-- -- On Thursday, 25 May 2018 The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) held its 71st Annual General Meeting at the AAA School of Advertising campus in Johannesburg. At the AGM, the new board of directors for the 2018/2019 fiscal were elected - they are:
James Barty : Chair Group managing director King James (Regional Representative CT)
Boniswa Pezisa : Vice-Chair Group CEO Net#work BBDO
Thabang Skwambane : Vice-Chair Managing director FCB
Wayne Naidoo : Vice-Chair CEO Duke Advertising
Gareth Leck : Exco Group CEO Joe Public
Michael Gendel : Exco CEO Gendel Advertising
Odette van der Haar :Exco Chief executive officer Association for Communication & Advertising
Russell Cory : Exco Chief financial officer Association for Communication & Advertising
Adeshia Singh Managing director Singh & Sons
Alison Deeb Group CEO MetropolitanRepublic
Andrew Brand Managing director Ninety9cents Cape Town
Elouise Kelly Managing director Ogilvy
Jacques Burger Founding partner/group exec M&C Saatchi Abel
Jarred Cinman CEO VML South Africa
Jim Faulds Group CEO J Walter Thompson
Karabo Denalane CEO TBWA Hunt Lascaris
Karabo Songo CEO House of Brave
Lebogang Masilela HR director Joe Public
Louise Johnston Managing director DDB SA
Mxolisi Buthelezi CEO June 15 Advertising
Paul Jackson CEO Grey SA
Paul Middleton CEO Ebony and Ivory
Sarah Dexter Managing director MullenLowe SA
Sharleen James Group MD : business develop King James
Susan Napier Managing director The Hardy Boys (Regional Representative Dbn)
Xola Nouse Managing director The Odd Number
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At the meeting, outgoing chair of the ACA Board, Boniswa Pezisa reported on the ACA's activities during the preceding fiscal. The report began with a review of how the economy had affected the profession during the fiscal.
In her report, she noted that the era of Business Unusual continues unabated, the climate of change, adapt or die continues to propel us forward. During the period under review, the business sector and the advertising and communications profession included continued to operate under challenging trading circumstances.
The socio-political situation continues to be dynamic she added, noting that the profession has a choice of either joining the doom sayers or opt for evolution and reinvention.
Pezisa went on to note that every crazy adventure requires rejuvenation, smart navigation tools and fearless leadership - this is not the era for SISIES, she said. The new frontiers call for more brevity as there are no maps when you want to venture forth into new territories and dive into the unknown.
The sale of The AAA School of Advertising was top of the agenda on the morning. Pezisa announced that the ACA was in the process of selling its prized asset, one that the Association had owned for 30 years. The decision to sell was taken in order allow professional educators to take over the baton and build a demonstrably-better institution of higher education, one accessible to the broader nation; a place where diversity can thrive. A place where technological advancement and the blended way of learning would bring a broader and much needed diverse population into our sector to enrich our craft and transform the culture and the tenor of our profession.
On the matter of the highly successful APEX awards, the chair thanked Odette van der Haar and Gareth Leck and their respective teams on building the awards into the credible and reputable programme that it is today. She went on to add that its time to change, to consider global dynamics. Over the past three years, the ACA has been engaging global players and the challenge to the incoming board is to relook, review and innovate the programme in a decisive, considerate and intentional manner. Failure to innovate will result in being swept away by the currents and winds of change.
On matters of self-regulation, Pezisa noted that the ACA continues to play a positive and dominant role of harnessing and cuddling the ASA back to its powerful-self. Self-regulation is a serious task and its preservation requires commitment to the profession and the industry at large to play its part. She congratulated the ACA members who serve on the ASA board for a job well done and thanked them for their dedication.
Industry transformation will continue to be a hot topic within the industry noted Pezisa. The challenge is to go beyond the score card and ensure that our industry and the individual businesses that make it up continue to be relevant for the markets we serve. She added that the industry is yet to fully unleash itself with respect to the MAC Charter. This is critical since it is the diversity that distinguishes South Africa from other markets and which enriches our creativity.
Moving onto matters related to the secretariat, the chair noted that as the winds of change sweep through the land, the secretariat had not been left out, reinforcing that for the ACA, 2018 will continue being a period of Business Unusual. At the AGM, it was officially announced that after eleven years at the helm of the body, ACA CEO Odette van der Haar would be stepping down.
In bidding a sad farewell to van der Haar, Pezisa highlighted a few of van der Haar's major achievements.
These include building the APEX Awards into the reputable brand it is today, championing the gazetting of the MAC CHARTER, entrenching it in the sector and instilling transformation values into agencies through the Vuselela programme and building the ACA into one South Africa's most respected, stable and reputable industry bodies, defined by constant and diverse membership growth. Pezisa noted that van der Haar led by example, with passion and admirable
