KPMG US

As a Principal at KPMG, my role revolves around using my management consulting skills to provide financial analysis and strategic business planning guidance. I work closely with healthcare executives, empowering them to navigate the complexities of budgeting within the evolving landscape of healthcare payments. By cultivating leadership development and leveraging my analytical skills, I help these professionals sustain and grow their organizations effectively.

Principal

Managing Director

Director

American Heart Association

As a member of the executive leadership team for the American Heart Association's Heart Walk, I leverage my skills in management consulting and leadership development to drive fundraising efforts, community engagement, and awareness campaigns. I am deeply involved in budgeting and financial planning for fundraising activities, utilizing my analytical skills to maximize efficiency and reach. My role is focused on raising awareness about the impact of heart disease and stroke in Maryland, forging strong connections with the community, and providing strategic guidance to optimize our mission's impact.

Heart Walk Executive Leadership Team Member

Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)

In my previous role as President of the Maryland Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), I led a professional network of financial executives in the healthcare sector. I applied my management consulting expertise and financial analysis skills to oversee educational development and foster leadership development within the organization. A significant part of my work involved guiding members in comprehending and navigating the intricacies of healthcare payments, budgeting, and analytical techniques, thus contributing to their individual growth and the overall advancement of the chapter.

President of Maryland Chapter of HFMA

I am a Principal at KPMG, where I use my management consulting skills to provide financial analysis and strategic business planning guidance to healthcare executives. With a Masters of Health Science from The Johns Hopkins University, I have a strong background in health finance and management, which enables me to navigate the complexities of budgeting within the evolving landscape of healthcare payments.

My role is focused on empowering healthcare professionals to sustain and grow their organizations effectively, by cultivating leadership development and leveraging my analytical skills. I have delivered keynote speeches at healthcare conferences, trained professionals at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and advised executives on payment policy design for maximum community impact. I am also a member of the executive leadership team for the American Heart Association's Heart Walk, where I drive fundraising efforts, community engagement, and awareness campaigns. I am passionate about collaborating for a sustainable future.

James Case

David Olusegun

Hi 👋🏿

I’m David. I’m driven by faith and committed to purpose. My work is simple: build and invest in consumer brands that make lives better and leave a positive legacy.

For over a decade, I’ve worked across CPG, entertainment, and media with global players.

I'm also privileged to advise founders and corporations on building products that truly serve people and I speak on faith, entrepreneurship and brand leadership with a focus on real-world impact and integrity.

Honoured to be recognised by Powerful Media, Music Week, KPMG Entrepreneur of the Year, HSBC x Black Business Week Top Entrepreneur and the UK’s Top 100 African Business Leaders, but the mission stays the same: help brands serve people, do good with excellence and integrity and honour God.

Reach My Team👇🏾

📧 Speaking & Commercial: adam@howtobeiconic.co
📧 Press Enquiries: press@howtobeiconic.co

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

CCV is a venture builder that partners with purpose-driven creators to launch global CPG brands. We are a creative-led team with strong end-to-end commercial expertise that provides the complete infrastructure to launch, build and scale these pioneering brands.

Our goal is to give our clients the opportunity to build something bigger than their personal brand, receive ownership rather than just another endorsement deal and leverage their following into a long-term future through building impactful businesses.

Our operating model is to work together with the creator as a co-founding team and enable them with the right infrastructure, tools, support, and capital. We love working with creators to change the world, one brand at a time. We believe it’s time we build businesses that shift the power paradigm to the hands of the creators. It’s what gets us up in the morning, it’s in our DNA and we are irretrievably obsessed with collective success by working with CCV you’ll be working with vested partners committed to global success!

Jesus was the greatest leader to ever walk the earth, and if you study his example, you’ll find timeless lessons on humility, vision and service that can transform how you lead.

Building and Investing Purpose-Driven Consumer Brands | Angel Investor | Keynote Speaker

JESUS

I build brands, grow businesses, and navigate the world of CPG, but none of it matters without God. 

To my fellow Christians here, hear me clearly: we are nothing without God.
Preach the Word. Even if you don’t want your platform only to be faith-based, let your life preach. 

Let your character, your choices, and your conversations point people to Christ.

Talk to people about Him. Love people like Him. That’s our primary assignment.

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage. With great patience and careful instruction.” – 2 Timothy 4:2

When God leads, your efforts are strengthened, and your path becomes clearer.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed”— Proverbs 16:3

Are we witnessing a fundamental change in what it means to be an influencer?

For years, brands defaulted to the polished archetype: musicians, athletes, and models who could embody a kind of aspirational perfection.

