MarketingWorld Magazine’s Top Three (3) CMOs of the Week from September 2nd – September 6th 2024

We are thrilled to announce MarketingWorld’s Top 3 CMOs of the Week, celebrating the innovative leaders who have set new benchmarks in the marketing industry. These exceptional Chief Marketing Officers have demonstrated unparalleled creativity, strategic brilliance, and impactful leadership, driving their organizations to new heights in a competitive industry.

Here are the Top Three (3) CMOs:

Catherine W. Ndungu Emerges as MarketingWorld’s CMO of the Week

Diageo – Uganda Breweries Ltd’s Marketing & Innovations Director, Catherine W. Ndungu, a renowned marketing expert has been crowned as one of MarketingWorld’s top three CMOs of the week.

Appointed in February 2024 as Marketing and Innovations Director for Uganda Breweries Ltd, Catherine has been responsible for leading the development and execution of marketing strategies and innovation initiatives to drive brand growth, market share, and consumer engagement.

Prior to her current appointment, she was the Acting Marketing & Innovations Director; at Uganda Breweries Ltd, Head of Beer – Diageo – Uganda Breweries, Marketing Manager and Senior Brand Manager where she was responsible for building purposeful, winning brands in the beer category that drive marketing performance while delivering integrated execution at the same time.

Other multinationals she has worked with include GSK where she served as the Marketing Manager; West Africa; wellness category (short-term assignment) from August 2018 – January 2020, Nigeria; West Africa as well as the Marketing Manager – Nutrition & GI for the same company from February 2016 – January 2020.

Having served at The Heineken Company, East Africa; Kenya as Trade Manager from September 2014 – January 2016, she used her Insight to increase sell out of focus SKU, Delivered high quality planning, execution and tracking of prioritised activities, Created sales tools that work at POS, delivered High quality activation that drives category, channel and customer performance, Empowered sales team with clear measures, guidelines and selling arguments, Developed Brand Building Activities to ensure brand penetration, Provided Leadership in executing strategy as guided by the Business, amongst others

As the Senior Trade Marketer & Activations Lead (On & Off Trade) at The Heineken Company from March 2013 – August 2014, she was responsible for the Execution of BTL concepts in trade, Adaptation of global and local campaigns to give them a trade fit and yield forecasted results, Brand activities across all channels in trade, Market Share Analysis/Data analysis for Marketing activities executed at the market, Co-ordination with Sales Team for feedback for marketing activities among others as well as Trade Marketer & Events Lead from April 2012 – February 2013

She also served as a Business Development Manager for Adrian Kenya Ltd from June 2011 – March 2012, Marketing & Strategy Consultant for Viscar Industrial Capacity from February 2009 to May 2011 where she was responsible for developing entry strategies for new courses introduced in the ICT sector for market penetration, Marketing Coordinator for Air Travel & Related Studies Centre from January 2007 – January 2009.

Catherine is a diligent, hardworking focused individual who loves life and appreciates others. She is keen to detail in all she partakes and focuses on perfect execution for any task at hand. She believes in results. To her, nothing is impossible, all challenges require a different approach and a well-thought-out strategy.

Thandeka Ngqumeya Emerges as MarketingWorld’s CMO of the Week

Danone Southern Africa’s Marketing Director, Thandeka Ngqumeya, a passionate and strategic leader has been crowned as one of MarketingWorld’s top three CMOs of the week.

Appointed in the year February 2023 as Danone Southern Africa’s Marketing Director, Thandeka has been implementing innovative marketing strategies to drive brand growth, consumer engagement, and market share across the region’s diverse portfolio of dairy and nutrition products.

Possessing extensive work experience in marketing and brand management, Thandeka started her career at L’Oreal South Africa as a Brand Manager from October 2006 to September 2010. She then joined Kimberly-Clark South Africa as a Brand Manager from January 2011 to May 2012. Thandeka further advanced her career at Brandhouse Beverages (Pty) Ltd as a Senior Brand Manager from June 2012 to April 2014, and then as a Marketing Manager from May 2014 to June 2015.

Prior to the aforementioned, Thandeka joined Diageo, where she held various positions including Innovation Team for the Africa Region from July 2015 to December 2016, Marketing Manager – Global Travel from January 2017 to May 2018, Head Of Innovation from June 2018 to August 2022, and Marketing and Innovations Director from August 2022 to January 2023.

