; pointing out that there was a dire need for Nigerians in the diaspora to re-integrate their businesses back home for the purpose of affecting lives positively and creating jobs; saying most of the products being marketed at major shopping malls in Canada come from Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan etc.

While frowning at the level of corruption in Nigeria, with its intractable government bureaucracy, coupled with erratic power supply, Ogunpolu believes that the problems are solvable hence the need for diaspora intervention.

He contended that, just like Canada, there was need for Nigeria to develop an immigration programme that would attract best brains and investors into the country, saying such an idea has helped Canada in so many ways in the sustenance of its stable economy

Morayo Services Canada is into hotel and flight services. The first of such service is marble care and restoration. The company believes that there is need for consistent restoration of the hotel marble surface hence returning it to its original, factory finish. ‘’The goal of any such restoration project is to rejuvenate the surface,

Ogunpolu refinishing it to a highly reflective level where it is clean, feels smooth to the touch, hence showing the beauty of the surface through vibrant depth and colour, and is easy to maintain’’.

Its expert services include Stripping – that is the removal of old coats of wax, no matter how many, as well as spills; cleaning, application of professional cleansers using specialized equipment. Grinding, the use of ‘diamond grinding discs’, that will allow the removal of deep scratches and long-term wear marks; deployment of ‘diamond Leveling Discs’ that can remove lippage and help flatten out floor surfaces that are now uneven.

Other expert services include Grouting - from cleaning and sealing to removal and replacement and re-sealing. ‘’Sealing: Our neutral look sealers will provide the maximum protection against moisture and grease and leave the surface hard, not slippery. Polishing: Our equipment and chemicals will restore areas that are marked with rings and that have lost their shine due to excess wear. We will leave a high natural gloss on your floors. Maintenance: Combine the right cleaning materials with the right equipment and we will preserve all of your surfaces. Regular maintenance by our friendly, highly trained staff will leave you with a shine’’, the company added on its website.

MSC’s structured operations are to forge a partnership that provides programs to help optimise the entire stewarding process; hence working with a company that has managed high volume operations in food prep kitchens and is being run on a 24 hours basis. Ogunpolu stressed that the focus of sanitation in stewarding operations is never compromised, saying clients can be rest assured that food safety will always be its number one priority and that MSC will consistently help them maintain high standards at all times.

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He noted that his company is always in contact with its major chemical and equipment manufacturers and suppliers, saying that the company’s challenge to them is to be green and be effective. ‘’There are a great number of cheaper sources from which we can shop and supply our teams of associates’’.

Morayo professional Services in wooding restoration is unequalled in the whole of Canada. With well trained staff, and Ogunpolu as the team leader, clients are usually confident and assured of best practice available anywhere. It’s strategy for wooding restoration is usually sequential – the first being what it called the1st cut – this is the removal of the old finish from the floor and the 2nd is to begin to level the floor back to its original state.

To ensure perfection, MSC also deploys screening – that is the use of a polisher with a special attachment similar to a window screen on the bottom and using circular motions, the abrasive nature of the screen, to remove any deep marks that the floor surface developed over time’’. Other restoration strategy include sealing and refinishing.

Ogunpolu’s MSC clients’ successes have been based on helping them achieve the highest level of success - the philosophy which had earned it several global awards among which were 2011 winner of the cleanest hotel in the RitzCarlton Hotel chain worldwide; year 200 winner of the cleanest hotel in the Delta chain in Canada; winner of the cleanest hotel in the Marriot chain in Canada in 2007 and also honoured in 2006 with the cleanest hotel in The Marriot Chain in Canada.