#Newsmaker: Brave Group CEO, Karabo Songo joins the Regenesys Creatives Advisory Board

Karabo Songo, CEO at Brave Group

With management experience that ranges from IT empowerment deals, hospitality/leisure and marketing investment, he has come to make a success of a marketing/communications group with varied interests in the industry value chain and various corporate local and global clientele.

Congratulations on been appointed on the Regenesys Creative MBA Advisory Board. How does this feel?

It’s an honour to represent our industry body the ACA on such a stage and good to be collaborating with further academia on the African continent to drive the journey of making creative a strong organised force within corporate organisations. I aim to make this lifelong commitment to doing so with many organisations.

For those that don’t know what the Regenesys Creative MBA Advisory Board is, could you explain?

The Regenesys Creative MBA Advisory Board is a mix of cognitive diversity, qualifications, and experience with regards to the creative industry in its current form and evolving potential futures that must achieve the following:

• Define the perimeters of how creativity is defined, measured, managed, and valued in a corporate environment with new and old industries

• Create a leading MBA programme in collaboration with industry that balances the requirements of commercial creativity, business management and personal leadership of creative industry participants in a future-forward way

• Be custodians of inclusiveness in the creative industry by equipping all types of talent that meet the requirements with tools to survive in their interactions with corporates and large organisations

• Build a voice across the continent for effective engagement with a qualified creative industry by buyers, managers, CEOs, CFOs, etc and advocate for the various models of fair remuneration for creative outputs for brands

Who all sits on the board?

• Prof Nico Schutte, CEO of Lifelong Learning at Regenesys Business School
  
• Sibongiseni Kumalo, Dean of Regenesys Business School
  
• Tinyiko Mohale, head of group stakeholders and relations at Regenesys Business School
  
• Pepe Marais, CEO at Joe Public United
  
• Thabo Molefe, media mogul and CEO of Touch HD
  
• Johanna McDowell, CEO of Agency Selection
  
• Lebo Sethole, human capital executive at Brave Group
  
• Chris Maroleng, executive director at GA SADC
  
• Prof Prakash Naidoo, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Free State
  
• Thoko Modise, strategic relationship manager at Brand South Africa

What is the process of being appointed on the board?

The institution approached various industry bodies with major influence in the sector value chain to recommend various individuals to the advisory board based on their track record and involvement in the creative industry. It also took various members of academia to work with the creative industry to meet the requirements of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) for the programme to become a reality.

What will your role on the board be?

I'll advise the institution on further industry gaps. I will also lead masterclasses that are customised to suit the creative industry.

My role will also involve working closely with the Academic Dean of Regenesys Business School in aligning learning pods, where participants are learning together, and our thought leader mediates the learning perspective.

In addition, I will facilitate the Campfire Leadership Chat where leaders from various backgrounds and industries and hear their leadership stories and lessons as well as facilitate the Coaching Pod – Thinking through application of the learning from the learning pods to work and life.

What approach will you take on in this role going forward?

The approach I'm taking is for more robust engagement and giving valuable input by addressing transformation in the creative industry.