The Chief
Executive Officer and Managing Director of Mouka Limited, Raymond Murphy had
the Honorary Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) conferred
on him by the Institute on August 1, 2019.
This award comes
on the heels of excellent marketing techniques, sterling service and leadership
qualities that Murphy has been credited with.
Murphy received
this honorary award alongside other captains of industries such as Uchechukwu Ogah,
President , Masters Energy Group, Ifenyinwa Afe, Managing Director for HP Inc. Central Africa,
Lateef Bakare, a member of the Board of
First Bank, Nigeria, John Ugbe, Chief
Executive Officer of Multi Choice Nigeria, among other notable personalities.
Murphy is reputed
to be the brains behind the innovative ideas that have shot Mouka into the leadership
position in the Nigerian foam and mattress industry. While it enjoys a huge
market share, the foam company is also redefining the sector.
Mouka has been
reckoned with for adding comfort to life through the provision of sleep
solutions that have given rise to the opening of 10 sleep galleries across Nigeria.
The company has also developed an extensive distribution network with
more than 1,000 branded sales outlets and over 300 third-party distributors
across the country.
The producer of foam, spring mattresses and other bedding materials is a proud owner of three
production facilities in the country.
Murphy came on board as the CEO and MD of the indigenous foam
manufacturing company in mid-2015 after the closure of a Private Equity transaction
which saw 90 percent of the shareholding transferred to a private equity firm, leaving
the remaining balance of 10 per cent to the original founding family. The
company has since recorded feats only few in the private sector can boast of.
Mouka has been listed twice in the London Stock Exchange Group’s Companies to Inspire Africa reports for 2017 and 2019. To be included in the list, companies must be
privately owned and show an excellent rate of growth and potential to power
African development.
Mouka was also awarded the Mattress Manufacturing Company of the
Year at the 2017 edition of The Guardian
Manufacturing Excellence Award. That same year, the mattress manufacturer also
earned another recognition by the African Brand Congress as the Mattress Brand
of the Year.
In 2019, Mouka emerged the Foam and Mattress Company of the Year
at the Nigerian Real Estate and Property Awards.
Noteworthy, is also the fact that Mouka recently partnered with
the prestigious Lagos Business School to organize a leadership training
programme for its management staff.
Mouka has been able to attain these enviable heights under Murphy’s
watch and leadership.
Preceding the NIMN award, was Murphy’s recognition by Inside
Business Magazine as Business Leader of the Year.
Reacting to the honour done him by the Institute, Murphy said : “In many ways I’m honoured and extremely
humbled to receive this recognition tonight from such a prestigious institution…
I think it’s not necessarily about improving my profile but what I can give
back to the Institute in terms of sharing my experience of 3 decades of brand
building not just in Nigeria but in other
territories across the world.”
He explained further : “…We have had strong partnerships with advertising
agencies, creative agencies, public
relations ,media planning and buying agencies and that has significantly increased
Mouka’s brand profile over the past 5 years…so it’s about myself and my
colleagues and the investment we have made over the past 5 years.”
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Between 1990 and
1993, he was Sterling Health’s Business Development Manager for Southern
Central Africa and was responsible for the identification of new business
opportunities. Murphy implemented successful entry strategies for Nigeria and
Zimbabwe and grew sales by 300 percent over a three-year period.
He later joined Gillette
International in Budapest Hungary where he served as General Manager between 1993
and 1997. In that capacity, he had the primary objective to seamlessly upgrade
the business from third party national distribution to full-fledged local legal
entity.
In 1997, he moved
over to Indochina Juice Company happy as Chief Executive Officer of a start up
project worth an estimated $11.0 million, he was saddled with the
responsibility of manufacturing and marketing branded packaged fruit juices of
the venture.
Murphy built sales
of nearly $5 million during the first year of commercial operations and created
two completely new and appealing fruit juice brands for Vietnamese consumers.
He also devised a third party logistics solution ensuring cost effective
product distribution throughout Vietnam.
In 2001, he became
the Managing Director of Cussons Middle East, India and South Asia region and
turned around a stagnating business to deliver over 20 percent bottom line
annual growth. He restructured operations away from a trading mentality to
formally structured marketing led enterprise and replaced underperforming
distributors and appointed leading distributors in new territories.
As Managing
Director of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Murphy was responsible for $100 million of
sales with seven factory units and 1,500 employees, and successfully doubled profits
to $22 million in three years.
Murphy is a
seasoned C-suite leader with in excess of 25 years’ experience in Global
Emerging and Frontier Markets.
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