But now we’re seeing a pivot, a willingness to bet on people who don’t fit the traditional mould, yet have something far more valuable: cultural credibility and a voice their communities genuinely trust.

Take Auntie Bemi. From London bus videos with 22M likes to front-row campaigns with JACQUEMUS, Burberry, H&M Group, and Maybelline New York, she represents a new era. 

One where influence is not about celebrity status, but about resonance, relatability, and cultural fluency.

Some critics argue that H&M’s campaign with her is a gimmick, but let’s be real: the same old faces are tired. The industry is learning that the fastest way to reconnect with audiences is to back homegrown, non-traditional talent who feel like us.

And that’s the deeper shift:
☯︎ Influence is no longer gatekept by industries like music or sport.
☯︎ Brands are recognising that style, voice, and cultural relevance can come from anywhere.
☯︎ Communities are responding to authenticity, not polished perfection.

For H&M, with shares down 8.4% last year against Inditex’s 29% rise, taking risks on fresh voices isn’t optional, but it’s now a matter of survival.

So maybe the real question is this: are we entering an age where the most powerful influencers aren’t the ones with the biggest stages, but the ones who speak most clearly to the people in them?

So many of us have felt lost, searching for purpose, direction, clarity. Life can get confusing, heavy and overwhelming. 

But the good news is that there IS a way.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and in Him we find the peace and direction we’ve been longing for. (John 14:6)

I read the Boots UK 2025 beauty data and a few things really stood out…

1. Science is winning. Full stop.

People are buying results.

No7 Beauty Company Renew now sells every 10 seconds. The Ordinary, La Roche-Posay Laboratoire Dermatologique… same pattern. The consumer has become a scientist

2. “Glow” has left the face and taken over the whole body.

Searches for glycolic acid jumped 64%. Even body scrubs now come with AHA/BHA. Skin health is now part of people's lifestyle.

3. K-beauty didn’t trend. It took over.

One K-beauty product sold every 15 seconds at Boots. Beauty of Joseon leading the charge. Korean haircare next.

4. TikTok is now the global beauty supply chain.

Boots added 400+ social-first brands because that’s where the attention is. Sky High Mascara, E.L.F. BEAUTY Power Grip Primer… all born online before they hit shelves.

5. Inside-out beauty is here to stay.

- Collagen searches up 227%.
- Electrolytes up 755%.
- Gut health up 70%.

People want energy, clarity, digestion, skin all connected. Beauty is now internal work.

6. Adaptogens are moving from niche to normal.

- Ashwagandha searches up 722%.
- Lion’s Mane in gummies, drinks, serums.

Consumers want calm, focus, balance and they’re shopping for it everywhere.

7. Fragrance is becoming identity.

Nostalgia, mood-setting, Y2K scents. Boots even opened a fragrance-only store. People aren’t buying perfume; they’re buying a feeling.

Beauty is more holistic and about consumers feeling good physically, emotionally and mentally.

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African Culture Is Exploding and It’s Creating One of the Biggest Untapped Food & Beverage Opportunities

I’ve been saying this privately for years, but it’s finally becoming mainstream news: African culture isn’t “coming.” It’s here! 

In 2023, Burna Boy sold out the London Stadium the first African artist in history to do so. That same night, Beyoncé was performing across town. Two icons. Two stadiums. One message: Africa is no longer on the periphery of culture. 

The Grocer just reported a major surge in British shoppers looking for West African foods.

For me someone who grew up in South London surrounded by jollof pots, suya smoke, puff-puff after church, none of this is surprising. The biggest untapped opportunity in UK consumer goods right now is African food & beverage.

The Pattern Is Clear: Every Global Cuisine Breaks Through the Same Way
Culture → Curiosity → Street Food → Restaurants → CPG → Category Leader

Korea did it. Japan did it. Mexico did it. The Middle East did it.
Now it’s West Africa’s turn. The difference this time?

The cultural wave is faster, the diaspora is younger, and the gap between cultural relevance and supermarket presence is the widest I’ve ever seen.

A Huge, Underserved Market Hiding in Plain Sight

The UK’s African community is not small:
✅ 1.5 million Black African people
✅ 250k mixed Black African
✅ Together, similar in size to the British Indian population

And the wider market is curious:
✅ 65% of Brits say they’d try West African food
✅ 57% have never had the opportunity

The demand is there. As someone who builds CPG brands, I see this gap every day:

✅ High cultural momentum
✅ High consumer curiosity
✅ Low shelf presence
✅ No dominant brands

This combination does not come around often. When it does, it creates category-defining winners.

