After nearly three decades of excellent and active service at Academy Press Plc, one of Nigeria’s oldest and most respected printing companies, veteran industry executive, Gbenga Ladipo, has officially retired, leaving behind an uncommon legacy of growth and record-breaking performance.

Ladipo exits the company with an unprecedented achievement, the highest yearly turnover in Academy Press’ history, recording over N6 billion in revenue from its initial N500million value. The milestone stands as a testament to his strategic leadership, financial expertise, and unwavering commitment to corporate excellence.

His remarkable career trajectory reflects a strong foundation in accounting and finance. Before joining Academy Press in 1998, Ladipo built an impressive professional portfolio with Deloitte (formerly Akintola Williams Deloitte) and Coca-Cola, where he established a reputation for delivering exceptional results and driving organisational growth.

Throughout his tenure at Academy Press, Ladipo steered the company through some of the most challenging periods in Nigeria’s economic landscape. From economic downturns and industry disruptions to the rapid technological evolution that transformed the printing sector, he was widely regarded as a calm and dependable leader whose resilience helped sustain the company’s competitiveness and growth.

His departure has been met with deep admiration and emotion among employees, many of whom commended his leadership style, mentorship, and vision for the company’s continued success.

The affection and respect he earned over the years were evident during his send-off celebration held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, where friends, colleagues, shareholders, business partners, and vendors gathered to honour Ladipo’s outstanding contributions to Academy Press.

Among the guests at the ceremony were Mr. Femi Akingbe, Dr. Olukayode Olusunmade, Mr. Samuel Adedoyin, Mr. Olatunji Johnson, Mr. David Pritchard and Mrs. Folashade Omo-Eboh.

For many in the room, Ladipo was not merely the executive who led Academy Press for two decades as managing director; he was the quiet centre of gravity in difficult times — the man who did not need to raise his voice to command respect, and who, in the words of several speakers, carried other people’s burdens as if they were his own.

The tributes captured the arc of a career that began when Ladipo left Akintola Williams Deloitte about 28 years ago to join Academy Press and head its Accounts Department. From there, he rose to Finance and Admin Director, and eventually to the top job, where he spent 20 years steering one of Nigeria’s most recognisable printing companies through economic uncertainty, industry shifts and major corporate milestones.

A Senior Manager at the Academy Press, Yemi Adepoju, recalled working closely with Ladipo for almost 25 years and painted a portrait of a leader who solved problems without theatrics. He remembered periods when the company faced turbulence and daily operational strain, and how Ladipo responded not with panic, but with practical calm.

Even in moments of pressure, he said, Ladipo never barked orders. Instead, he asked questions, invited people to think, and made them feel responsible and supported at the same time. In one memorable example, Adepoju recounted how Ladipo backed the team during a demanding 2023 budget-related job, negotiated extra time, and returned from a trip to go straight to the factory floor, staying close to operations until the crisis eased. That blend of firmness and trust, many suggested, was what made him unusual.

In his remarks, President of the Academy Press Staff Union, Solomon Olurakaye, brought the emotion of the workforce into the room when he described Ladipo as a father figure. Workers, he said, never felt treated like mere staff. They felt seen. They felt heard. They felt protected.

It was a powerful theme throughout the event: that Ladipo’s greatness lay not only in delivering results, but in the way he treated people while doing so.

Former staff and now shareholder, Chief Oyewole Olaoye, perhaps summed it up best when he described Ladipo as “a steady hand” — the kind of person chosen not simply for seniority, but for stability and focus. That phrase lingered in the room because it explained so much. In corporate life, where noise often passes for leadership, Ladipo seemed to have built his reputation by doing the opposite: staying measured, staying honest, and keeping “his eyes on the ball,” as Olaoye put it.

There was also laughter amid the admiration as Ladipo and his wife Funmi savoured the encomiums, adulation and best wishes.

Adepoju lightened the mood when he recalled that when Ladipo first joined the company, he had a full head of thick hair — a detail made memorable, he joked, by the turbulence of the years that followed. Looking at him now, he said with a smile, the boss seemed to have come full circle. It was the kind of teasing only familiarity can carry, and it revealed how deeply personal many of these professional relationships had become.

One of the Directors, Mrs Fatima Betara, re-echoed similar sentiment when he described Mr Ladipo as “a gentle and compassionate, yet principled and unwavering when it came to doing what was right.”

She said: “You proved that humility and firmness can coexist. Your listening skills were unparalleled. When you spoke, your words were thoughtful, informed and carried the weight of wisdom.

“In the face of adversity, your calm demeanour reassured everyone around you. You inspired confidence simply by the way you carried yourself.

“You mentored generations of professionals, built enduring structures and safeguarded the heritage of a great institution.

“It is difficult to imagine this organisation without your presence, but your greatest achievement is the people you have groomed to continue the work.

“You became more than a leader; you became a trusted adviser, a big brother and someone people could turn to in difficult times.
“This is not goodbye. It is a celebration of a remarkable journey and the beginning of a well-deserved new chapter filled with peace, good health and joy.”

Mrs. Kemi Ogunnubi, the current Managing Director, captured the tone of the evening when she described it as a mixture of celebration and parting. Ladipo, she said, had not just led the company; he had shaped it. That sentiment echoed through the hall as speaker after speaker praised his vision, discipline and legacy.

Ladipo reflected on the long road behind him with the gratitude of a man taking stock without exaggeration. Twenty-eight years, he said, was a long time, filled with many roads, but one for which he remained thankful because it had been “more progressive than regressive.”

Even in retirement, he remained forward-looking. He expressed confidence in the team he was leaving behind and said he believed they would take the company even further.

Ladipo also used the moment to speak on the wider Nigerian printing industry, insisting that the country already has the equipment, people and resources to print both sensitive and non-sensitive materials locally. Rather than outsourcing such jobs abroad, he argued, Nigeria should be self-sustaining — and even export printing services to other African countries.

That view was fitting for a man whose career has been tied not just to one company, but to belief in the capacity of an industry.

Still, the strongest impression from the send-forth was not industrial policy or financial growth. It was character.