Johannesburg - Saatchi & Saatchi Group CEO Gail Curtis has announced that Ayanda Mbanga has been appointed Group Deputy CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi South Africa, and will be responsible for driving new business development, talent management and group client relations.
Curtis says: "I can think of no better person for the job. A brand in her own right, Ayanda has worked her way up in the Group over the last 16 years and has shown true metal over the years with her entrepreneurial spirit and brings great leadership skills to the Group. She understands how to grow people, grow companies and inspire people along the way. She has the right feel for what Saatchi & Saatchi needs and brings with her new talent in the form of an engaging, sales focused approach. I love working with her, and believe we will make a great team in creating a great future for Saatchi & Saatchi."
Mbanga, who is also the CEO and founder of recruitment advertising company Ayanda Mbanga Communications, of which Saatchi & Saatchi holds a significant share, joined Saatchi & Saatchi Recruitment Advertising in 1993 from University as a copywriter. She then started Ayanda Mbanga Communications in 1998 within the group, with start-up support from Saatchi & Saatchi.
The company is currently rated number 2 out of some 35 or so recruitment advertising companies and employs more than 45 people operating as a full service advertising agency. Media billings for 2010 were in excess of R100m.
Some of her accolades include top 3 finalist for Business Woman of the Year (2008), and nominee for South Africa's Most Influential Women in Business and Government (2009).
Mbanga says that on a group level, she is looking forward to adding value across all the businesses in the Saatchi & Saatchi group.
"This appointment brings with it a new set of challenges, new things to do and new accomplishments to go after," she says. "Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Gail Curtis and I have a very good understanding and this can only auger well for the growth that we have planned for the group in South Africa and Africa."
She sees her recruitment advertising background as advantageous. "I come from a sales-driven environment where everything boils down to numbers," she adds. "You may be good looking, speak well, etc. but if you are not bringing in the numbers, you are dead in the water. So I see myself bringing in that element into the Group business, because ultimately without work coming in, there is no business."
From a client relations point of view, she says that she will be the voice of the client, ensuring that clients' expectations are met, if not exceeded which, she says links to her sales-driven approach. "Ultimately, my mandate is to help achieve the Group's objective to win, primarily through attracting great clients and matching them to the best talent available."
In South Africa, Saatchi & Saatchi has offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg and boasts one of the largest African networks with 16 associate offices. Business units include the Africa network (Saatchi Africa), the digital operation (Saatchi & Saatchi AtPlay) the retail offering (Saatchi & Saatchi X) and PR offering (Tin Can).
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