Hello. My name is Tolu Olasoji.
I'm a strategic communications professional and Emmy-winning journalist currently serving as Digital Publishing Manager and Project Manager at GZERO Media. There, I lead content strategy and audience engagement for Eurasia Group's flagship geopolitical platform, which reaches over 350,000 daily newsletter subscribers and 6.2M+ social media followers worldwide.
I'm a multi-award-winning writer, editor, producer, and digital strategist with nearly a decade of experience translating complex topics from financial policy to geopolitics into accessible, engaging content for executive and general audiences. My work spans newsletter strategy, multimedia production, investigative reporting, photo documentaries, and solutions journalism, focusing on creating content that drives real-world impact for sophisticated audiences where 72% have master's degrees and 60% report net worth over $100,000.
Recent recognition includes a 2025 Telly Silver Award for livestream production at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where I managed digital strategy for Microsoft's Global Stage series featuring CEO Brad Smith and world leaders. I've successfully grown GZERO's YouTube audience by 210% to 245,000 subscribers, more than 10x the industry average of 15-20% annually, while generating 30% of platform revenue and 81% of lifetime views through strategic content optimization.
As a certified project manager and workflow optimization specialist, I've built systems and automated processes at GZERO Media that significantly increased our capacity to take on critical editorial initiatives and work with global clients. I manage cross-functional teams and coordinate stakeholder communications for both internal operations and external client relationships, enabling us to handle a $580,000+ annual client portfolio while maintaining editorial excellence. In my editorial capacity, I write headlines and edit content for world-renowned political scientist Ian Bremmer, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, and other industry leaders including AI policy expert and former European Parliament member Marietje Schaake.
I project manage for GZERO's branded content shop Blue Circle Studio, overseeing projects from podcasts to digital interactive experiences with major clients including MDA Space, Enbridge, Microsoft, and Mastercard. Internally, I've project managed GZERO's 2024 US election coverage and its 2023 and 2024 End of the Year content initiatives across all mediums of digital media. My project management successes include the relaunch of Puppet Regime, which achieved nearly 100,000 Instagram followers and generated over 40 million cross-platform views, and the Enbridge "Energized: The Future of Energy" podcast series, which exceeded 110,000 downloads reaching key C-suite executives across energy markets across the United States and Canada, leading to client renewal for additional episodes and newsletter sponsorship.
I also manage paid media strategy and programmatic advertising specifically for podcast products, optimizing audience targeting and engagement across digital platforms. Additionally, I work on product development, including AI integrations across GZERO's digital products, as well as development and maintenance of microsites and the main website, to enhance user experience and content discovery. As an AI enthusiast focused on policy and implementation, I was selected for Google AI Audience Lab from the Google News Initiative.
I manage relationships with Mastercard, RBC Capital Markets, and other major clients, coordinating high-stakes projects for a platform that reaches over 103M+ across integrated platforms and maintains a 41% newsletter open rate, significantly above the industry average of 18-25%. I regularly translate institutional and government policies and geopolitical developments into actionable insights for our audience of C-suite executives (46% founders/business owners, 60% senior executives and VPs).
My YouTube expertise, which has been featured as a case study by RebelMouse in their guide "How to Grow on YouTube," includes the strategic development of YouTube Shorts that significantly aided GZERO's discovery across social platforms, lowering the barrier to entry for complex geopolitical content and reaching diverse audiences beyond our traditional executive base. This multi-format approach combining in-depth analysis for sophisticated audiences with accessible short-form content for broader engagement has contributed to our 1002% year-over-year increase in Shorts views while maintaining editorial standards across all content formats.
My content strategy has contributed to GZERO's exceptional growth, with YouTube subscribers increasing from 79,000 to 245,000 (a 210% increase) in just 19 months, while I personally generated 81% of the platform's lifetime views and 30% of all revenue. Our video content achieves over 8M monthly impressions, well above typical engagement rates for B2B content, our flagship podcast has reached 4.9M+ total downloads, and our branded partnerships have generated 33.2M+ brand impressions in 2024.