The Signals Are Everywhere, the Industry Is Waking Up

1. The Grocer Confirms Rising Interest in African Frozen Foods
2. UK Retailers Expanding African SKUs
3. Michelin Stars Leading the Way
4. Festivals, Street Food & Gen Z
5. Diaspora Convenience Demand

This is the “Itsu moment” for African cuisine. Add the demographic reality, by 2050, 1 in 10 children globally will be African and you start to see how big this really is.

This isn’t a wave. African culture is global culture. When culture moves, consumer behaviour follows. When behaviour shifts, categories transform.

And the runway ahead is long, wide, and wide open.

A Pizza Boy with $1,000 Capital became the UK’s Youngest Billionaire with a $1.45 Billion Brand.

At age 19, Ben Francis MBE started Gymshark in his parents' garage while juggling studying at Aston University and working as a Pizza Hut delivery driver.
 
 The first problem? He couldn’t afford a production line, and manufacturers kept saying no. So he learnt to sew. 

With about £1,000 in savings, he bought a sewing machine, some fabric, and a screen printer and handmade the first Gymshark pieces.
 
By day, he was in class, by night delivering pizzas, and in the early hours, he stitched and printed gym wear until 4 a.m.

Back in 2012–2013, fitness content on YouTube was booming, but creators’ audiences had no brand representing them.

Nike and adidas were “sports.” Under Armour was “performance.”
 
Ben understood early that these creators could drive distribution.
 
Gymshark sent free products to fitness YouTubers back when influencer marketing wasn’t even a playbook.

Then came BodyPower Expo 2013, Ben invested every penny the company had made into production and a booth at the fitness expo.
 
They didn’t have hype before the event, but they had one advantage: The creators wore Gymshark to the event.

The gamble paid off. The Gymshark stand was flooded. They sold out in 90 minutes.
 
 After the expo, the Luxe Tracksuit, one of their first premium products, went viral on Facebook.
The company went from making £300/day to £30,000/day overnight.

During the 2015 Black Friday, their website crashed. Orders went missing, and customers were furious.

Ben posted a raw apology video, no PR spin. This made customers connect more with the human behind the brand.

Gymshark remains a direct-to-consumer brand, where transparency matters. There is no middleman, no buffer.

They didn’t just sell gym clothes, they sold identity, they built a tribe:
“I’m building myself, I’m part of this community ”

By 2020, Gymshark had grown into a global fitness brand valued at $1.45 billion. Ben Francis MBE became the UK’s youngest billionaire at 28, still owning 70% of the company.

The lesson? Extraordinary results come when you start before you’re ready, commit fully to your vision, and trust your own instincts. 

Ben didn’t wait for a perfect factory, a big investor, or a proven strategy. He just kept building, testing, and going.

To make it in life, you actually need two things:

Delusion and audacity.

📌 Delusion: that inner belief that you’re meant for more, even if nothing in your life currently proves it.

📌 Audacity: the guts to act on that belief. To apply, to ask, to build, to enter rooms you technically have no business being in.

Most people stay realistic. That’s why they stay stuck.

The ones who change their life always sound a little insane at first.

Think about it: Airbnb started as two guys renting out an air mattress in their living room. 

The idea sounded ridiculous, but now it’s a global hospitality giant.

So if your dream feels delusional… good.

Now back it with action.

Joseph’s story has always fascinated me. 

Every time I read it, I discover something new about resilience, integrity, and leadership. 

Here are a few leadership lessons from Joseph that have stuck with me.

Lessons from Joseph

Over the past few years, Marks and Spencer has quietly delivered one of the strongest turnarounds in British retail.

M&S reported a pre-tax profits of £875.5 million a 22.2% jump, the best result in over 15 years. 

Food sales rose 8.7% to hit £9.0 billion and Fashion, Home & Beauty also grew, sales up 3.5% to £4.2 billion.

So what’s working when many peers still seem stuck in rewrites of their identity?

They leaned into fundamentals: quality food, reliable clothing & home staples. 

Rather than chasing trends or hype, they focused on core value goods people actually use and trust.

They regained trust: after years of repositioning and missteps, M&S seems to have re-earned consumer loyalty. 

Their food arm once derided as “posh sandwiches” is now central to the turnaround.

Disciplined management & clear strategy: consistent top-line growth, margin focus and investment in quality and operations have created a resilient foundation for recovery, even before accounting for external shocks.

Given the turbulence in consumer sentiment, inflation, and high-street fashion, M&S’s success feels especially remarkable: it shows what’s possible when you prioritise value, consistency and trust over flash.

Unilever’s latest move says more about the future of CPG than most people realise.

They’re exploring the sale of Marmite, Colman’s and Bovril, a ~£200m food portfolio, as they shift more aggressively into beauty, personal care and wellness.

