Optimize on the rise

Oosthuizen moves from his previous position as Head of Sports for Blue Label Engage and will bring the experience of having worked on some of South Africa's top sporting brands.

"At Optimize we continue to grow and enhance our reputation as a leader in the field of sports sponsorship and eventing. As we grow, we are always looking to recruit top talent and we're thoroughly impressed by Rory's knowledge of the industry and energy to tackle what is an exciting but challenging environment," says Optimize CEO Emy Casaletti-Bwalya.

"He comes with a wealth of experience across a number of sports and we believe he will help us develop our portfolio even further as we seek to grow new business not just in South Africa, but across our borders on the continent."

Oosthuizen's varied experience means he has worked on campaigns involving the national rugby and cricket teams, the FIFA Soccer World Cup, South Africa's biggest horse race, the Durban July, as well as major golf tournaments.

He has also been involved on campaigns involving South Africa's two biggest domestic sporting brands, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

"I am excited for this new challenge and look forward to joining the Optimize team," Oosthuizen said. "I have been fortunate enough to gain experience working across varied sports and campaigns and am excited to bring those expertise to the table for Optimize."

Oosthuizen holds a BA Degree in Marketing Communication, a Higher Diploma in Integrated Marketing Communication and a Sports Management Diploma from the London Business and Management School.

Aside from Blue Label Engage, he has also worked as an Account Director at Afrikings Advertising, Publicis and SAIL/Trinergy.

Optimize is a strategic sponsorship agency that specialises in sports and entertainment. With a wealth of experience in the local and international market, Optimize represents some of Africa's top sport and entertainment clients.

Driven by pure passion for what they do, Optimize assists in creating and optimising commercial partnerships that elevate experiences far beyond the event itself whilst driving commercial value.

Some of the company's past and present clients include FIFA, the Confederation of African Football, the Premier Soccer League, Bafana Bafana, Kaizer Chiefs, Telkom, the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation and Microsoft.