Media Moves… TheMediaOnline’s weekly round up of who’s making moves in media. Nina Morris resigns as CEO of MOJOMOTHERUSSIA. Neo Makhele appointed group strategy director of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa. Digital agency Prezence announces new management team. Ben Evans named managing director of OgilvyOne South Africa. Nomads drives growth with Shake acquisition.
BREAKING NEWS:
Nina Morris resigns; hands over to Thando Dingaan
Nina Morris has resigned as CEO of MOJOMOTHERUSSIA effective from 31 December 2013. The agency however will not be losing the extensive experience she brings to the business as she will be taking up the position of non-executive chair.
MOJOMOTHERUSSIA was born out of the merger between two award-winning agencies, 76 MotheRussia and Nina’s Morrisjones.
“The agreement was always for me to exit from actively being involved in the daily running of the agency,” says Morris of her resignation. “The timeline was not defined as to when I would leave, but I felt that the time was right to change the nature of the way I work with the agency.” In her position as non-executive chair, she will consult to the agency on a month-to-month basis and continue lending her knowledge to the new management team.
Replacing her as CEO will be current managing director, Thando Dingaan, who was the MD of 76Motherussia and spearheaded the merger with Morris early last year. “This is a very positive change and an exciting time for the extended management team at the agency,” says Dingaan.
Dingaan says last year brought with it some great new business wins, amongst them Unilever, Entyce, SAB Corporate, Hertz Car Rental and more recently Daimler-Chrysler Truck Division. “We are encouraged by the outlook of the new year.”
Morris remains chair of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) and retains her position on the Loeries Board.
Who’s moved where
Neo Makhele appointed Group Strategy Director of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa
Neo Makhele, head of planning at Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg (O&M JHB) has been promoted to the role of group strategy director of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa (O&M SA).
In her new role, Makhele will continue to drive the agency’s ‘Twin Peaks’ effectiveness philosophy, ensure dissemination of O&M’s Worldwide Planning IP across the group, as well as develop and sustain a culture of thought leadership amongst the company’s planners.
Makhele began her career in advertising as a junior planner at Ogilvy & Mather Rightford Searle-Tripp & Makin Johannesburg in 1997, and spent three years with the agency as market analyst and communication strategist. During Makhele’s tenure, O&M JHB has been constantly ranked the top-performing agency at Apex Awards for Advertising Effectiveness.
Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of O&M SA, commented, “Under Neo’s watch, the planning department’s talent and outstanding quality of thinking has impacted the business in immeasurable ways and I am delighted that she has accepted this new role,” says Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of O&M SA.
Makhele will be appointed to the Executive Committee (ExCo) and will retain her seat on the O&M JHB board, as well as on the Advertising & Communication Association (ACA) board, where she represents O&M SA. In addition, she will continue her role as Head of Planning in the Johannesburg office.
Digital agency Prezence announces new management team
One of South Africa’s leading mobile, apps, and digital agencies, Prezence, has announced the resignation of its CEO Prakash Patel and the appointment of a new management team to take the agency into its next phase of growth. Prezence, which is owned by Primedia, has appointed Manny Texeira as acting CEO effective 1 March, while Chris Vermeulen has been appointed chief operating officer for the company effective immediately.
Patel, who has served as CEO of Prezence for the past two years, has resigned to pursue other ventures. George Reed, the deputy managing director, will be leaving to pursue work outside of digital agency life after 11 years at the company.
A former COO of Ster Kinekor and founder of Spectrum, Texeira has been with Primedia since 2007, most recently serving at an executive level in Primedia Digital responsible for acquisitions and business development. Vermeulen likewise comes from within Primedia ranks having held the role of executive creative director in Primedia’s Flying Circus business since 2012 .
“I want to thank Prakash Patel for his work in promoting Prezence as a leading name in the South African digital industry and one that is recognised internationally through numerous award-winning campaigns and products,” says Texeira. “The team will continue to build on these achievements creating digital solutions that serve our clients, their brands and bottom line. “
Prezence represents a wide range of the country’s leading brands including, Ster-Kinekor, BidorBuy and Diner’s Club. Executive chair of Primedia Digital, Michael Markovitz, says the new management team is mandated to deliver on the fast changing needs of the digital economy for Prezence clients.
Ben Evans named Managing Director of OgilvyOne South Africa
Ben Evans, former head of digital at OgilvyOne Worldwide in London, one of the best performing digital offices in the Ogilvy & Mather network, has been appointed as managing director of OgilvyOne South Africa. His role will be to ensure that O&M SA remains successful in the digital field and continues to develop new interactive capabilities within the agency.
With a background in publishing, Evans moved into the agency arena in 1999 working as a technical project manager for Concept, a pure-play digital network owned by WPP, which later merged to form RMG Connect. He worked across a broad range of sectors including financial services, healthcare, FMCG, energy and automotive.
After joining OgilvyOne London, in 2010, Evans was responsible for managing the GBM leadership of the British Airways customer engagement and creative technology account, as well as the direct management of the global Land Rover relationship. He was instrumental in securing a number of strategic new business wins, specifically for the British Airways account as well as the global digital and CRM account for Land Rover — two of the agency’s flagship clients.
“Our ambition to get to the future first, by accelerating the digitisation of our agency, has been given a boost,” said Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of O&M SA. “I am proud that Ben has accepted this role and joining the OgilvyOne SA team.
Commenting on his appointment, Evans said, “It’s an exciting opportunity to be taking on the challenge as MD of OgilvyOne South Africa; a country that is seeing rapid growth and enormous potential in the digital space. I’m looking forward to working with the teams and our clients in SA to deliver the most creative, effective and innovative digital work.”
Based in the Cape Town office, Evans will report to Mokgwatsane, and will also manage and oversee the Neo@Ogilvy and Strike Media business units.
Who’s making moves
Nomads drives growth with Shake acquisition
Amersterdam - Nomads, the creative innovation agency that opened its doors in July, has acquired search engine and social optimisation agency Shake Interactive as part of its ambitious growth strategy.
The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, sees Nomads continue to grow its global reach with six offices across three continents as well as bringing additional optimisation capabilities to the agency.
Shake is headquartered in the UK with offices in London, Edinburgh and in South Africa’s Cape Town. It is headed up by CEO James Oliver, who will assume the role of global COO at Nomads.
“The Shake deal is part of Nomads’ ambitious growth strategy, which is considered, structured and sustainable. Shake is an acknowledged expert in its field and its team is well respected. I’ve known James for years, and our approach and passion for delivering results-driven transformation for our clients is the same, so as well as helping to grow Nomads’ capabilities and global presence, it makes absolute sense to combine forces and offer an even stronger proposition for clients,” says Hans Howarth, Nomads CEO and founder.
Oliver added: “Nomads has grown from one office in Amsterdam to six around the world in the space of six months. The energy and passion within its team is palpable, as is the drive to create transformational solutions for clients, so the cultural fit between the two agencies is seamless.”
Its launch client list features Emirates, Sony Computer Entertainment, De Lage Landen, TNT Express, P&G, Rolls-Royce and several other active global accounts, supported by a 100-strong team based across Amsterdam, Singapore, and Dubai. The Shake acquisition adds London, Edinburgh, and Cape Town to its reach, and brings its total number of offices to six.
Shake was founded in November 2005 and works with brands and agencies in the US, UK, SA and mainland Europe. Its UK office is headed up by managing director Ben Cook, while Cape Town is run by operations director Anton Groeneveldt.
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