Here’s what this really signals:

1. The numbers dictate the strategy.

Beauty operates at 2–3x the gross margins of packaged food, with stronger repeat rates and lower supply-chain drag.

When you model it out, the capital efficiency gap is massive. Unilever is simply reallocating resources to the categories with the best LTV/CAC, the strongest pricing power, and the most elastic demand curves.

2. Brand matters more than shelf space.

Food is increasingly commoditised. Retailers decide your fate.

In beauty, brand equity is the moat. You can build margin through formulation, IP, community, and positioning, not just volume.

3. Category focus beats sprawling empires.

The old FMCG model was: “own everything.” The new model is: “build where you have edge.”

Unilever knows their global R&D, talent, and marketing engine generates outsized returns in beauty.

4. This is part of a bigger industry correction.

We’re entering a decade where conglomerates will prune low-margin assets and double down on high-margin verticals.

Expect more divestments, more rollups, and more buying opportunities for challenger operators who know how to execute.

The lesson for founders? Focus where the economics reward excellence.

Double down on categories where great brand building still moves the needle.

So often, we live with the illusion that someone or some big event will come and fix all our problems for us. 

But the truth is, life doesn’t wait, and no one is coming to save you. 

The good news? When you take the reins yourself, you can achieve everything you’ve prayed for.

No one’s coming to save you!!

I’m thankful to Dr. Raphael Sofoluke, UK Black Business Week | UK Black Business Show, Jamelia Donaldson, Treasure Tress for this amazing gift! 

It means a lot to be acknowledged, especially as a Black man in business and it’s an honour to be recognised alongside so many great men who continue to inspire me. 

Moments like this remind me why we keep going… even on the days when the work feels heavy.

Appreciate you all. ❤️

The $5B Question: Is Kim Kardashians’s SKIMS’ Culture-First Model the New Blueprint?

Skims just raised $224 million at a $5B valuation

Meanwhile:
 📌 Spanx sold the majority stake to Blackstone at $1.2B valuation 
 📌 VICTORIA'S SECRET'S is currently valued at around $4.5B but declining 
 📌 Under Armour (founded in 1996) is struggling at $7B

Is Skims the blueprint for how modern brands beat heritage players?

Let me show you what the numbers actually say:
 ➡️ April 2021: $1.6B valuation ($154M raised)
 ➡️ January 2022: $3.2B valuation ($240M raised)
 ➡️ July 2023: $4B valuation ($270M raised)
 ➡️ November 2025: $5B valuation ($224M raised)

That’s 3x growth in valuation in under 5 years.

Here’s what makes it fascinating: The company is now officially targeting more than $1B in net sales for 2025. 

SKIMS is worth MORE than Spanx despite being 19 years younger and doing less revenue. Victoria’s Secret does 7x Skims’ revenue but is only valued at similar levels.

What does Skims have over the heritage brands? 

Let me break down the four strategic moves that explain Skims’ valuation:

♻️ Culture Over Category: Victoria’s Secret sold “sexy” through male-gaze fantasy. Spanx sold “solutions” through function (hide your flaws, look thinner). Skims sold “confidence” through representation (all bodies, all skin tones, worn by real women).

♻️ Celebrity as Distribution, Not Just Marketing: Kim Kardashian is the distribution channel. Kim Kardashian has 354 million followers on Instagram. That’s more reach than Victoria’s Secret ever had with its Fashion Show at its peak.

♻️ DTC-First, Omnichannel Second: Heritage brands built through wholesale department stores, speciality retailers, and mall locations. Then they tried to add DTC as an afterthought, Skims did the opposite.

♻️▸ Product Velocity Over Product Breadth: Heritage brands think in seasons (Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter), two major launches per year. Skims thinks in drops. Spanx took years to iterate on shades. Skims compresses that into months.

Is this actually sustainable? Does this model beat Heritage long-term?

To find out my take, I break down what’s working, what’s not, and the full numbers behind SKIMS’ $5B valuation in my newsletter. 

Link in the comments.⬇️

The Beauty-Health Revolution: 2026 Belongs to Science-First, Culture-Rich Brands

In my Boots UK commentary, I said the next era of beauty would be defined by two things: science you can trust and culture you can feel.

We’re witnessing the biggest behavioural shift since the rise of K-beauty and this time it has nothing to do with glass skin aesthetics or 10-step rituals.

Consumers have become their own skin scientists, armed with TikTok PhDs and a zero-tolerance policy for anything that smells like marketing poetry.

The data is loud:
→ 73% of Gen Z now research ingredients before buying (up from 31% in 2020).

→ Searches for “skin barrier repair” are up 485% YoY.

