TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris has welcomed back Steph van Niekerk to the TBWA\SA collective as Executive Creative Director. With traditional and digital skills honed over 20 years at some of South Africa’s best agencies, van Niekerk is a courageous big-idea creative that believes in integrated platform-agnostic storytelling, and is known for her moving, entertaining and insightful work.
As one of the industry’s top talents, van Niekerk was ranked as number one creative director and copywriter in South Africa in 2019 and is a recipient of Campaign Magazine’s Female Frontier Award. Van Niekerk worked with TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris JHB as Creative Director between 2018-2019 and returns to the agency from Grey South Africa, where she headed-up Savanna Cider for the past three years.
‘Van Niekerk is a powerhouse, and true pirate. She leads by example and is a natural fit within our collective culture. We are excited to have van Niekerk back to play her role in keeping us a globally competitive creative force,’ said Peter Khoury, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris CCO.
‘It’s so good being back here. I wasn’t done with the pirate ship, and I’m excited to get stuck into creating world-class award-winning work on iconic South African brands like City Lodge, MTN and Cobra. I’m in awe of the talent here, and so far, it’s been an absolute pleasure working with the team,’ said van Niekerk.
Having won nearly every local and international award herself – including a number of Gold Cannes Lions, SA’s first Gold One Show Pencil for TV and Cinema, and three Grand Prix awards in two years at the Loeries for Branded Content, Radio and Outdoor, van Niekerk is also a regular judge on the awards circuit, both locally and at One Show and Cannes.
Van Niekerk is also currently serving on the Loeries committee with a focus to nurture and grow young creative talent to help build a sustainable and more diverse advertising industry. ‘The industry definitely needs more female leaders as we are naturally inclined to bring empathy to the table. Looking after, nurturing and supporting young talent is perhaps the most important thing we can do for the industry right now, especially in these rather unsettling times we find ourselves in,’ concluded van Niekerk.
TBWA
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