Grey SA appoints Sizakele Marutlulle new CEO

Sizakele Marutlulle

Marutlulle is a former COO at South African Tourism and has been running her own communications consultancy called Moonchild. She was also deputy MD of HerdBuoys McCann-Erickson until 2004.

Greater global perspective

According to Marutlulle, her stint as SA Tourism COO has helped give her a greater global perspective of the challenges brands face.

"The world of tourism deals with nations and countries as destinations so, yes, familiarity with the global landscape of country brands did indeed give one a sense of similarity between consumer brands and nation brands - both are about competitive distinctiveness, on-going innovation and investing in unlocking consumer insights in order to remain contemporary," she says.

"Great brands, whether local or global, succeed when the brand promise meets the brand experience consistently..."

Her short-term focus for the year ahead will lie in new business growth, 360 integration and retaining current staff.

Key focus

Jeremy Nathan, global brand director at WPP and Grey EMEA and who is currently involved in the management transition at Grey South Africa, says expanding the group's senior creative team won't be a key priority for Marutlulle at present. "The key focus is ensuring that our creative output is the best there is, that it meets our clients' business objectives and continues to lift our creative profile in the industry," he says.

"We have a great creative department led by Cath Ireland, and have strong senior staff. We will expand as required, dependant on revenue growth."

In the media release announcing the appointment, David Patton, CEO and president of Grey Group EMEA, says, "We are determined to invest and grow our presence here and I know that she [Marutlulle] will provide inspirational leadership to Grey South Africa."

Nature of investment

Asked to clarify the nature of this investment, Nathan says it will focus on people - including the new CEO.

"As great creative comes from insightful and inspirational strategy, we are focused on strengthening this aspect of the business especially," he explains. "A senior strategy director is our top priority, and we are well on the way to identifying the best talent. The group will also be investing in greater digital and integrated capabilities and focus on better integration with fellow WPP best-in-class communication companies."