Lauren Woolf, Group Marketing Director of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa (O&M SA), has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Marketing and Talent Officer of O&M SA.
While continuing to oversee the group’s marketing and corporate communication initiatives, Woolf will develop and implement the agency’s talent and innovation culture strategy in her new role.
When making the announcement, Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of O&M SA stated: “In this newly created role, Lauren will oversee the crucial areas of talent and culture as well as marketing and communication. These two areas of business are inextricably linked and having Lauren guide them both and make the connections between how our brand lives inside and outside, is a fresh and dynamic approach.’
Commented Woolf: “I am excited by the challenge of taking on this role. Our industry is in constant transformation and it’s critical to build sustainable experiences and value for both our clients and our people. The transparency of business, driven by technology, makes this an exciting space to explore and I am fascinated by the connections between talent, culture and communication.’
Woolf, an O&M veteran of 13 years, took on the position of Group Marketing Director in 2011 with the main responsibilities of developing and managing the agency’s amplification and reputation strategy, with a focus on building the agency’s thought leadership profile and specifically focusing on O&M SA’s own digital and social eco-system.
Today, this eco-system is a vigorous and pertinent communication and conversation platform for employees and the creative communications industry at large.
She also succeeded in developing the Ogilvy Graduate Programme (OGP) – an industry leading initiative aimed at attracting the best young talent into the agency – and launched numerous O&M disciplines into the local market, including OgilvyOne Worldwide, Social@Ogilvy and Strike Media.
Woolf was appointed to the Executive Committee in 2012 and is currently completing the latter half of her Executive MBA at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership.
Based in Johannesburg, Woolf will report to Mokgwatsane.
