“Amazing as always. So slick, so strategic, so well done on all levels’’

Ilse Blank – Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Melagrana

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Speakers

Our speakers are the very best in industry thought leadership – both local and global. We are hard at work preparing a line-up of highly relevant speakers who will share insight on how to be highly relevant!

We are proud to welcome our confirmed speakers:

Gugulethu Mfuphi

Your host for the day

Xolisa Dyeshana

Co-host Xolisa Dyeshana, Group Creative Director,
Joe Public.

Thebe Ikalafeng

Founder and CEO,
Brand Leadership Group. Founder and Chairman Brand Africa. Founder and Principal
Africa Brand Leadership Academy. BSc. MBA. LLM (Intellectual Property Law). Chartered Marketer (SA)

Topic to follow:

Buli Ndlovu

Executive Head of Marketing for Retail and Business Banking at Nedbank

Topic to follow:

Tyrona (Ty) Heath

International Speaker

Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn, New York

Topic to follow:

Khensani Nobanda

Group Executive: Group Marketing and Corporate Affairs

Topic: Awarding of Bursaries and Conference Close

Lebo Madiba

Founder PR Powerhouse

Topic to follow

Mathe Okaba

CEO – Association for Communication and Advertising

Topic: The Relevance Effect

Warren Moss

Founder & CEO of Demographica

Topic: Facilitator, Q&A with
Ty Heath

Kathryn Williams

International Speaker

Managing Director, KMint, Australia

Topic: How much are your ideas really worth? The relevance of ROI, revenue and your IP.

To get a sense of the calibre of our speakers,
please have a look at our

SPEAKER ALUMNI

Gugulethu Mfuphi

Your host for the day

Gugulethu could have chosen a career as a chartered accountant, but the lure of broadcasting was too much to ignore. While studying towards a BCom Accounting at the University of Johannesburg, was yearning to merge her love of numbers with her passion for broadcasting.

Gugulethu Mfuphi was introduced to radio broadcasting by UJFM newsreader Mommy Mohlahlo, who opened the door for her and there she started as a newsreader.

Some of her career highlights include attending and reporting from the Annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and in Africa and moderating conferences for The World Bank and International Finance Corporation, The MasterCard Foundation, The International Labour Organisation, Investec Ltd, Standard Bank, Old Mutual to name a few.

Qualifications

BCom in Accounting
Public Relations, Advertising and Applied Communication
Post Graduate Diploma in Management Practice

Who is Gugulethu Mfuphi

Gugulethu is an award winner and well-versed orator, with plenty of experience in front of the cameras, behind the microphone and addressing many diverse audiences. This skill, together with her sound grasp of the Financial Markets, Economic Data and Current Affairs Issues and the impact this has on the Business Community, makes her the perfect candidate to speak to Industry Analysts or Political Leaders and C-suite Executives from all across the African continent.

This forms the basis of her tasks and responsibilities as Presenter of Kaya FM’s prime time, award-winning business show, Kaya Bizz and her experience as a Senior Anchor on CNBC Africa, Gugulethu has also severed as an experienced Conference Chair, Panel Discussion Moderator and Programme Director, at various industry gatherings that impact the business and investment landscape.

She has facilitated the second annual South Africa Investment Conference in 2019, hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Having previously worked for other institutions like Talk Radio 702, SAfm, Lotus FM and The City Press Newspaper, through affiliation with Moneyweb, Gugulethu has gained a wealth of experience in financial journalism through radio, TV, print and online media.

Xolisa Dyeshana

With co-host Xolisa Dyeshana,
Group Creative Director, Joe Public.

Xolisa is Chief Creative Officer and partner at Joe Public United and has been an invaluable part of the agency group’s growth story, having begun his journey with the agency as far back as 2006 and becoming a shareholder in 2013.

He contributes a wealth of experience gained over 17 years, working on iconic brands like Mercedes-Benz, Ford Motor Company, Nedbank, Dialdirect, P&G, Renault, 3M, Chicken Licken, UberEats, Converse, Distell, Momentum, Santam, Elizabeth Arden and Toyota.

Xolisa’s passion lies in the world of creativity. To this end, he has actively contributed to the industry as Chairperson of Creative Circle, the highest decision-making body for advertising creativity in South Africa and served as Chairman of the Loeries (2012–2014),

South Africa’s premier advertising awards show. He also strives to give a voice to African creativity on the global stage, having served on the juries of almost every renowned advertising award show across the world. Most recently, he was elected to the international board of the One Show – the premier advertising show in the United States.

His passion for creative excellence is evident in the numerous awards won throughout his career at both local and international awards festivals, including Cannes, D&AD, One Show,

Loeries and more – earning him recognition as South Africa’s No. 1 creative leader in 2018 and as one of Finweek’s ‘Top 6 People to Watch in Advertising’. In 2021, Xolisa was recognised as one of Adweek's Creative 100 - an annual global honour that has become one of the most respected accomplishments in the creative industry.

