Alex Okosi (full name: Ogbuefi Akunne Alex Uche Okosi) is a Nigerian-born, US-educated business executive. Okosi is the managing director of EMEA Emerging Markets at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Early life

Okosi was educated in Enugu until the age of 12, before finishing his education in the USA. While visiting his brothers in the US, Okosi made the decision to stay in the US to complete his education, and he subsequently studied at schools in New York, Missouri, Nebraska and Florida before attending

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

in Exeter, New Hampshire. Okosi continued his studies at Saint Michael's, Vermont - a liberal arts college in New England where he enrolled in a double major in business administration and economics. He graduated ''Magna cum laude'' in 1998. Okosi was awarded a full scholarship to play Division II basketball for Saint Michael's. He represented his college at Basketball, captaining the Purple Knights’ second team to victory in 1998.

Career

Prior to joining YouTube, Okosi spent 22 years at ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global). He was the executive vice president and managing director of ViacomCBS Africa, and led the

BET International BET International (Black Entertainment Television) is an international television channel centred towards black culture. It is available in Africa, along with the Middle East/North Africa region. It was launched on 28 February 2008 in the UK with ...

brand and ViacomCBS's global events business. He is credited with launching MTV's first TV channel in Africa,

MTV Base MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital boutique of music cha ...

, and building Viacom's entertainment business on the African continent In 2009, he launched the

MTV Africa Music Awards The MTV Africa Music Awards (also known as the MAMAs) were established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa (now Viacom International Media Networks Africa) to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa. The 2008 and 2010 events took pla ...

Timeline

1998 - Okosi joined MTV Networks in New York as part of the Trade and Integrated Marketing team. He developed multi-platform marketing opportunities for advertisers and integrated them into marquee MTV franchises such as the

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s, Spring Break, the

MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editi ...

, and

Wanna Be a VJ ''Wanna Be a VJ'' was a show and contest on MTV in the United States. Contestants were selected from the crowd around MTV's Times Square office, and narrowed down via challenges testing the applicants' music knowledge and personality. Once narro ...

. 2000 - Okosi transferred to the MTV Networks Affiliate Sales & Marketing division in Los Angeles, where he was responsible for securing distribution for MTV Networks brands such as MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, CMT,

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

, and

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

. 2003 - Okosi moved to MTV International in London as a Manager in the MTV International Strategy & Business Development team 2005 - Okosi named VP & General Manager, MTV Base 2007 - Okosi named SVP & MD, MTV Networks Africa 2013 - Okosi's title changed to SVP & MD, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa 2017 - Okosi was promoted to MD & EVP, Viacom International Media Networks Africa and EVP of BET International 2020 - Okosi joined YouTube as MD, YouTube EMEA Emerging Markets

MTV Base (Africa)

Having joined MTV International, Okosi authored the business plan to launch MTV's first African TV channel. Known initially as MTV base (with a lowercase 'b'), the channel was launched in 2005, becoming MTV's first African TV channel and MTV's 100th channel worldwide. The channel was designed to provide a high quality platform that promoted African contemporary music and creativity, while catering to the tastes and attitudes of African youth. The channel featured African contemporary urban musicians and music videos, alongside some longform music and entertainment shows. The launch of the new service was marked with two live music celebrations - MTV Base 100th Live! - held days apart in April 2005 in Abuja, Nigeria and Johannesburg, South Africa.

YouTube

Okosi joined YouTube in April 2020 as the managing director of YouTube EMEA Emerging Markets. Okosi played a key role in landing YouTube's $100M ''Black Voice Fund'' in EMEA and partnered with Idris Elba to launch the annual Africa Day Benefit Concert. He is also an executive member of the Google and

committees tasked with driving and delivering the companies’ racial equity commitments across the EMEA region.

Awards and Achievements

2011 - Okosi was named as New Champion for an Enduring Culture at the ThisDay Awards, receiving his award from

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

. 2013 - New African Magazine: “Africa’s 50 Trailblazers Under 50” 2013 - New African Magazine: “Top 100 most Influential Africans” 2013 - Okosi named Young Global Leader at the World Economic Foundation (WEF) 2014 - Ai Investment & Business Leader Awards: “Up & Coming Future Leader of the Year” 2018 - All Africa Business Leader Award Finalist 2019 - Okosi appointed Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Marketing of Nigeria 2021 - Okosi named to the UK "Powerlist 2022" which recognises the UK’s 100 most influential people of African heritage. 2022 - Okosi was honoured in the UK "Powerlist" for the second year running

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okosi, Alex Nigerian media executives Living people Nigerian expatriates in the United States Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom People from Enugu UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Year of birth missing (living people) MTV Africa Music Awards World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders YouTube Nigerian expatriates in South Africa Nigerian technology businesspeople Alphabet Inc. employees People from Onitsha by occupation Google