New CEO for VWV Group

Kingsley Potter

His immediate focus is to develop a growth plan that ensures VWV remains a best-of-breed service provider on the African continent and in new international markets.

Said Mark Steinhobel, founder and chairman of VWV, "Potter's appointment comes at a critical growth point in the lifecycle of the group and his strategic direction will help steer VWV as it moves into the next phase of its pan-African and international expansion.

"Our relationship with him is not new and extends back many years to when he was our client at SAB working on the re-launch of Lion Lager. Since then, he has gained extensive experience as both a client and in an agency environment. He brings both strategic depth and operational value, and I have no doubt that he will take VWV to new heights."

Throughout his two-decade journey in the industry, Potter has merged an understanding of business with management best practices, which makes him the ideal candidate for this position.

Experience

As a BA graduate from the University of Witwatersrand, Potter started as a marketing trainee and worked his way up the ranks to brand manager of Castle Milk Stout. Altogether, he had a seven year career at SAB. He was instrumentally involved in seeing the brand volume escalate from 450 000 hectolitres to 1.1million hectolitres under his two year management. His next achievement was that of promotion to brand manager of Lion Lager; it was here that he first worked with VWV to re-launch the brand in five South African cities.

He then entered the agency world and held several titles at Heardbuoys McCann Erickson where he serviced blue-chip clients as wide ranging as Caltex, SAA, Microsoft and Eskom. He also served as MD for Herdbuoys eKapa before taking up his next challenge as global chief marketing officer at SA Tourism. He then left to try his hand at marketing Imbrication's bio-enzyme fuel additive, which drops the consumption and emission rate to contribute to a better environment.

"I am greatly looking forward to leading a dynamic team of passionate experts, in their craft, to build a business that continues to stay humble yet leads industry in benchmark setting. I am confident that the combination of experience, innovation and business acumen within the VWV team will give rise to an exciting outlook for the agency," says Potter.