Tshepo Matseba elected president of PRISA

Tshepo Matseba

A Wits Business School graduate, his expertise spans over 11 years in strategic marketing management and corporate communications, and he has recently joined Discovery as head of marketing: sales & distribution.

Before that, he was head of brand and strategic communication at the Momentum Group's financial planning division. He previously served in various roles including senior corporate communication manager at Huawei, marketing and communication manager at MTN Group, and corporate communication officer at Unisa's Graduate School of Business Leadership.

He has APR (Accredited in Public Relations) status, which is internationally recognised in the US, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and Australia through the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. He is also accredited as MCIPR (Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations), UK.

Reputation management key focus

"In the next 12 months, PRISA will address its immediate challenges by redefining its value proposition for various sectors including corporate, government, academia, and most importantly the public relations agencies across southern Africa," says Matseba.

"Reputation management is a key strategic driver in business today - as such, corporate communication practitioners have a significant role to play in stakeholder engagement as outlined in the King III report on corporate governance. This necessitates the organisation to set the tone regarding professional standards and continuous professional development to ensure that practitioners apply best practices in line with global trends.

"We cannot afford to continue with business as usual. Our counterparts in other emerging markets are far ahead in terms of setting common benchmarks for excellence in reputation management, and they are playing a significant role in shaping the strategic direction of organisations they serve.

"We have an obligation to ensure that public relations and communication management regains its stature in strategic business discourse to enable us to manage Africa's reputation globally. If we do not put the necessary measures in place to elevate the quality of public relations and communication in Africa, we will be left behind," he concludes.