Being a lover of books, Thandeka’s education history includes completing a 1-day Situational Leadership Course at Ken Blanchard in 2013. In the same year, she completed a 3-day Project Management Lite course at Stellenbosch University/Universiteit Stellenbosch.

Between 2004 and 2006, Thandeka pursued a Higher Diploma in IMC at the AAA School of Advertising, focusing on marketing, research, and economics. Most recently, in 2020 and 2021, she obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from IE Business School.

Caroline Ndungu Emerges as MarketingWorld’s CMO of the Week

Jubilee Insurance’s Group Head of Marketing and Communications, Caroline Ndungu, a seasoned marketer has been crowned as one of MarketingWorld’s top three CMOs of the week.

Appointed in August 2022 as the Group Head of Marketing and Communications for Jubilee Insurance, Caroline has been responsible for leading the development and execution of marketing and communication strategies to enhance brand visibility, drive customer engagement, and support the company’s growth across its markets.

Prior to this appointment, she was the Marketing Commissioner for the National Olympic Commission of Kenya from January 2018 – June 2021, and Marketing Director for Absa Group from February 2014 – June 2021. In her capacity as a Marketing Director for Absa Group, some of her key achievements included; Introducing the Zidisha bonus account resulting in driving a savings culture resulting in balances of KES 8b within 12 months, Secured +3M new clients through the use of Timiza mobile application, Successfully initiated ABSA brand into Kenyan market resulting in 72% awareness across the country in the 1st year of launch despite the COVID19 pandemic, Delivered on all the commercial KPI as defined in business cases for the Retail, Business and Corporate bank, Developed the Women in Business Proposition programs to enhance women within Senior leadership positions within market/country.

At East African Breweries Ltd, she served as the Marketing Director, Serengeti Breweries Tanzania from September 2010 – July 2011 where she significantly contributed to the turnaround in performance with excellent execution of the Tusker UTC as well as the hugely celebrated PSL Fiesta events where almost 200k consumers personally connected with PSL.

During her era in that position, the Brand metrics were trending positively and she completed the marketing team recruitment and set up in the role.

Still, at East African Breweries Ltd, she served as the Regional Marketing Manager, Tusker (East Africa Region) from November 2008 – June 2009 where she Re- Articulated the Tusker Brand Proposition and delivered communication to bring this to life-“REFRESH YOUR ROOTS” campaign that is currently the anchor thought in current and future communication.

Aside the aforementioned, she served as the Tusker Marketing Manager, in Nairobi, Kenya from August 2007 – October 2008 where she delivered the Tusker Strategy and repositioning work that has formed the bedrock of the thinking and activities of the brand thus far and 17% growth Year on Year Growth. She also served as Marketing Manager, Partner Brands, Kenya from October 2006 – July 2007, Consumer Planning and Research Manager, EABL from January 2005 – September 2006 and a Business Performance Manager, UDV/KML from January 2003 – January 2004, all at East African Breweries Ltd

Caroline is an established business professional with 20+ years of proven success delivering sustainable business performance for diverse consumer goods and services companies with a focus on creating shared growth, innovation, people development and cultivating/sustaining mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships.

In the corporate industry, she has positioned herself as a dynamic leader adept in creating a positive and productive corporate culture, collaborating with stakeholders, negotiating with service providers, assuring service excellence and delivering strong financial performance. She is also an expert in business development, portfolio management, budgeting, auditing, and accounts management. She is an Influential communicator with the ability to enhance customer experience, liaise with various organizations, regulators, communities and the media as well as Coordinates operations to accelerate profitability.

Caroline deploys a strength-based leadership style for herself and others. She is a strategist who quickly weighs alternative paths to determine the best one while naturally anticipating and playing out different scenarios and planning ahead to enable agile decision-making. She is also an activator who catalyzes ideas into action with contagious and engaging energy. Overall, she builds bridges between people and groups, helping others find meaning and see the bigger picture while giving them a sense of comfort and stability in the face of uncertainty.

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The outstanding contributions of these CMOs to their various industries make them a deserving recipient of the CMO of the Week recognition by MarketingWorld Magazine.

MarketingWorld Magazine’s CMO of the Week is a weekly recognition of top-performing CMOs across the African continent. This recognition is based on spectacular brand transformation, market growth, breaking new frontiers, disruptive innovation, exemplary leadership, exceptional service and professional experience.