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Meet Lola Eniolorunda, a dynamic growth leader and seasoned tech executive based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. With over 17 years of diverse experience in creating, scaling, and advising rapidly growing technology companies in North America and Africa, Lola excels in transforming complex challenges into effective solutions. She is dedicated to driving innovation and achieving sustainable growth through innovation and agility.
When asked about her inspiration for joining VG Platform Inc., Lola shared, “Throughout my career, I have been deeply invested in building and scaling technology-driven businesses. VG Platform Inc. presented a unique opportunity to drive high-impact growth across global markets while solving critical challenges in building the infrastructure that powers businesses. The company’s commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and market expansion aligns perfectly with my expertise and vision.”
The Key Qualities of Great Leaders in Tech Companies
Lola believes great leaders in high-growth technology companies must be visionary, adaptable, and execution-driven. The rapid pace of technological innovation requires leaders who can anticipate industry shifts while making data-driven decisions that ensure sustainable growth.
Resilience and agility are crucial qualities; leaders must navigate uncertainty with confidence and pivot strategies when necessary. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make tough decisions quickly are also essential. Another important quality is the capacity to build and nurture high-performing teams. Growth is never a solo journey; leaders must inspire, empower, and trust their teams while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Lola’s Diverse Experience across North America and Africa
Operating in diverse markets has reinforced the importance of contextual intelligence and curious leadership. Understanding local consumer behavior, regulatory landscapes, and economic dynamics is crucial. This journey has also strengthened Lola’s ability to build cross-functional, globally dispersed teams while driving operational efficiencies tailored to different business environments. These experiences have taught her the value of adaptability and cultural awareness in leadership.
Operational Strategies to Drive Success at Exequi.
Lola’s operational strategy is built on execution excellence, strategic partnerships, and AI-driven efficiency. She emphasizes creating a disciplined execution framework that ensures clear goals, accountability, and agile decision-making that collectively drive impactful outcomes at scale. Strategic partnerships have played an instrumental role in accelerating growth by leveraging ecosystem collaborations, expanding market reach, and integrating complementary technologies.
Significant Hurdles when Launching New Markets
Expanding into new markets presents several challenges including regulatory complexities, talent acquisition, customer adoption, and operational scalability. Successfully navigating these challenges requires a structured market entry strategy that balances speed with sustainability. Lola emphasizes building strategic partnerships with local players to accelerate trust and compliance while leveraging market intelligence to assess demand, optimize pricing, and tailor go-to-market strategies.
Lola Eniolorunda’s Major Issues
One of the most defining challenges Lola faced was leading large-scale transformations while balancing speed and sustainability. The company was struggling, experiencing high employee turnover and Lola was tasked with stabilizing the business. Through this experience, she learned an important lesson: whether launching new ventures, scaling existing operations, or transforming a troubled business, the key is to align the right people, processes, and technology while maintaining a clear strategic vision. Lola overcame these challenges by staying data-driven, making hard decisions with a lot of empathy, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that execution was as strong as strategy.
Cultivating a Culture of Innovation and Agility
Fostering a culture of innovation and agility requires a deliberate mix of mindset, structure, and execution. Lola prioritizes creating an environment where experimentation is encouraged, calculated risks are embraced, and failure is seen as a learning opportunity rather than a setback. Agility starts with leadership—empowering teams with the autonomy to make decisions quickly while ensuring they have the right data, tools, and frameworks to act effectively.
Exequi.: At the Forefront of AI-Driven Innovation
Exequi continues to lead by integrating AI and automation into every layer of its operations—from boosting productivity and decision-making to accelerating product development. We are actively developing proprietary GPTs to enable faster, more intuitive access to institutional knowledge we’ve built over the years. Across our product lines, we constantly explore how AI can enhance functionality, drive user value, and scale impact. Rapid prototyping with cutting-edge tools allows us to launch MVPs quickly, enabling iterative innovation and faster paths to market.
The Primary Operational Challenges
One of the biggest operational challenges for tech companies today is adapting to AI-driven disruption while managing its impact on talent and workflows. AI is revolutionizing industries by automating repetitive tasks, enhancing decision-making, and increasing operational efficiency; however, it also raises concerns about workforce displacement, upskilling, and evolving job roles. To address these issues, forward-thinking organizations are investing heavily in AI literacy and workforce transformation—reskilling employees for AI-augmented roles rather than replacing them.
Resolving Business Challenges through Technology
Technology has evolved from being just an enabler to becoming the driving force behind business transformation. AI is making decision-making faster and more accurate, and predictive analytics is mitigating risks before they arise. Automation is reducing inefficiencies while increasing scalability.
One of the biggest shifts is the integration of AI into core business functions, allowing companies to move beyond reactive problem-solving to proactive and predictive strategies. Additionally, emerging technologies like blockchain are transforming transparency and security, especially in industries like finance and healthcare.
Latest Innovations
The rise of generative AI, the growth of Web3 applications, and advancements in quantum computing are particularly exciting. These innovations have the potential to revolutionize industries by unlocking new efficiencies, enhancing security, and enabling entirely new business models.
The Most Disrupted Industries
Several industries are experiencing unprecedented disruption due to AI, automation, and emerging technologies, with finance, healthcare, supply chain, and energy leading the way. For instance, AI-driven risk assessment, blockchain-based transactions, and decentralized finance (DeFi) are transforming how payment methods, lending practices, and fraud detection in the finance sector. Traditional financial institutions are racing to integrate AI-powered insights and automation to stay competitive.
Opportunities and Challenges for Tech Startups
Tech startups today have immense opportunities to leverage AI, automation, and cloud computing to build scalable, high-impact solutions faster than ever before. The democratization of technology, enabled by open-source tools, low-code platforms, and AI-driven development, allows startups to innovate with lower upfront costs. However, the pace of rapid innovation also poses notable challenges, including intense competition, funding constraints, regulatory hurdles, and the war for top talent. While AI is reshaping industries, startups need to distinguish themselves by addressing real, high-value problems instead of merely capitalizing on current trends.
The Evolution in the Role of COOs
The role of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) is undergoing a significant transformation, from traditional operational oversight to becoming a strategic leader in growth and innovation. In the coming decade, COOs will take on a more dynamic role, integrating AI-driven automation to optimize workflows, harnessing real-time analytics for predictive decision-making, and spearheading global market expansion. The modern COO will need to be actively involved in digital transformation, regulatory navigation, and promoting cross-functional collaboration, ensuring that operations are not just efficient but also resilient for the future.
Shaping the Future: VG Platform Inc. and Exequi
Lola is positioning VG Platform Inc. and its venture studio, Exequi, as foundational pillars of the global digital economy. Together, they are building the business infrastructure of the future—empowering companies to scale with AI-driven automation, smart data systems, and cutting-edge technology. This is not just about optimizing internal operations; it’s about enabling innovation at scale. From product ideation to market readiness, the team is developing tools and frameworks that support global expansion, agile execution, and sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving digital world.
Lola’s Advice to Executives: Transition into Startup Leadership
Be prepared for ambiguity and rapid decision-making. Leading a startup is different from what you may be accustomed to in corporate environments. While corporate structures have defined processes, startups require leaders who can operate quickly and efficiently while juggling multiple responsibilities. This involves balancing short-term needs with long-term strategies. Focus on customer needs, iterate quickly, and build a strong network of mentors and industry peers. Most importantly, don’t strive for perfection—launch your ideas, learn from the outcomes, and refine your approach.
