Expertise
- Advertising Campaigns
- launching a product
- Innovations And Transforming
- Innovative Design
- Insights Discovery
- Problem Framing
- Problem Solver
- Marketing Training
- Marketing & Branding
- Marketing & Communications
- Marketing Agency London
- Lateral Thinker
- Research & Development
- Disruptor
- thinking outside the box
- Team Development
- Future Planning
- Digital Transformation
- Product Development
- Product research
- Service design
- Design Thinking
- Marketing effectiveness
- Marketing efficiency
- Marketing planning
- Training & Development
- Training Design
- Brand architecture
- Marketing ROI
Summary
- Lead strategist who launched many brands from inception. This gave me the depth of insight and hands-on experience to align business operations and people to brand experience. Enabling alignment across functional silo’s. Helping design brand touch-points. This gave me an integrated view of marketing.
- Led the strategy and marketing for entrepreneurial companies that today all have revenues in excess of £100m p.a., all now part of larger companies. Just completed the launch of a new food brand that outsells all its competitors combined within just 18 months from launch. Act as the outsourced CMO for the company.
- Started an agency that within its first three years, became the lead agency to Emirates Airlines (out of 29 agencies across their network). Launched Emirates into Europe.
- The agency I ran had a profitability ratio of three times the industry average. Within five years, it was within the Top 5 most considered agencies by clients, against major global rivals. It was built around an agnostic strategic and project approach that enabled client-centricity and transparency.
- Moved to London for a global role in digital technology brands, trends, data and AI. This includes how data and technology drive customer-centricity for large companies.
- Completed brand development and brand engagement work, marketing training and repositioning projects in more than 30 countries for multinational companies. This meant having to compile in-country brand development templates for brands like Emirates and MTN.
- Was the strategic marketing lead for the launch of BrightRock Life Insurance, underwritten by Swiss Re. 53% of the company was sold to a large insurer for £100m+ within three years.
- A strategic partner to the launch of 20twenty online bank to achieve its position as a Standard Chartered Bank Asset. This was only the second online bank globally to launch after Egg (later acquired by Citi).
- Lead strategy consultant to MTN (the largest telco in Africa and the Middle East) when it became the first African brand to make it into the Top 100 list of global brands (as assessed by Interbrand) and became the first global sponsor of FIFA from Africa.
- The lead strategist and team leader for the global launch of AngloGold Ashanti and their NYSE listing, controlling up to 300 separate projects across five continents. This was a fully integrated internal and external campaign across stakeholders, investors, analysts, global media and satellite broadcasts to staff. This launch won global awards for its integration. A live lion was taken onto the Exchange Floor at launch.
- The lead strategist for the team that created the most “liked” television advert of the last 35 years in South Africa, as measured independently by Kantar. This was for Sasol Oil, the largest coal-to-oil company globally and today a leader in gas-to-liquid development.
- With Sasol, I engaged in experimentation for greater efficiencies in marketing spend and market share growth. We retained market share and brand awareness growth, with less spend than peers and at times with half the budget. I also worked on their Chevron joint venture with GTL technology with is HQ in London.
- Manage the global rebranding for several brands, most recently for a global fashion label manufacturer with offices and factories in 19 countries. This was across all aspects, signage, to stationery, to the website, to office interiors and staff communications across nine languages. In the process, launched an annual style magazine to start the repositioining of the company amongst its clients.
- Conducted a major strategic overview of the fashion retail industry in conjunction with the University of the Arts, Central Saint Martens. We investigated various futures aspects in fabrics, retail, technology, logistics, consumer engagement and branding.
- Launched a food brand that within two years of launch, outsells all of its competitors in the same category by 3:1. This forms of the foundation of a company where four brands have been developed and launched and I act as the outsourced CMO.
- Assist a London-based minerology training company in its global marketing.
Experience
-
Drthomasbrand Limited
Director
1 - 5 Employees 2019 - Current
A consulting business that develops and launches new brands, assists with transformation projects and manages digital campaigns and marketing for clients
-
DraperGain Investments
Partner and Head of Strategy
6 - 20 Employees 2017 - 2019Head-up strategy for an investment firm and assist their key investment with their marketing, positioning and their investment optimisation
-
Acceleration, part of WPP
Global Consulting Director
100+ Employees 2014 - 2017Transform a marketing technology company into a digital transformation business throughout its offices in the UK, US, MEA
Education History
-
PhD
University of South Africa
1983 - 1986Brand Positioning as an Integrated Communications Processs
-
Design Thinking for new product and service innovation
MIT
2017 - 2017A three month "Design Thinking Course" focusing upon the process and launching a new product in real-life, working with a team of five learners from India to Brazil, developing a new business concept for Bosch
-
Digital Marketing
General Assembly
2018 - 2018A six week course in Digital Marketing
-
Executive Development Program
University of the Witwatersrand
1986 - 1986A six week full time EDP course
Qualifications
Completed short courses on Data Management Platforms, Content Management Platforms, CRM, Data Science and Analystics, A Company Marketing Technology Stack, Driving Results Through Digital Marketing Analytics
Clubs and Associations
Professionals UK
Interests and Hobbies
Travel, Art collection and appreciation
