• SALES & MARKETING

1. Developing and delivering both in-person and written business development solutions that appeal to senior and mid level executives.
2. Negotiating sales, purchasing, and consulting contracts.

• TRADE & INVESTMENT

1. Asking and answering actionable questions on international law, trade regulations, and investment.
2. Preparing, drafting, and negotiating investment and partnership agreements.

• RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

1. Identifying best practices and tips on personal development, business development, and international development.
2. Building long-term relationships with good ideas and great people.

Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, IL
Juris Doctor, May 2011
• Concentration, International Law and Negotiations
• Award, Dean’s List for Academic Achievement: Fall 2009, Summer 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Government, December 2005
• Recipient, College of Liberal Arts Scholarship Honors: April 2003
• President, African Students Culture Committee

ClariLegal, Chicago, IL 
Chief Client Officer, March 2019– Present
• ClariLegal is simplifying the buying and selling of legal services with our award-winning platform. How I Help: Member of the executive team and board of advisors, with a focus on the client experience, business development, and strategy execution

Morae Global, Chicago, IL 
Midwest Director, March 2018 – March 2019
• Manage the firm’s practice across the U.S. Midwest Region by partnering with the right people, process, and technology

LinkedIn Corporation, Chicago, IL | Mountain View, CA | New York, NY
Executive Advisor, Business Development, May 2016 – Present
• To bring the LinkedIn vision to life for my corporate clients and other professionals, I partner with them to activate targeted LinkedIn solutions that help them to:
– Acquire the right customers.
– Sharpen their operations with action-packed insights.
– Build relationships that advance their corporate growth strategies.

Hethrone Consulting, Abuja, Nigeria | Arlington, VA
Board Member, February 2016 – Present
• Leading in African Strategic Solutions… Hethrone offers a variety of services to meet the needs of clients such as Sub-Saharan African Government Agencies, Inter-Governmental Organizations, and Private Corporations. Hethrone has the expertise to provide tailored management consultations, operational support, and strategic insight.

CEB (formerly Corporate Executive Board Co.), Washington, D.C. | Chicago, IL
Director, Finance & Strategy Practice, May 2011 – April 2016
• Built and maintained relationships with executives at Fortune 500 companies in order to drive up performance in their organizations.
• Developed and presented solution-based proposals to key C-level decision makers, coordinating the entire sales process from initial call to close to account management.
• Oversaw all aspects of a multi-million dollar portfolio including strategic planning, relationship building, and execution of business strategy.
• Consistently achieved over 100% of annual revenue goals across fiscal quarters through contract renewals, new business development, and staff enablement.
• Delivered training on functional topics to Finance, Procurement, and Risk Management executives and their teams through face-to-face and web-based interactions.
• Fostered relationships with the direct reports of C-level executives through demonstration of in-depth institutional knowledge and understanding of specific institutional priorities.
• Collaborated internally with various CEB research and product development staff to activate substantive solutions for my clients.

Highlight Business News – Mediasify, San Francisco, CA | Chicago, IL
Consultant, October 2010 – Present [Per Project Basis]
• Write compelling business reviews that highlight the end client’s unique business or organization in a way that appeals to potential customers or patrons. In November 2010, I implemented a new writing style that maximized the views per review by 10%.

Mean Green List (a Revoyr & Associates startup company), Berkeley, CA | Chicago, IL
Consultant, July 2009 – January 2011
• Managed sales of online advertising and press release deals to general contractors experienced in green energy technologies. In July 2010, I devised an online press release distribution strategy that has improved the demand for our general contractors’ services by 25%.

NLN Shop, Arlington, TX | Austin, TX | Chicago, IL 
Consultant, November 2002 – January 2011
• Sold online ad space and T-shirts to fund a college scholarship program. In June 2005, I recommended a Free Shipping program that increased revenue by 17%.

Baker Botts, LLP, Dallas, TX
Summer Associate, May 2009 – June 2009
• Researched and drafted memos addressing law questions for clients.

Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL), Chicago, IL
Law Clerk, February 2008 – August 2008
• Conducted client intake interviews and referred cases to pro bono attorneys.

LegalFish, LLC, Chicago, IL
Consultant, Business Development, March 2008 – August 2008
• Recruited attorneys for web-based attorney-client matching program through cold calls and networking events.

RenewData Corporation, Austin, TX
Relationship Manager, February 2006 – June 2007
• Introduced electronic discovery solutions to Fortune 1000 corporate counsels and executives through cold calls, trade shows, and networking events.

Dell, Inc., Austin, TX
Specialized Sales Representative, October 2003 – August 2005
• Sold computers to corporate sales customers over the phone.

