Wavemaker South Africa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lwandile Qokweni, and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Merissa Himraj have been appointed as directors of the company.
Their appointments will define Wavemaker’s growth and evolution in the years to come as they are highly skilled and with many years of combined experience in the marketing and advertising industry,
Qokweni has been serving as Wavemaker’s CEO since March 2018, and is the former Chief Strategic Officer and Managing Director of MEC Global, which later became Wavemaker. Qokweni is a skilled marketing and business development professional, and welcomes this new role, which he said is ‘a great milestone in a 19-year career.’
Over the short term, Qokweni aims to create a positive working environment for diverse South Africans who are passionate about media and positive provocation. ‘My medium-term goal is to make sure we share our unique approach with the world, and that we start to make it clear to our clients and the industry why we do things so differently. In the long term, we hope to build a brand that is synonymous with driving growth for our clients,’ said Qokweni.
Himraj first joined Wavemaker in August 2014 as a business unit manager, before taking on the role of Chief Strategy Officer in January 2019. As of April 2020, she also serves on the executive committee of Wavemaker’s parent company, GroupM.
As a director of Wavemaker, Himraj will be responsible for the agency’s growth, and for ensuring that its teams are motivated and empowered to deliver on its mandate. ‘Wavemaker will have to deliver effective, cost-efficient and relevant solutions, always, but especially now and this will be made possible through our distinctive provocative planning positioning and approach to media, as well as our deep insights and data-enriched toolkits,’ Himraj said.
Qokweni and Himraj’s appointments come at a complex time in human history, when the need for decisive leadership is more important than ever before. Qokweni believes that adaptability is critical during this time, particularly within the South African context.
‘We believe that the current circumstances offer great opportunities for companies to demonstrate their adaptability, resilience and passion. We welcome the challenge with open arms and look forward to working with our teams to drive prosperity for our clients and ourselves during this time and beyond,’ Qokweni concluded.
