The Marketing Achievement Awards (MAA) has announced its 2022 Marketer of the Year finalists. In no particular order, the finalists are: Firoze Bhorat, Chief Marketing Officer at Discovery Group; Tinyiko Mageza, Executive Head Marketing at V&A Waterfront; Sydney Mbhele, Chief Executive: Brand at Sanlam Group; Asha Patel, Head of Marketing at Google South Africa and Head of B2B Marketing for Sub-Saharan Africa; and Nontokozo Madonsela, Group CMO at Momentum Metropolitan Holdings.
This award recognises the best marketer in the South African marketing industry today; a person who has consistently delivered innovative marketing, had a positive impact on business results, and proactively driven the industry forward.
Professor Doug Mattheus, Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the Nelson Mandela University and Chairman of the Marketer of the Year selection committee, said the committee has its work cut out for it in deciding this year’s winner from these five incredible marketers.
‘The adjudication panel has requested multiple written submissions and conducted online interviews with the nominees and their colleagues in order to better understand these marketers and their work. Whether a winner or a finalist, these five individuals are some of South Africa’s best marketers and should all be congratulated for producing outstanding work,’ explained Prof. Mattheus.
He added that this is a tightly contested MAA category, and ultimately the winner will be the marketer that best demonstrates this year’s theme, ‘marketing that means business’.
Gugu Ntuli, GE, Corporate Affairs and Marketing at the SABC – the institution presenting this year’s Marketing Achievement Awards – concured. ‘The MAAs are anchored in business strategy, and have come to be respected as an influential platform showcasing South African marketing efforts as crucial contributors to business success. As such, the Marketer of the Year nominees will also be judged on demonstrable business results within the context of marketing as a strategic discipline,’ she said.
Ivan Moroke, CEO of Kantar’s Insight Division, South Africa; Lead Inclusion and Diversity Kantar EMEA, and current chairperson of the MAAs, added that this award is not only one of the most sought after in the industry, but it is also vital to the overall objectives of the MAAs themselves.
‘Ultimately, the vision of the MAAs is to build marketing’s stature in business, help shape the industry and promote marketing as an illustrious career choice. By highlighting visionary individuals whose marketing skills have generated a significant impact within their businesses, the Marketer of the Year Award does just that,’ said Moroke.
Meeting all these criteria were the following nominees:
Firoze Bhorat, Chief Marketing Officer at Discovery Group
Bhorat is an executive-level marketer in the financial services sector with strong commercial, brand and communication acumen and experience. At the helm of marketing at Discovery, Bhorat is responsible for marketing leadership, strategy and execution, and ensuring that his proudly South African company firmly cements its place as one of the world’s leading and most loved brands. He was involved in launching Discovery’s pioneering digital shared-value bank and managing the largest private Covid-19 vaccination programme.
Tinyiko Mageza, Executive Head of Marketing at V&A Waterfront
Soweto born Mageza’s marketing career began at South African Breweries, and today spans more than 16 years. Having worked across a number of different industries from FMCG, insurance, banking, tourism and most recently property development, Mageza believes that marketing is alchemy – there is method within the magic.
She joined the V&A Waterfront in 2018 as Marketing Executive where, together with her team, she oversees the end-to-end marketing and experiential value chain for the brand. She is passionate about the art of strategic brand building; championed by a team of intentional purpose-led marketers who are committed to solving business problems while making a difference in the world. Her philosophy in life is that the world needs more kindness because kindness trumps everything.
Mageza serves as a board member for the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation as well as the African Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions. She also sits on the Made in Cape Town Steering Committee.
Sydney Mbhele, Chief Executive: Brand at Sanlam Group
Mbheleis one of the notable leaders in the South African marketing fraternity with an illustrious career across various brands and industries. He is a Chartered Marketer (SA) and has a passion for building both brands and people.
Under Mbhele’s leadership, Sanlam has been reframed and strategically repositioned to inspire people to ‘Live with Confidence’, which is a new promise and payoff line to drive both financial inclusion and financial security. This extensive, strategic project was led by Mbhele to reposition Sanlam as a purposeful brand across the 45 countries in which it operates.
Mbhele is the Chairman of the Marketing Association of South Africa, an MAA council member, a Loeries board member, and a member of the CMO Council Africa Advisory Board. He is also co-founder and Chairman of Mentor a Boy Child, an NGO dedicated to creating a world in which young men make better life decisions for ‘healthy masculinity’.
Asha Patel, Head of Marketing at Google South Africa and Head of B2B Marketing for Sub-Saharan Africa
Patel is a creative marketer who has more than 18 years of experience in marketing within the tech, banking, mobile gaming and media industries. Over the last 11 years at Google, she has been responsible for leading global and regional relationships across the FMCG, finance and auto sectors. More recently, during her time as Head of B2B Marketing and Head of Country Marketing for South Africa, she worked on supporting the digitisation and growth of six million SMBs across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Growing up as a minority in a small mining community has fuelled her work in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. She has led DEI marketing training for Google in SSA, and integrates DEI across her work at Google. Externally, she leads the women’s chapter within the IAB Transformation Council, where she has conceptualised and executed a plan to diversify the digital, media and publishing industries in South Africa. She has also launched Connected Womxn – an initiative aimed at creating a community for senior female leaders in the industry.
Nontokozo Madonsela, Group CMO at Momentum Metropolitan Holdings
Madonsela is a recognised and respected expert and transformational leader in South African marketing. Her career, which spans more than two decades, has been defined by an uncompromising commitment to delivering smart, innovative and memorable marketing across a range of industries.
For the past four years, Madonsela has been Group Chief Marketing Officer at Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, the fourth largest insurance group in South Africa. Here she spearheaded the repositioning of Momentum Metropolitan Holdings as a portfolio business, which also included a refreshed and inclusive business identity.
Madonsela is passionate about transforming and problem solving for the brands on which she works; leading diverse and inclusive teams; and delivering work that has social and commercial impact. The repositioning and transformation of the Momentum and Metropolitan insurance brands under her leadership is testament to these passions.
The Marketer of the Year Award winner and other category winners will be announced on 13th July at a livestream awards presentation taking place on 13th July 2022. To register for the event, click here. Modern Marketing is a proud media partner of the MAA’s.
MARKETING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
www.marketingawards.co.za
