Suhana Gordhan

The announcement was made during the annual Loeries® Awards on Saturday, 20 August, at the Durban International Convention Centre.

“I am honoured to take on this role as chairperson and look forward to serving the Loeries. The Loeries has always been about shining a light on creative excellence, and I hope to play a part in continuing to uphold the iconic creativity that comes out of this continent. As a woman, I consider it a privilege to be able to use my own experiences and that of my esteemed peers to invest in, and to inspire other young women coming up in the industry to unleash their own power of creativity and to aim for those Golds and Grand Prix awards,” says Suhana Gordhan.

The current creative lead on Wimpy and Coca-Cola South Africa, Gordhan started in the advertising industry in 2001 and has worked on some of the country’s most loved brands at agencies such as Ogilvy, Black River FC and Net#work BBDO.

Some of her award wins include a Loerie Grand Prix, Black Eagle, Gold Pendoring, Creative Circle Ad of the Year, a Silver Pixel at The Bookmarks and a Cannes Silver Lion.

She’s passionate about the art of copywriting, building client relationships and working together to make iconic South African work.

Gordhan has a strong commitment to South African creativity and was previously nominated to join both the Loeries Board and the Creative Circle Exco. She writes an opinion column about advertising and marketing for Business Day. Furthermore Gordhan was invited to be a judge at the international festival of creativity, the Cannes Lions in France this year.

Says Brett Morris, Group CEO FCB Africa: “Suhana is a highly respected and seasoned creative director who leads with an uncompromising focus on creative excellence but never at the expense of the bigger picture. I think she will bring a fantastic perspective to the leadership of the Loeries® in all that it aims to achieve.”

First staged in 1978 to support South Africa's television advertising industry, the Loeries® have since expanded to encompass all areas of brand communication throughout Africa and the Middle East.

All the 2016 Loeries® winners will be listed on the Loeries® website (www.loeries.com) from Monday, 22 August.

• Twitter: @loeries
  
• Official Hashtag for Loeries: #Loeries2016
  
• Instagram: Loerieawards
  
• Facebook: The Loeries

Major Partners of the Loeries 2016
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN), the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal Province (EDTEA), EThekwini Municipality – Durban Tourism, DStv Media Sales, Gearhouse South Africa

Category Partners

Accenture, Adams & Adams, ADreach, Channel O, Facebook, Film & Publication Board, Google, JCDecaux, Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA), The Times, Unilever South Africa, Woolworths, YFM

Additional Partners and Official Suppliers

AAA School of Advertising, Antalis South Africa, Aon South Africa, Arcade Content, Association of Practitioners in Advertising, Backsberg, BEE Online, Castle Lite, Clive Stewart Photography, Circus Circus Beach Café, Egg Films, First Source, Fresh RSVP Guest Logistics, Funk Productions, Gallo Images, Graphica, Grid Worldwide, HelloCrowd, Hetzner, Independent Agency Search and Selection Company, Locomute, Multiprint Litho, Newsclip, Paygate, Red Hot Ops, Rocketseed, Scan Display, South African Airways, Telkom SA SOC Ltd, Tiekie Barnard Consultancy, Total Exposure, Tsogo Sun, Universal Music Group, Vega School of Brand Leadership

Official Media Partners

Between 10and5, Bizcommunity.com, CliffCentral.com, Coloribus Advertising Archive, Design Times, Film & Event Media, Goliath and Goliath, iDidTht.com, Marketing Edge Nigeria, Music in Africa, The Redzone, YouTube