Today’s Mentorship Sessions featured Mrs Ivy Elsie Amamoo, the Research and Development (R&D) Manager for Personal Care Ghana and Oral Care West Africa. Her insightful discussion centred on Engineering Innovations for Everyday Solutions.
Mrs Amamoo began by explaining her role in overseeing the development of personal care and oral care products for West Africa, including well-known brands such as Pepsodent, Close Up, Rexona, Geisha, and many more.
Reflecting on her childhood, she shared that she didn’t have a clear career plan but remained committed to excelling academically. Her father played a pivotal role in guiding her towards food process engineering, which piqued her interest due to its promising career prospects in top food processing companies.
She later advanced her education by pursuing a Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering in South Korea. Her time there significantly broadened her knowledge and skillset. Upon returning to Ghana, she applied to Unilever, where she initially secured an internship that eventually led to a permanent role. Over the past 11 years, she has thrived at Unilever, contributing to the company’s success.
Mrs Amamoo shared her passion for R&D, describing it as a fascinating field that delves into product composition, packaging design, process optimisation, and quality testing. She emphasised how internships opened doors for her career and encouraged young people to take advantage of such opportunities.
She also highlighted the impact of her experience in South Korea, where she was warmly welcomed and "adopted" into the culture. The fast-paced, efficient Korean work ethic, known as the pali-pali concept (which emphasises speed and accuracy), greatly influenced her approach to getting things done quickly and effectively.
Seeing the products, she has worked on, especially Pepsodent, on the shelves gives her a deep sense of fulfilment. Over the past decade, she has played a key role in shaping some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Lux, Lifebuoy, Rexona, Vaseline, Geisha, Pepsodent, Signal, and Close Up. As the R&D Manager for Oral Care West Africa, she has driven innovations, cost-saving initiatives, resilience programs, and consumer-centric solutions.
In her final remarks, Mrs Amamoo encouraged young girls to pursue STEM-related fields, noting that the opportunities are vast and fulfilling.
Don’t miss the final episode of the Mentorship Sessions tomorrow, November 20, 2024, at 5 PM, featuring Magnus Dey, the Marketing Manager of BLOW Group of Companies.
The 2024 edition of the STEM Festival is produced by Primetime Limited and proudly sponsored by Pepsodent, Jupay, Bel Beverages, YFM and GTP.