Sue Napier has been appointed as managing director of the advertising division of the Wunderman Thompson Group in South Africa.
Her national role includes the management and overseeing of the 200 team members across the Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban offices. Haydn Townsend, Group CEO of the agency, approached Napier to further establish Wunderman Thompson as a formidable, creative brand and communications advertising agency, that is focused and driven to deliver novel business solutions for its clients.
Townsend acknowledges that Napier has a solid work ethic, is highly ambitious and genuinely passionate about delivering exceptional work. Still, she is also incredibly kind and empathic and manages people through collaboration, fairness and mutual respect. He added, ‘She has a wealth of through-the-line experience in managing brands, both operationally and strategically, as well as in the management of integration of multi-disciplined agencies and expertise. We’re thrilled to have her join our team.’
Culture, Napier believes, is the life-blood of an agency. She is an advocate for fostering healthy internal agency cultures to encourage better performance and collaboration. Apart from driving and fuelling the creative culture and narrative within Wunderman Thompson and its reputation in this regard, she is passionate about developing and nurturing talent in the industry, especially when it comes to up-and-coming female talent. ‘I am deeply passionate about the development and upliftment of other women in the industry and try to provide them with the support they need to flourish in this field, which still tends to be male-dominated in South Africa,’ she expressed.
Napier’s greatest gifts and proudest achievements to date are her two daughters. As a mother of girls, she feels strongly that she has to show them that they can be anything they want to be and that the future is indeed female.
