In the corner on this episode is Qhawekazi Mdikane, a seasoned marketer, brand strategist and PR and social media maestro, who carries 18 years of marketing skills and experience. She leads brand teams and partner agencies that build some of the most iconic local and global brands in the South African market. Her dedication, quality of skill, leadership and creative mindset has placed her at the helm of Momentum Corporate as the Chief Marketing Officer. She has a strong and keen eye for finding intersections that create unexpected, relevant, and bottom-driven strategies in marketing making her a sought after thinker in the industry. Her knowledge, aptitudes and skills towards marketing and communications are spread across an array of expertise which she gained in her various roles within the marketing discipline: insight management, innovations, strategic communications, brand building, risk, reputational management and leadership to name but a few.  Notably, Qhawe, as she is affectionately known, is celebrated in the industry for some of the most iconic and biggest marketing campaigns: Introducing South Africans to their first and now widely enjoyed flavoured beer Flying Fish during her time as Marketing Manager at South African Breweries, launching to market the biggest hip hop asset in African pop culture – Castle Lite Unlocks and leading the social media and public relations team as the culture champion on the legendary KFC Proposal, a viral campaign that won the hearts of South Africans and the world in 2019, creating positive sentiment and over 100 million rands worth of earned media coverage.  Qhawe’s achievements to date have not gone unnoticed, she is a recipient of several awards in the industry. Having bagged the SABRE award - Food and Beverage, New Generation Social Media & Digital award – a gold for Most Viral Campaign and a gold for Best Community Engagement Award, a silver for Best Low Budget Campaign, a silver for Best Social Media Reach from an event for KFC Proposal and AMASA award for delivering a breakthrough KFC T20 Cricket Campaign, a Marketing Excellence Award for the Flying Fish Launch and a Gold PRISM Award for Castle Lite Unlocks.  This nonconformist, uber-thinker and dynamite of a leader takes pride in opening the door and keeping it open for upcoming marketers and colleagues within the industry. Powered by her motto, “life is tricky baby, stay in your magic”, Qhawe applies this in her everyday life to keep her head up. Her magic outside her career is in her active life as a runner, photography, and family life. In all her power is also a mother to her daughter, Khanya and wife to her entrepreneur husband Sakhe Mdikane.

Born and raised in Soweto, Thulani Sibeko is an enthusiastic, collaborative, optimistic and assertive marketer and business leader. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Accounting Major) in 1992, Thulani has held different marketing roles in different industries and companies over the past 25 years, including Gillette, Polaroid, Procter & Gamble, Vodacom, Hollard and Nedbank.

After serving as the Group Executive for Marketing, Communication, and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank for 6 years, Thulani joined the Standard Bank Group in January 2018, as the Head of Marketing and Communication for the Group. Since January 2021, Thulani has been the Chief Brand and Marketing Officer of the Standard Bank Group, leading the marketing and communication functions across 20 countries. He is a member of the Standard Bank Group Leadership Council (GLC).

Qualifications:

Master in Business Administration (Henley)

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (California State University, Sacramento)

Graduate Certificate in Business Studies (Harvard Extension School)

I spoke to the CMO for Nando's, the South African fast food chain that specialises in flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken. Founded in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,200 outlets in 35 countries. We spoke about all things creativity, what makes him and his team tick and the changes the marketing industry needs as he sits in the Marketing Association of South Africa's board. 

Doug Place is the Chief Marketing Officer of Nando’s Africa, Middle East, and South Asia.

Prior to Nando’s Doug held the position of Marketing Executive of Ster-Kinekor Theatres. Before joining Ster-Kinekor, Doug worked at Cadbury South Africa.

He has received more than 100 international and national marketing and advertising awards including 3 Loeries Grand Prix awards. Most recently Nando’s won the Marketing Organisation of the Year award at the annual Marketing Achievement Awards where he was also a finalist for Marketer of the Year. 

Doug is a Wits graduate and holds a B.Com B.Com Honours Degree (cum laude), and was the top graduate student in both Marketing and across all disciplines in the business school. He is also a registered Chartered Marketer (CMSA), sits on the Professional Designations Board (PDB) and is a board member of MASA.

I wanted to chat about the future of marketing, and there is no better way than to chat to Musa Kalenga, Chief Future Officer at the Brave Group and the CEO of BridgeLabs. We touched on his entrepreneurial journey, the switch to being corporate head, ditching all of it to go back into entrepreneurship, the future of marketing with all the shifts we see and how brands and marketers can start showing value through the humanization of brands. Have a listen  

Do you want to come into a world of intimate and real conversations to learn from some of the leading current and former Chief Marketing Officers and Marketing Executives? Well, this is the podcast for you! Join Thabani Khumalo (CM SA) as he picks their brains on brands, their marketing journey and more