“Hyperpigmentation treatment” has overtaken “anti-aging” in global search volume.

Here’s what’s actually happening:
1️⃣ DIY Beauty Has Created a £47B Shadow Market

Today’s DIY consumer isn’t melting shea butter in their kitchen.

They’re dissecting INCI lists, comparing molecule sizes, and building routines around mechanisms of action.

TikTok’s #DIYSkincare now sits at 8.4B views, growing 127% annually.

This is what I call the shadow beauty market a parallel industry shaping demand long before brands catch up.

2️⃣ Skin Health Metrics Are Replacing Beauty Standards

We’ve officially shifted from: “How do I look?” to “How healthy is my skin?”

That mindset is reshaping the £430B global beauty market in real time.

Consumers are tracking barrier function, inflammation, pH balance, melanin activity, and microbiome health the same way they track steps or REM sleep.

3️⃣ African Beauty Intelligence Is Going Global Finally

The Western beauty industry is now catching up to what African and diaspora consumers have known forever: Melanin-rich skin behaves differently. It needs different solutions.

Look at the signals:
Shea butter once hidden in “ethnic” aisles is now an £820M global ingredient.

African black soap is growing 180% YoY across Europe.

Hyperpigmentation-focused brands like Topicals (raised £30M) and Epi.Logic (acquired by Unilever) are proving the category’s power.

2026 belongs to brands that are:

✅Science-first
✅Culture-rooted
✅Ingredient-intelligent
✅Problem-solving at a cellular level
✅Built for a consumer who understands their skin better than most founders

If that scares you, good. If it excites you, even better because there’s a clear playbook for the brands that want to win.

To get the full breakdown join my newsletter.
Link in comments ⬇️

Purpose is not always about an “aha” moment.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the Invest Nigeria Conference.

Even though I already believed deeply in Africa’s potential, being there reaffirmed just how massive the opportunity really is.

Over the next few years, I’ll be spending a lot more time on the continent, building, backing and investing across the consumer value chain. 

From CPG to manufacturing, retail to technology, Africa is at an inflection point and those who understand its nuances will help shape the next generation of global brands.

I know for many investors and operators, Africa still feels “distant” or “risky.” The truth is: it’s just misunderstood.

So starting from December, I’ll be sharing a series of insights and data points from my work on the ground focused on Africa’s consumer and CPG ecosystem.

My goal is simple: to give you a clearer window into the opportunity that’s already unfolding.

Stay tuned 🌍

Walmart’s First African Store Is a Clear Signal That Africa Is Becoming the Smart Investor’s Next Big Bet

Walmart just opened its first African store in Roodepoort, South Africa.
 
 80 jobs created. 15 local SMEs onboarded. A dedicated mobile app and an aggressive 60-minute express delivery service (in the immediate local area). 

This challenges South Africa's leading delivery innovators (e.g., Checkers Sixty60).
 
This isn’t just a “big US retailer entering Africa.” It’s a strategic wedge.

Walmart has been in South Africa for years via its majority stake in Massmart.

But the direct brand entry signals a new era:
✅ Full Commitment: Follows Walmart’s 2022 move to buy out all remaining Massmart shares and delist it. They are now fully in control.

✅ The EDLP Weapon: This introduces the core global “Every Day Low Prices” (EDLP) strategy directly into the South African market, leveraging Walmart’s massive global supply chain efficiencies.

✅ A Direct Challenge: It’s a direct market confrontation with local giants like The Shoprite Group of Companies and Pick n Pay.

What this means for Africa:
1️⃣ African consumers are ready for global standards. Convenience, speed, and product assortment are no longer optional; they are table stakes.

 2️⃣ Retail infrastructure is now a competitive battleground. Whoever builds the logistics, last-mile delivery, and payment solutions that scale across African cities will control a massive share of future revenue.

 3️⃣ Local entrepreneurship matters more than ever. Walmart isn’t just hiring; it’s partnering with SMEs. That means founders who can scale locally while meeting global standards are suddenly extremely investable.

4️⃣ Data-driven retail will dominate. Global giants are testing what works here; pricing, assortment, and fulfilment. Startups that can provide insights or analytics will be bought or copied quickly.

This is a call to action more than a news: The question isn’t whether global giants will come; it’s who is positioning themselves to capture the value they just validated.
 
 Founders, VCs, Investors: if Walmart is in Africa, you should be too.

2025 is almost over, but it’s never too late, and honestly, never too early, to start changing your life. 🕰️
 
 You don’t have to wait for a New Year’s resolution to decide you deserve better.

Swipe through to see 10 reasons why you need to start working towards a better you today, because the best time to invest in yourself is always now.

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