The CMO Corner

THABANG RAMOGASE, HEAD OF MARKETING AT STANDARD BANK INSURANCE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT 

Thabang Ramogase is a seasoned marketing and business leader with more than 25 years of experience spanning FMCG, telecommunications, media, advertising and financial services. He currently serves as Head of Marketing at Liberty, part of the Standard Bank Group, where he is responsible for brand, marketing, customer experience, research and insights, and corporate citizenry.

Prior to joining Liberty, Thabang held leadership roles at some of South Africa's most recognised organisations, including The Coca-Cola Company, MTN, Nando's, National Brands and the SABC. He also served as CEO of Mindshare South Africa, where he led the transformation of the business while driving stronger client outcomes and commercial growth.

A Chartered Marketer (CM(SA)) with an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), Thabang is recognised for his expertise in brand building, consumer insights, customer engagement and business transformation. Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in developing impactful marketing strategies, launching successful brands and building high-performing teams. His achievements include leading the team that secured Nando's first-ever international advertising accolade, a Bronze Cannes Award, and driving the successful launch of Sprite Zero during his time at Coca-Cola.

Over the past 15 years Brand Africa has been researching and ranking the most admired brands in the continent. In that period, non-African brands have dominated the list, with an average 80% share of Africa’s most admired brands. Nike has led the rankings for the past eight years overall, and MTN and Dangote have dominated the rankings of African brands.Behind these brands are respected and admired African marketing operations. Until now, there has not been a comprehensive record of the people behind these brands. That changes with this inaugural ACMO 100 produced by Brand Africa in partnership with African Business, MIPAD and the Africa Media Agency. Covering one hundred leaders in six African economic regions – including the diaspora – across twenty countries, more than 50 distinct role titles that span the marketing industry senior leadership, from mobile money to brewing, aviation to agribusiness, fintech to fast-moving consumer goods: This is the continent’s first definitive ranking of marketing leadership. All 100 honourees (see below) hold equal standing. The list carries no internal ranking.I sat with Dr. Thebe Ikalafeng, the convener of the ranking for both ACMO 100 and BA100. Ikalafeng has two honorary doctorates and is a Chancellor at Sol Plaatjie University.

My guest is Kerstin Bird, President for Loreal Sub Saharan Africa that looks after 37+ markets around the African continent. Kerstin is a passionate marketer and business leader who has worked in a variety of countries across the world, in global & local marketing, strategic and commercial roles within the FMCG industry, with a proven track record to build strong, profitable brands that emotionally connect with consumers.

Passionate about digital transformation & disruption as well as leveraging the power of brands and organizations to make a positive contribution to society and the environment.

Asked about the things she loves, she says, she loves creating a work environment which is fun, challenging and allows individuals to thrive and she strongly believes anything can be achieved through the power of an engaged team!

Lindiwe Gumede, opens up on being a first time CMO, having built and shaped major brands under many multinational businesses. Before being the Chief Marketing Officer for Metropolitan, Lindiwe led brands at PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Tiger Brands and Distell (now known as Heineken beverages).She holds a Master of Philosophy in Marketing (M.Phil.) from IMM, has completed a Senior Management Development Programme at the University of Stellenbosch, and is an alumna of the LEAP Leadership Harvard Programme. Passionate about building impactful brands, Lindiwe is dedicated to finding innovative solutions to complex problems. She is a fervent advocate for people's development, believing deeply in empowering others to excel and bring their best selves to work.As a mentor, Lindiwe finds great fulfilment working with young professionals. Passionately supporting their growth and success. She firmly believes that every young person deserves the opportunity to thrive and is committed to helping them build a brighter future. This dedication aligns closely with her values of life-long learning and curiosity.Outside of work, Lindiwe values quality time with her family and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and adventure sports. A music enthusiast, she jokes that if it weren't for her career in marketing, she might have pursued a path as the next Brenda Fassie.

CMO Corner – Episode 4: Building a Brave Strategy for the FutureJoin us as we dive into what it really takes to craft a brave brand strategy in today’s fast-evolving marketplace. Our guest, Musa Kalenga—CEO of Brave Group, former Facebook Client Partner for Africa, and author of The Brave Code—shares his visionary approach to marketing, innovation, and transformation.In this episode, Musa challenges conventional thinking by looking at the role of marketing in the South African Economy and takes a closer look at the South African youth voices on how the new perspective can drive bold strategies. He challenges CMO's at the forefront of change and how they can leverage FORGE & Other Case Studies in transforming traditional marketing approaches. Furthermore the episode looks at the following: Why innovation is no longer optional—it’s fundamental. “We don’t innovate to be different, we innovate to remain necessary.” How true innovation disrupts systems, questions assumptions, and moves beyond surface-level change.What it means to build a strategy rooted in cultural intelligence, technological fluency, and purpose-driven creativity—so brands stay relevant in African markets and beyond. The power of Black ownership and inclusive leadership, and why Brave Group’s transformation to 100% Black-owned marks a pivotal moment—for business and societal progress. How the agency’s AI-powered platform Forge is reinventing the creative process—slashing campaign time by 80% while enhancing personalization and ROI.FREE Forge trial link for The CMO Corner Community: https://forgebybrave.ai/sign-in?cmo=true

