Toke Alex-Ibru has been named the Chief Executive Officer of The Guardian, succeeding Martins Oloja, who is set to retire as Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief at the end of March 2024. The announcement, made by the newspaper’s board on Monday, anticipates that Alex-Ibru will leverage his extensive corporate industry experience to enhance the brand equity of the esteemed 40-year-old publication.
Toke Alex-Ibru, the first son of The Guardian’s founder, Alex Ibru, holds a 2002 history degree from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, and has executive education in media and entertainment from IESE Business School in Spain. With over 15 years of commercial experience in publishing and seven years in hospitality management, he has previously served as an executive director, contributing to the management, development, and sustainability of the newspaper. His roles also included involvement in the digital transformation of the organization and membership on The Guardian’s editorial board.
The restructuring of the newspaper began in April of the previous year when Martins Oloja announced Oluwafemi Adekoya as the Editor (Daily), replacing Alabi Williams. The Saturday and Sunday editions were consolidated into weekend editions, with Kabir Garba appointed as the Editor of the Weekend publications. Wole Oyebade, head of the aviation desk, was named Deputy Editor (Daily).
Reflecting on his retirement, Oloja expressed satisfaction with the ongoing management disruption, praising the younger team for continuing the legacy of the newspaper’s founder. Oloja, who will remain a member of the editorial board, emphasized his pride in championing the initiative to have young scholars take over editorial management since April, culminating in the appointment of Toke as CEO.