Southwestern Company, Nashville, TN
Sales Intern, Summer 2002
• Sold educational books and compact discs door-to-door
• Increased the compensation of my sales team from an average of $250/week to $310/week based on my individual performance

• Speaker & Panelist: “Vendor Management and the Alignment of Legal Service Delivery” at the Masters Conference | Feb 28, 2019
• Speaker & Moderator: “The Law Department as a Business Enabler”, 57th Annual Corporate Counsel Institute (CCI) at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law | September 28, 2018
• Keynote Speaker, National Sales Network Chapter Meeting – Chicago, March 2017
• Executive Advisor Speaker, Healthcare Manufacturers Management Council – Hollywood, FL | November 29-30, 2017 | “Your Professional Brand = Your Success Story”
• Speaker and Consultant, Reed Smith LLP – Women’s Initiative Network | December 6, 2017 | “LinkedIn Business Development for Law Firm Professionals”
• Executive Advisor Speaker, Tech Sales Leader Association – Sawgrass Leadership Conference – Social Selling: The Future of New Business – Florida, March 2017
• Podcast Interview, B2B Growth Show: The Anatomy of a Great LinkedIn Profile – In this episode we talk to Chuki Obiyo, Executive Advisor, Sales Solutions at LinkedIn. – April 2017
• Co-Author, Four Ways to Win the Game WikiLeaks Changed, ETHISPHERE Magazine, Feb 2011
• Author, 52 Reasons to Invest in Africa, The Boston Globe, Feb. 2011
• Interview, Faces of Nigerian Professionals in Diaspora Vol. 1: Chuki Obiyo, JD, The Current Magazine
• Reference, How to Take Advantage of the Coming Africa Infra Boom, LinkedIn Influencer Post – Greg Silberman, Chief Investment Officer at Atlanta Capital Group
• Reference, 10 Reasons African-Americans Should Invest in Africa , Atlanta Black Star News – ABS Staff

Enhance Corporate Accounting Efficiency 
Situation: Client, a $3 Billion Manufacturing Company (Fortune 1000).  After I made a sales presentation on the benefits of CEB membership to the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Accounting Officer (in my capacity as a director in the CEB Finance & Strategy Practice), they shared with me how their company was really struggling to improve the accounting close process, i.e. the steps required to prepare accounts for financial statements and the start of the next accounting period.  This challenge manifested itself in some critical areas of operation– several of their business units were being asked to resubmit their numbers, which in turn led to unresolved audit points and closing options that were very time-consuming.  For example, data issues that required informed judgment calls were being raised only in the middle of the close cycle as opposed to much earlier on in the process.

Action:  To fully address their challenge, I successfully made a case to them on why they needed to partner with CEB for at least one engagement year paid in full.  In the first six months of the engagement, I collaborated with my research and benchmarking teams to design an accounting close survey tool configured specifically for them as a preferred client company.  I worked with the CFO and CAO to deploy the tool across a number of their business units with the goal of surfacing data workflow bottlenecks and inconsistencies.

Result: Client was able to reduce the close cycle by seven days while decreasing the amount of close errors.  My actions delivered business value in both the short and medium-term.  In the short-term, I helped my client to identify the business units that had the least streamlined processes; and in the medium-term, my work led to the creation of a structured framework to help my client resolve issues earlier on in the close process.

Improve Enterprise Cost Management 
Situation: Client, a $20 Billion Consumer Goods Company (Fortune 500).  In my work as a senior director in the CEB Finance & Strategy Practice, I periodically give presentations on emerging issues that impact Finance functions.  After an event presentation I gave on the increase in G&A cost related to ad-hoc/judgment-based work (e.g. M&A analytics) over transactional/rules-based work (Accounts Payable processing), I connected calendars with the CFO and Treasurer in attendance.  They expressed some interest in having a follow-up discussion with me about how G&A cost trends might be impacting their operations.   [General & administrative corporate spend are expenses not related to the production of any goods or services i.e. operating expenses].  During our follow-up meeting, they opened up to me about how their company was facing cost reduction pressures.  The pressures had become very challenging, especially in light of setting the right cost targets and timeline across their different G&A functions like Marketing, IT, and HR.

Action:  I recommended and helped them to organize a one-day cost management workshop where they invited key functional heads and stakeholders.  To facilitate the workshop, I worked with my research and data team to put together practical resources as follows: G&A data highlighting the costs that other similarly-situated organizations are removing from their cost base; management questions for identifying costs to reduce through robust functional activity audits; checklists for engaging mid to low level employees in the process of weeding out inefficiencies and costs at their level; and incentives guidelines related to different scenarios for cost reduction targets.

Result: My client pinpointed 14 high-impact ideas for which costs could reasonably be eliminated across their enterprise.  The executive team also surfaced the need for (and came to agreement on) a better approach to manage hiring freezes based on key performance indicators such as project criticality and growth milestones. In addition, I was successful in changing the CFO and Treasurer’s perspective on Finance’s role in monitoring cost-cutting progress, and they left with a clear action plan that now serves as part of a living document for how they manage enterprise costs on an ongoing basis.

• Board Member, St. Paul’s by-the-Lake Church, Chicago IL
• Interests: Jogging, playing Scrabble, and washing the dishes after dinner.
• Sports Fan: Dallas Cowboys, Chelsea Football Club, and Texas Longhorns