Xolisa lists opening the 20th Annual Design Indaba Conference alongside Pepe Marais among his personal career highlights. He is also proud to have been one of the creative minds behind Brothers for Life, one of South Africa’s biggest and most successful behavioural change campaigns – demonstrating another of Xolisa’s passion points, which is driving social change through creativity.

Xolisa is a founding member of Ikamva Lakusasa and has also been part of many industry committees aimed at helping young people from underprivileged backgrounds to gain access to the industry – actively engaging a new generation of creative minds in finding new solutions for a better South Africa.

Thebe Ikalafeng

Founder and CEO,
Brand Leadership Group. Founder and Chairman Brand Africa. Founder and Principal
Africa Brand Leadership Academy. BSc. MBA. LLM (Intellectual Property Law). Chartered Marketer (SA)

Thebe Ikalafeng is the pre-eminent global African thought leader and authoritative voice in branding in Africa. In a distinguished career which started over 25 years ago at Colgate Palmolive in New York, USA and a lauded tenure as chief marketing officer for NIKE for Africa, he won over 75 awards in branding and marketing communication globally. Ikalafeng is the founder of the award-winning Brand Leadership Group, a pan-African branding advisory firm; Brand Africa, an inter-generational movement to inspire a brand-led agenda to drive Africa’s image, reputation and competitiveness, and Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the widely referenced and only pan-African survey and ranking of brands in Africa.

Named one of the ‘100 Most Influential Africans’ by New African Magazine and one of the 100 Most Influential Creative People of African Descent in support of the United Nations ‘International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development,’ he has been to every country in Africa, worked in over 25 countries in Africa, and is widely acknowledged as the foremost advocate for a brand-led African renaissance to transform the continent’s wealth and stature. He was honoured with a Financial Mail AdFocus Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 for his contributions to marketing, branding and the industry.

Ikalafeng holds BSc and MBA degrees from Marquette University in the USA and a LL.M (Intellectual Property Law) degree from the University of Turin in Italy in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Switzerland, and completed executive education at Wits Business School and Harvard Business School in the US, and is a Chartered Marketer (SA).

Buli Ndlovu

Executive Head of Marketing for Retail and Business Banking at Nedbank

Buli Ndlovu, Executive Head of Marketing for Retail and Business Banking at Nedbank is an experienced marketing professional based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has a demonstrated track record working across an array of industries including FMCG, Telecommunications as well as Financial Services on some of the country's most loved brands such as MTN, Samsung, South African Breweries and most recently Nedbank.

Alongside the vast experience of building world-class brands that form an integral part of people's lives and ultimately the nation's character, Buli is truly passionate about that which drives business strategy. She’s interested in understanding the dynamics of the environment in which businesses operate and subsequently using the discipline and science of marketing to solve for challenges thereby allowing the business to not only remain competitive, relevant and sustainable but to ultimately thrive.

Buli is a certified Chartered Marketer who holds an undergraduate and honours degree in Marketing from the University of Johannesburg, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in General Management and an MBA from The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). She is currently pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma in Digital Business from MIT Sloane.

She is enthusiastically curious about life, a closet geek and when she’s not lecturing Marketing students at a local tertiary institution, she’s in constant pursuit of being a God-fearing wife and somewhat of a cool mom…the jury is still out.

Tyrona (Ty) Heath

International Speaker

Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn, New York

Ty is Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn, a think tank funded by LinkedIn studying the future of B2B marketing and decision making. She is also Co-Founder of TransformHer, the premier conference for professional women of color and allies in technology. With research, Ty engages and educates the industry in partnership with the leading marketing effectiveness thinkers and organizations such as Cannes Lions, ANA, and IPA to help better define the category, and drive growth.

Ty is passionate about connecting people with information needed to make intelligent decisions, sharing research to help marketers be more productive and successful with a bit of humor. An award winning marketer, speaker and two time Olympic Trials qualifier in the 800 meters, Ty is a top B2B marketing influencer teaching B2B marketing as well as leadership and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Marketers benefit from Ty’s marketing experience at Google Inc, consulting within IBM as a social business manager and leading her own B2B consulting practice where she authored "Marketers of Tomorrow: A Step-by-Step Toolkit for Inbound Marketing". Beyond marketing, Ty served as the President of LinkedIn's Black Inclusion Group (BIG).

Today, Ty serves on the Digital Marketing Institute's Global Advisory Council, on the Board of Directors for the American Advertising Federation and as an Adobe Insider with top executives, experts, and pioneers in technology. Ty is a frequent industry and academic speaker on the marketing circuit, having appeared at INBOUND, Festival of Marketing, ADCOLOR, Marketing Society Changemakers, Ghana Tech Summit, Adobe Summit and the Digital Summit events to name a few. In her career, she has delivered marketing education to thousands.

Khensani Nobanda

Group Executive: Group Marketing and Corporate Affairs

Khensani joined Nedbank in September 2017, as Executive Head of Group Marketing, before being promoted to her current role, and the Nedbank Group Exco, in May 2018. Her more than 20-year marketing career has afforded her invaluable experience in several leading South African and multinational organisations. After starting out as an assistant brand manager at Unilever, she rose through the ranks to eventually head up the Skin Category for Unilever in Africa, Middle East, and Turkey. This was followed by various leadership and executive roles in Diageo, South African Breweries and Vodacom, before joining Nedbank.

