Olalekan Akinyele

Olalekan Akinyele, fondly known as Lexain, is a multi-award-winning creative leader with over 14 years of experience in advertising, brand design, and strategic marketing. Recognized as The Industry Summit’s Creative Director of the Year (2022) and Marketing Edge’s Outstanding Creative Personality of the Year (2024), Olalekan has built a reputation for excellence and innovation across the creative industry.

He formerly led 7even Interactive as Creative Director, where he successfully rebranded and revitalized the agency into a thriving post-COVID creative business. His previous experience spans some of the most reputable agencies including Dentsu Creative, Fuel Communications, Etu-Odi, and Noah’s Ark.

Olalekan is renowned for fusing data-driven insights, design thinking, and bold creativity to shape the identities of leading local and global brands. His portfolio includes work across diverse sectors; FMCG, telecoms, banking, automotive, fintech, electronics, beverages, and more, for brands such as Indomie, Netflix, LG, Rolls Royce, Smirnoff, 9mobile, Sahara Group, Hero Lager, Paga, and Chivita, among many others.

He has also contributed to the global creative community by serving on juries for prestigious festivals including the LAIF Awards, Pitcher Awards, Loeries, ANDY Awards, and Red Apple Awards.

Beyond agency walls, Olalekan is the founder and lead facilitator of Think Like A Designer, a human development platform empowering creatives, designers, and entrepreneurs to solve real-world problems using design thinking methodologies.

A graduate of Geophysics from Olabisi Onabanjo University, he is passionate about fashion, technology, entertainment, and innovation. He enjoys traveling, writing, mentoring startups, and building capacity in creative industries. Olalekan is married with three children and is a proud member of the Ikoyi Club.

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