In Episode 3 of The Brave Future CMO Code, Musa Kalenga and I look into the anatomy of pitching and we unlock some key elements of it that could set you up for success in winning that pitch! We looked at the potential of an AI-Powered Pitch Development: From Concept to Presentation, which we got to experience with the TECC (The Empty Cup Crew) team. We discussed what really is the make up of the Magic Dust as defined by Musa, which is balancing AI tools with authentic storytelling and we closed off on an unpopular opinion around the future-forward pitching: how young marketers are revolutionizing client acquisition and how a bad workmen always blames their tools. So the question then is are you using these new AI tools correctly and to your benefit? #FutureForged #TheCMOCorner #TheBraveCMOCodeHere is one tool we have negotiated that you can use for FREE as a CMO Corner subscriber for the next 3 months:Forge (End to End Marketing tool): https://forgebybrave.ai/sign-in?cmo=true

In Episode 2 of THE BRAVE FUTURE CMO CODE, we discuss the crafting of clear briefs, what components make a great brief and how to actually score your brief. They say garbage in, garbage out and no marketer wants to get bad output, so in this episode we also take a look at a new AI powered tool called Forge. This is an end-to-end marketing tool set to revolutionize the way in which we do marketing.Courtesy of the CMO Corner, if you use the link provided below, you could use Forge at a discounted rate, courtesy of The CMO Corner and Forge partnership. Link to Forge: https://forgebybrave.ai/sign-in?cmo=true

The CMO Corner and FORGE have partnered to bring you 4 episodes that aim to lift the floor on Marketing and help marketers at all levels to not only adapt, but to also lead the new era of marketing. EPISODE 1: THE FUTURE CMO looks at the host Thabani Khumalo and the guest, Founder of FORGE - Musa Kalenga set the tone for the series and discuss three key main themes: AI domains and looking at why Marketing is one of the first industries to be disrupted by AI and why? How marketing has evolved, looking at the demand and supply side (Client and Agency side) building on the biggest aspects influencing AI disruptions? and lastly close off with the AI mindset of a marketing leader, looking at the AI toolbox, the tools that are currently existing that could be beneficial for marketers today.In the discussion Musa listed a couple of tools that you can use and how each of them have different benefits: Claude: (Good with numerical logic and text based logic): https://claude.ai/Elevenlabs: (PDF to voice, text to speech) https://elevenlabs.io/Gemini: (Good for Deep research): https://gemini.google.com/appPerplexity (Academic references): https://www.perplexity.ai/Chat GPT: (The AI OG): https://openai.com/index/chatgpt/Grok: (Public opinion): https://x.ai/Forge (End to End Marketing tool): https://forgebybrave.ai/sign-in?cmo=trueResearch References discussed in our conversation: Here is the Science Direct journal reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science....Here is the MIT research MIT Sloan Management Review - How AI Can Help You Become More Creative: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...

Elizabeth Mokwena is the first guest who is in charge of the marketing function of a FMCG/CPG business that is the scale of a major multinational like Unliver to be featured on The CMO Corner. Elizabeth Mokwena is the Executive Marketing Director at Unilever for the Home Care division in Southern Africa. She is also the Chairperson for the IAB Bookmark awards - the foremost leading digital marketing awards. She described her work as ‘giving global brands an African passport, while giving African brands global exposure’ and has a passion for nurturing the next generation of African brand builders.‘I believe in the power of creativity to change the world,’ said Mokwena. ‘Digital innovation compounds the possibilities of doing this faster, more cost-effectively and with scale. I think 2025 is a redemptive year for our industry and I am honoured to assist the IAB South Africa and the Bookmarks in identifying and celebrating digital work that has had a measurable impact. I am confident we will raise the bar for South Africa’s digital work. Excellence is the standard.’ said Mokwena.

Sylvester Chauke, is what I define as a maverick in the brand, marketing and communications world globally. Chauke has led one of the biggest agencies that has come out of the African Continent. As the founder of DNA Brand Architects, the agency has created a much-needed voice in the PR landscape in Africa. DNA boasts an impressive haul of accolades, including ICCO World’s Best, PRISM Large PR Agency of the Year (2021, 2022, and 2023), IABC Best of the Best, and a spot on Adweek’s Top 100 Fastest GrowingAgencies in the World in 2023. Sylvester’s vision continues to challenge the industry with bold, culturally resonant storytelling. With a trophy shelf that’s anything but bland, Sylvester has been named CNBC All Africa Young Business Leader of the Year and serves on several influential boards,including the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Advisory Council, theUniversity of Johannesburg Advisory Council, and the SA State Theatre. He’s a TEDspeaker and authored the unapologetically inspiring Stand Against Bland.Driven by a fiery passion for creativity and transformation, Sylvester championsAfrican excellence—not as a distant dream but as a dynamic, living reality. For him,creativity is more than an art; it’s a force that shapes how we see the world and howAfrica tells its story to the world.I hope the interview is helpful and something you can enjoy!