Employee spotlight: Charles Ogunkeye

From designing McDonald’s Happy Meal boxes, to helping O2 connect with Gen Z through music, Account Executive Charles has achieved a lot in his short time at tms. Get to know him below…

What are your pronouns?
My pronouns are he/him.

What type of work experiences did you have prior to joining tms?
I joined tms bright eyed, fresh out of university. In the time between leaving uni and accepting the role, I had been working with a charity in Worthing, finding new ways for them to promote themselves and their available spaces to their wider community.

I’d also setup a Marketing consultancy with two friends out of university to help local business, before we decided to pack up shop and part ways to figure out our own paths, leading me to finding my place here.

What’s in your headphones currently?
I currently have Giveon – Heartbreak Anniversary in my headphones but JAE 5 recently dropped a song with Skepta called ‘Dimension’ that I can’t get enough of.

Describe tms in one word:
Unwavering.

During your time at tms, what piece of work are you most proud of?
I’ve been lucky enough to have worked on multiple accounts whilst at tms. I started in the world of McDonald’s Happy Meal, so I think I’d have to say I’m most proud of the first Happy Meal Box I created. It was an Asia Pacific Teen Titans themed box and I was lucky enough to visit Japan and see them IRL.

I’m currently working with O2 on their Priority platform and recently completed a campaign with a grassroots radio station called No Signal. This start up had taken over the radio world during lockdown and we partnered with them to create a series of Masterclasses aimed at giving Gen Z back door access and knowledge into the inner workings of the music industry. We had the likes of Julie Adenuga and Grammy winning producer iO take part and managed to pull off the almost impossible task of filming whilst in lockdown. Being able to give back to culture and inspire those in my age bracket is something I’m truly proud of.

What would the title of your autobiography be?
‘We’re only just getting start baby’. I’m a big believer in self improvement and don’t think I’ve reached my best yet so watch this space.

Which person (dead or alive) would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with?
I’d love to be stuck in an elevator with Jaden Smith. He strikes me as a person who doesn’t believe in limits. Being able to pick his brains would definitely be eye-opening and might even change how I view the world.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve been given?
‘Take every opportunity given to you’ – It was the first thing said to me when I started at tms and I’ve done exactly that ever since. I’ve attended multiple talks and am lucky enough to have been chosen to attend an AIA course answering a brief directly from Tesco.

What’s your current side hustle?
I’m a big gamer outside of my work life and often spend weekends creating content with friends who have their own Youtube channels. Prior to lockdown I was traveling the world so will probably pick back up from where I left off, first stop being Thailand!