Chris Moerdyk, the former head of strategic planning and public affairs for BMW South Africa, spent 16 years in the creative and client service departments of ad agencies, ending up as resident director of Lindsay Smithers-FCB in KwaZulu-Natal.

Chris was listed in a recent Markinor corporate survey as one of South Africa's top marketing thought leaders and in an earlier Financial Mail poll he was voted one of the 20 most influential people in the South African advertising industry.

He now spends his time as a corporate marketing analyst, advisor, and media commentator. In September 2002 he was appointed by the State President to the inaugural board of the Media Development and Diversity Agency. In 2001 he became a Fellow of the Institute of Marketing Management.

He is non-executive chairman of Bizcommunity; pro bono chairman of the Catholic Newspaper Publishing; inaugural chairman of the Oversight Committee of the Marketing Association of South Africa; and a founder member of the Government/private sector national communications partnership for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In 1999 he was presented with the SA Communicator of the Year Award by Technikon Pretoria. He trained the SABC's very first TV news team in the 1970s.

In 2008 he was invited to join the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council - an influential global network of 4000 senior marketing and brand decision-makers dedicated to knowledge exchange, thought leadership and peer networking

In April 2001 he launched Marketingweb with Alec Hogg and the late John Farquhar. Chris and John initiated the debate on racism in the media and advertising industries in 2001, resulting in parliamentary hearings in November 2001/2.

While head of strategic planning and public affairs at BMW SA, in 1994 he developed the Zero Budget Departure process which is used by numerous companies in SA to obtain maximum added value from marketing budgets.

He has conducted several marketing audits and is marketing advisor to several blue-chip companies.

He wrote the Marketing Column in the Sunday Times for three years until mid-2005; from 1996 to 1999, he was consulting Media & Marketing Editor for Business Report at Independent Newspapers (Saturday Star; Pretoria News, Cape Argus, Independent on Saturday (Durban). He founded this still popular feature in 1988.

He compiled and presented the Power of Persuasion Television show on SABC which achieved record audience ratings.

From 1991 to 1996 Chris was head of public affairs and strategic planning for BMW South Africa. Reporting to and advising chief executive BMW SA on public policy, current affairs, politics, sponsorships, economics, protocol, he was also the corporate spokesman.

He was responsible for product launches to media, corporate events, media liaison. Chris was also a member of the BMW International public policy strategy group.

Email and follow @chrismoerdyk on Twitter. View his press office.