JWT appoints Lesegokelame Modise as managing partner

Modise, also known as "Lame", will work in close partnership with the team’s executive creative director, Nick Liatos, to grow clients’ brands and businesses.

Lesegokelame Modise

Modise brings more than 15 years' industry experience across sectors to his new role. During that time, he worked with the J. Walter Thompson company for five years, initially leading on the Telkom account, and then subsequently as business unit director on Global Team Blue. Leading teams in other industry sectors, Modise’s portfolio of expertise includes Financial Services, FMCG, Alcohol, Telco, Tourism, Automotive and B2B, working with brands such as ABSA, Ford, SAT, SABMiller, Coca-Cola, Dulux, Nandos, Unisa, GCIS and Standard Bank.

Commenting on the appointment, Jim Faulds, CEO, J. Walter Thompson South Africa said, “Lame’s passion for technology and social progress, overlaid with an obsession for brand communication, are values he lives both inside the work place and away from it. An aspiring regenerative farmer and permaculture scholar outside his day job, Lame’s strategic thinking and decisive leadership are augmented by the inclusiveness culture he lives and practices externally. I sincerely look forward to seeing the Johannesburg team continue to grow and flourish under the collaborative Lame/Liatos partnership.”

“I believe South Africa, and Gauteng in particular, are hotbeds of innovation, development and growth,” added Modise. “Cultures around the world are becoming increasingly urbanised, so we are in the most exciting of places to be, right here right now. And we need to leverage that, for our talent and for our clients - mentoring not only the leaders of the future, but finding the right brand solutions for a better and brighter tomorrow. “

A family man, Modise is married with two daughters and describes himself as old-school, managing work and the process of delivery in a way that delivers on excellence.