# Israel Opayemi

Israel Jaiye Opayemi is a Nigerian public relations executive, communications strategist, and business leader. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Chain Reactions Africa (formerly Chain Reactions Nigeria), one of Nigeria's leading public relations firms.He currently serves as the President of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) and is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

## Early life and education

Israel Jaiye Opayemi earned his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Philosophy in 1992 and a master's degree in Political Science in 1996, both from the University of Lagos. Opayemi completed professional development courses including the Politics Pacific Times political campaign program at Campaign & Elections in Los Angeles in 2004. In 2023, he attended the Strategic Leadership Course at Harvard University.

## Career

After completing his National Youth Service in 1993, Opayemi began his career as a freelance copywriter and speech writer, providing services to agencies, corporate organizations, and public sector clients. During this period, he worked with Sesan Ogunro, founder of Eminent Communications Limited, who became his mentor. From 2002 to 2007, Opayemi served as Chief Press Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Governor and Special Assistant on Public Affairs in the Office of the Governor of Lagos State. His responsibilities included public affairs strategy development and communications.
In 2007, Opayemi founded Image Savvy Limited, a media services and public affairs consulting firm. The firm joined the Global Partnership network of the Wisdom Keys Group, South Africa in 2008, with Opayemi serving as managing director of Wisdom Keys Group Nigeria until 2010. In March 2010, the company was rebranded as Chain Reactions Nigeria Ltd. Under his leadership, the firm became the Nigerian Affiliate and West Africa's Partner to Edelman in 2016. In March 2022, the company was renamed Chain Reactions Africa to reflect its expanded focus on the African market.
Opayemi has provided consulting services to various public and private sector clients, including the Federal Government of Nigeria, state governments, and corporations such as Reckitt, Facebook (now Meta), HP, and the World Bank. His experience in public affairs and political communications includes involvement in Nigerian election cycles from 1999 to 2023.
Opayemi is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and has served in various professional leadership roles. He has held positions as Publicity Secretary of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Board Member of the International Advertising Association (IAA) in Nigeria, and currently serves as President of PRCAN.
Opayemi has contributed to various industry publications and spoken at several professional conferences.
Under his leadership, Chain Reactions Africa has contributed to developing the public relations industry in Nigeria through various initiatives and won several awards such as the Outstanding PR Agency of the Year award at the MarketingEdge Awards 2024. They also won the Public Sector PR Campaign of the Year by the Lagos PR Industry Gala & Awards (LaPRIGA) 2024

### Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Ref |
| 2018 | Lagos PR Awards (LAPRIGA) | PR Practitioner of the Year | [29] [30] |
| 2018 | Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Lagos Chapter | PR Practitioner of the Year | |

## Personal life

Israel Opayemi is married to Abimbola Opayemi and they have two daughters, Toluwanimi and Inioluwa.