As Grey’s CEO, Paul leads a team of creative thinkers to produce Famously Effective campaigns that make consumers love our clients’ brands and in turn make our clients rich.
With 21 years under his belt, Paul’s strategic leadership and creative vision has grown Grey Africa into Ad Age’s International Agency of the Year 2014. A Marketing and Business Economics Honours graduate from Wits, he is a director of several successful businesses and is acknowledged as an imaginative innovator and specialist brand architect. He is also a marketing communications consultant to some of the world’s foremost brands.
He was recently recognised with the 2013 Rising Star Award for his role in shaping the future of South Africa’s Marketing and Advertising industry.
As GM, Gavin is responsible for the smooth running of the agency, ensuring delivery of Famously Effective work for all clients. He has more than 20 years of experience in media, marketing and advertising, holding executive, operational and project management positions at a number of leading media companies and advertising agencies.
He has combined his experience with sound business and managerial skills to become an executive who can develop and execute brand, marketing and communication strategies that achieve both business objectives and deliver significant return on marketing investment for a range of clients. He is a qualified Project Manager with an Advanced Project Management Certificate from Unisa's Graduate School of Business Leadership.
He also holds a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University. Gavin has worked in digital and traditional advertising, and has wide experience across media disciplines, including financial journalism, television content development and production, marketing and communications.
After 10 years as an award-winning creative director, Stuart finally succumbed to the Dark Side and became a strategic planner, practicing his dark arts and leading the strategy departments at many of the top agencies in South Africa including TBWA, HAVAS, Yellowwood, DDB, MetropolitanRepublic and now, Grey. He has also worked at some of the rubbish agencies and has worked either as a creative or strategist on brands in just about every category, winning numerous local and international awards for both his strategies and creative work. A previous career qualification has ensured that he is one of but a handful of Chief Strategy Officers globally, who is legally permitted to transport explosives.
Fran Luckin, CCO of Grey Africa, was named one of the top 10 most influential people in South African advertising in The Annual, South Africa’s most authoritative publication. She has judged and been awarded at every major marquee award festival: Cannes Lions Film Jury, Cannes Outdoor Jury, Clio Awards, and D&AD, and was on the judging panel of the Apex Awards, South Africa’s version of the Effies. Fran began as a copywriter at The Jupiter Drawing Room in 1997 and by 2000 was Creative Director. She joined Ogilvy Johannesburg in 2003 and became Executive Creative Director there in 2008, when Ogilvy Johannesburg took the top spot at Cannes Lions, which they repeated in 2009. In 2010, after winning South Africa’s first Film Gold Lion in 11 years, she was appointed to the 15-member Ogilvy Worldwide Creative Council. Fran has spent the past two years as Executive Creative Director at digital agency Quirk, honing her digital storytelling skills, and continues as an executive committee member of South Africa’s Creative Circle.
Felix is the former CEO and CCO of Leo Burnett South Africa and co-founder and CCO of award-winning, breakthrough agency, OwenKessel, before its acquisition by the Publicis Groupe. He comes with an outstanding track record of award-winning creative work over two decades, combined with entrepreneurial excellence in building an integrated agency from the ground up and driving its creative and strategic outputs.
Nothing's ever been sold to a robot. They’re detached, frigid and inhuman. They’re pre-programmed to perform an array of functions but feeling isn’t one of them. They don’t long for things, they don’t dream, they don’t hope for a better life. People however, are far more interesting. We’re an emotional bunch; we respond to what we feel.
Yet somehow a lot of advertising tries to sell things to people as if they were robots – simply passing on information, devoid of any emotion. There’s also so much of the stuff, it’s no wonder people use ads as loo breaks. We set out to develop ideas for people – ideas conceptualised to elicit a response. Because if they feel in some way connected to a brand, it’ll feel less like a purchase and more like a relationship. And that’s the whole idea.
Jeanette Grove the Creative Director – Content & Social at Grey Africa, joined Grey Africa in 2017 from Quirk, and gloo and Ogilvy prior to that. She has over 21 years of experience in the broadcasting, advertising, and communications industries in both South Africa and the UK. Jeanette is a multitalented writer, ideas person, video editor, and director. She is fluent in four languages, and has the depth of knowledge and experience to lead social and content teams in telling brands’ stories online.
Marilyn has over 25 years of experience within the marketing and advertising industry of which 9 years was spent abroad in England. Her area of expertees focus on the managing of internal operations such as traffic, studio, client service and client-agency / supplier relationship. She has been instrumental in setting up and managing processes and systems within various agencies that ensured the smooth and efficient delivery on client SLA requirements.
My advertising industry experience spans multiple consumer segments and business sectors, having worked on premium brands as well as brands that service middle income consumers for global and local companies. Over the years my client list has included brands like; McDonalds, Unilever, Emirates, Mars Wrigley DMEA, Honda, MiWay Insurance, Kansai Plascon, Nigerian Breweries (Heineken group), First National Bank, Alexander Forbes, South African Broadcasting Corporation (Sports marketing, Trade marketing, Education and Corporate brand) Converse and Telkom. Previously, I have not only held the position of strategic lead for some of the clients mentioned above but have held the position of New business strategist, which involved meaningfully contributing to agency efforts to acquire new clients, with a high rate of conversion. My achievements include being ranked 2nd of the top strategists that contributed to award winning work at Loeries in 2016. I also had the privilege of serving on the Global Grand Jury of the AME Awards in 2018.
I’ve been working for some of South Africa’s most iconic agencies for over 19 years. I have won every local and international award several times and my highlights include a Gold Pencil for TV at the One Show, a Gold Lion for Film and the first ever Loerie Film Grand Prix for a branded content series. I am passionate about making integrated insight-driven work that moves people and explores the human condition in all its beauty, imperfection, fragility and hilarity. My true love is still film. I believe that there is enormous strength in silliness and my superpowers include cooking the perfect fillet and disappearing from parties without anyone noticing.
Devashnie’s career in Human Capital started over 15 years ago in the telecoms industry, and she has grown into leadership roles that recognise her great qualities and dedication to the discipline and people. She has been at the forefront of implementing complex human capital projects, fit for purpose learning opportunities and transformation, an HR professional with extensive experience in the Media, Advertising and Telecoms industries and most recently held the position of Human Capital Executive at Primedia Broadcasting; prior to that, she was the Group HR Manager for TBWA SA and its agencies.
I am an experienced advertising campaigner and agency leader, having found my passion in the advertising industry some 26 years ago, and have held a number of senior positions in the sector. My career in the industry started in account management before I worked my way up the ranks into agency management. Over the course of my career I have held prominent roles at agencies such as Y&R, Draft FCB, Ogilvy, Roots (Tanzania), and DDB South Africa. I am a doer, not a talker – I like to get my hands dirty and am not afraid of hard work. I thrive on challenges and have often been brought in to fix an issue, a client relationship, or to mentor junior staff. I’m also a creative who thinks of the big picture, leading from the front and inspiring my team to be the best in order to achieve our common goals as a company. I’m also a board member of the Advertising and Communications Association (ACA).