Previously, I served as a contributing editor at David Byrne's solutions-focused platform Reasons to be Cheerful and co-wrote Quartz's Africa Weekly newsletter, maintaining its Dealmaker (African business transactions and investments in Silicon Valley and beyond) and Other Things We Liked sections (curated global stories relevant to African markets), plus occasional story rundowns of Quartz's published content collaborating with editors and reporters across Africa, US, UK, and Asia desks.
Earlier in my career, I served as Deputy Editor and Quality Control Manager at GOAL (Nigeria), where I successfully developed content partnerships with beverage and betting brands. During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, I served as Editor-in-Chief and Content Strategist, leading our newsroom to a 3rd place global ranking among 50 GOAL editions worldwide—our highest performance ever.
From 2021 to 2022, I ghostwrote an Axios-styled executive newsletter focused on fintech, media, and business topics. The publication reached 10,000+ subscribers and was frequently featured on X (formerly Twitter) as an early adopter of the platform's (now defunct) newsletter offering, Get Revue.
Throughout my career, I've worked across heavily matrixed international organizations, from coordinating content at GOAL (Nigeria), one of the 50 global editions worldwide, to collaborating with Eurasia Group teams across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and contributing to Quartz's editorial operations spanning US, UK, and Asia desks. This experience has honed my ability to navigate complex organizational structures, manage cross-cultural communications, and coordinate projects across multiple time zones and diverse stakeholder groups.
As a freelance reporter, my work across formats ranging from long-form journalism to drone photography has appeared in Al Jazeera, Washington Post, VICE, Mail and Guardian, and other major outlets. I've provided expert commentary on CNN, CSIS, and international platforms on topics ranging from sports economics to technology policy.
My investigative work on football trafficking for Al Jazeera was named best color piece in Africa (top 10 globally) by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) and led to the liberation of a trafficking victim within six weeks. My solutions journalism on LGBTQ+ advocacy was selected as one of 2021's favorite stories by the Solutions Journalism Network and adapted by BBC World Service, reaching 173 million listeners worldwide.
I hold a Master's degree in journalism from West Virginia University, where I achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA and won an Emmy Award for television production addressing America's addiction crisis, building on my Bachelor's degree in Banking and Finance from Lagos State University and diploma in Computer Engineering. I'm also a member of Kappa Tau Alpha, the national honor society for journalism and mass communication that recognizes the top 10% of students who achieve the highest academic and professional excellence. My academic work includes the first comprehensive study of freelance journalism ethics in Nigeria, now archived in academic databases globally.
Selected as one of only seven journalists nationwide for the Solutions Journalism Network's Train-the-Trainers Program, I'm certified to train other journalists in solutions-focused reporting methodology. I'm an active member of professional journalism organizations including the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and its New York chapter (NYABJ), the News Product Alliance, ACES: The Society for Editing, and the Oxford Climate Journalism Network (OCJN).
As a consultant, I work with organizations on podcast productions, strategic communications, audience engagement, and overall digital strategy, helping clients achieve their communication objectives through multimedia storytelling and audience development.
Opportunities that excite me:
Senior Communications Roles at financial institutions, tech companies, or international organizations where I can drive content strategy and executive communications
Project Management Leadership positions focusing on workflow optimization, process automation, and cross-functional team coordination
Product Development & Strategy roles involving AI integration, paid media optimization, and digital innovation
Consulting Projects helping organizations enhance their internal communications, operational efficiency, and digital engagement strategies
Speaking & Training on solutions journalism, digital strategy, project management, and effective cross-cultural communications
Advisory Positions with mission-driven organizations, particularly those focused on international development, media innovation, or financial inclusion
Let's explore how my expertise in executive communications, cross-functional team management, proven project management capabilities, paid media strategy, and track record of driving both engagement and operational efficiency can add value to your organization.
Connect with me here: toluolasoji@gmail.com
Photo: © David Smith/Morgantown, August 2022.