You are cordially invited to the
MEMOIR Launch
of Dr. Ken Onyeali Ikpe
RE-IMAGINE
My Life and Lessons in Black & White
A candid account of the choices, turning points and convictions that shaped a remarkable personal and professional journey.
THURSDAY
OCT
22ND
2026
5:30 P.M.
Date
Thursday, 22 October 2026
Time
5:30 P.M.
Venue
Metropolitan Club, Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos
Dress code
Formal
RSVP
Ms. Idu Oruamabo, 0805 742 4887
The Book
From success to significance.
In Re-Imagine, Dr Ken Onyeali Ikpe delivers a reflective, candid account of his journey from a boyhood in Lagos to becoming an industry titan in marketing communications, executive consulting and business strategy.
Written as he reached his 50th birthday, a milestone he calls the “halftime” of his life, the book centres on a defining transition: moving from the pursuit of success to the pursuit of significance.
The Core
An individual’s immovable centre, character and primary purpose: who you are when no one is watching.
The Multiplier
Take what you have received, add value to it, and pass it on, so that “what arrived as one leaves as many.”
Part One
The Journey
From a disciplined Lagos household to Afikpo, Calabar, thirteen years in Europe and twenty-six years at the top of marketing communications.
01
Roots
A public-servant father who funded his relatives’ education instead of enriching himself, a schoolteacher mother who enforced daily discipline, and a grandmother in Nekede who taught the weight of the name Onyeali, “owner of this land.”
Privilege demands responsibility.
02
Roads
The “Afikpo exile,” the IUPAC rule of excellence, a near-expulsion that taught him never to join a crowd, the Calabar deal, and thirteen years in Moscow and beyond, culminating in a PhD at the Moscow Academy of Sciences.
Excellence buys freedom.
03
The Resolve to Succeed
The Three Roads framework, a father’s deathbed confession, and the decision systems behind leaving advertising for a road never travelled: design over default, and hindsight, insight and foresight.
Indecision is itself a decision.
Road one
The Road Well Travelled
Predictable, safe, and necessary for societal stability.
Road two
The Road Less Travelled
Modest risk and keen observation to achieve different outcomes.
Road three
The Road Never Travelled
Driven by what is possible rather than what is available: mapless, expensive, and subject to early criticism.
Part Two
Life As I Know It
Ten reflections that distil Dr Ikpe’s operating and leadership philosophy.
01
The Discipline of Perspective
Separate emotional reactions from structural facts.
02
The Power of Conviction
Standing alone for a principle beats standing with a crowd in error.
03
Walking the Uncommon Path
Value is created at the margins, not on the crowded main road.
04
The Weight of Leadership
The willingness to be misunderstood and to absorb pain for others.
05
Mentorship & Influence
Real mentors prepare you to outgrow them.
06
Growth, Process & Patience
What is built quickly without process collapses under pressure.
07
Excellence & Personal Standards
Intellectual curiosity, contemporary relevance, classical elegance.
08
Nation Building & Responsibility
Personal competence, institutional integrity, working systems.
09
Legacy and Continuity
Legacy is the capacity and character built in people who outlive you.
10
Charting New Vistas
Never let past achievements become the ceiling for the next assignment.
The first part of life is about success. The second part of life is about significance… Significance asks who is alive because of you.
On success and significance
“Indecision is itself a decision. It is the slowest, costliest decision a person can make.”
On indecision
“Excellence buys a freedom that mere seniority can never buy.”
On excellence
“The core is the immovable centre of who you really are… Most people take their jobs more seriously than they take their lives.”
On purpose
“Look the part, then go and earn it… The dress is a promise, and a promise unkept is a lie.”
On personal style
Support the book
Pledge Slip
I pledge to purchase Re-Imagine: My Life and Lessons in Black and White by Dr Ken Onyeali Ikpe.
Thank you for supporting this remarkable account of life, leadership and the pursuit of significance.