She is passionate about brands and the potential they have to deliver tangible value to consumers, and more broadly to society, by being purpose led and value driven.

Khensani has a BCom from the University of the Witwatersrand, and an MBA from GIBS. She is a member of the board of Effie Awards South Africa, a regular member of the judging panel for the Loeries and Bookmarks Awards, and a sought-after public speaker. Kensi has amassed several accolades in recognition of her contribution to the industry, including top honours as winner of the Loeries 2021 “Marketing Leadership & Innovation” award and the “Marketing Industry Leader of the Year” by AdFocus.

Lebo Madiba

Founder PR Powerhouse

Lebo Madiba is a marketing and communications trailblazer, with business success that spans over a 20-year career journey.

In 2011 she established PR Powerhouse, a strategic public relations consultancy that grew over a period of time to handle the reputation management, crisis communication and transformation driven communications of blue-chip companies such as SAA, Nedbank, Cricket South Africa, South African Chamber of Commerce, Business Unity South African and the South African Civil Aviation Authority amongst others, prior to its acquisition by mid-cap JSE listed company Ansys Limited (not Etion).

As Chief Marketing Officer she handled the rebrand of Ansys to Etion, amalgamated its 4 subsidiaries under one brand, and took them on a journey of the design of a common culture and employee value proposition, successfully entrenching the brand with its customers, developing go-to-market strategies, as well as transitioning and landing the name change with shareholders, media and the investor community.

Upon the success of Etion, she was headhunted to Ogilvy South Africa's PR and Influence business, as Managing Partner.

She has re-established PR Powerhouse, as an agency built for the post-pandemic, disruption era.

Mathe Okaba

CEO – Association for Communication and Advertising

Mathe Okaba is the CEO of the Association for Communication and Advertising. She has over 25 years’ experience spanning the advertising, media, sponsorship and events industries. With a passion for strategy, planning and project management, she has built a solid reputation as a successful leader and team player.

Warren Moss

Founder & CEO of Demographica

Warren Moss is the founder & CEO of Demographica, a full-service B2B marketing agency, and the most awarded one in Africa. Through Demographica, he consults to some of Africa's biggest B2B brands on their marketing and sales strategies.

He writes extensively on B2B marketing and sales topics, all of which can be found at www.demographica.co.za/blog.

Internationally, he is a judge for the Business Marketing Association's B2 Awards and the Global DMA's Echo Awards. In South Africa, he was a previous Chairman of the Direct Marketing Association’s Assegai Awards and was a judge for the Internet Advertising Bureau’s Bookmark Awards.

He is a previous Chairman of the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa and previously sat on the board of the Johannesburg chapter of Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) as the Marketing and Communications Chair.

Outside of Demographica, his passion is African contemporary art and he is both a private dealer, and an avid collector.

Kathryn Williams

Managing Director, KMint, Australia

Kathryn is the go-to finance guru for Australia's peak industry bodies and creative agencies.

An internationally experienced business and financial consultant, mentor, workshop facilitator and keynote speaker - Kathryn liaises closely with industry councils, is involved in benchmark studies.

Whilst working in the field globally with a multitude of agencies, Kathryn has deep expertise as to how the industry is really performing, accumulating a volume of experiences.

Kathryn is the creator of The Money Wheel® keynote; and Show Me The Money^®a customised workshop specifically developed for the Innovation and Creative industry.

Over the years, fascinated by the rise of the knowledge economy, and the value of ideas in the creative sector – Kathryn is pioneering in the field of intellectual property and intangible assets, her global research cumulating in the authoring of a book which she is currently writing - entitled How To Sell Your Ideas™

Kathryn is an articulate and vibrant speaker passionate about the commercialisation of creative ideas. You will leave feeling inspired, enlightened and enabled to put Kathryn’s valuable teachings and techniques into practice.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

“Amazing as always. So slick, so strategic, so well done on all levels’’

Ilse Blank – Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Melagrana

Speakers

Gugulethu Mfuphi

Xolisa Dyeshana

Thebe Ikalafeng

Topic to follow:

Buli Ndlovu

Topic to follow:

Tyrona (Ty) Heath

International Speaker

Topic to follow:

Khensani Nobanda

Topic: Awarding of Bursaries and Conference Close

Lebo Madiba

Topic to follow

Mathe Okaba

Topic: The Relevance Effect

Warren Moss

Topic: Facilitator, Q&A with Ty Heath

Kathryn Williams

International Speaker

Topic: How much are your ideas really worth? The relevance of ROI, revenue and your IP.

Gugulethu Mfuphi

Xolisa Dyeshana

Thebe Ikalafeng

Buli Ndlovu

Tyrona (Ty) Heath

International Speaker

Khensani Nobanda

Lebo Madiba

Mathe Okaba

Warren Moss

Kathryn Williams

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Topic: Facilitator, Q&A with
Ty Heath