Mimi Kesaris
The former club DJ, Kesaris joined the then P4 Radio in 1998 as the presenter, he became the music compiler in 1999 and was promoted to being the music manager in 2000. He is the station's longest serving manager having been part of the transition from P4 Radio to Gagasi FM in 2006 and has played a key role in the success of Gagasi FM over the years at the music radio station.
Announcing the appointment, Zondi congratulated Kesaris on being appointed formally to the role. "I would like to congratulate Mimi for the appointment in this critical position and I find comfort in the fact that he is one person that knows the station very well. When I was programmes manager I had a very good working relationship with him as the music manager, we successfully consolidated the positioning of Gagasi FM as a youth radio station from the on-air point of view in terms of programming content and the music that the station plays. Other than that Mimi has also been playing an instrumental role in terms of the station's research activities, a function that has been very key in driving the station's approach both on-air and in terms of how the brand interacts with listeners. Given all this background, I'm confident that he will be able to take the station to the next level and we will ensure that he gets all the necessary support," says Zondi.
Welcoming the appointment, Kesaris expressed his gratitude in the confidence that Zondi has shown in him. "I'm truly honoured to be afforded this opportunity, to me this shows the level of confidence that the leadership has on me. It's a very challenging space to be in, when you consider that over the past three years the station has been very stable around 1,8 million listeners mark and obviously the biggest task is to ensure that we maintain that standard. Having said that I look forward to the exciting journey ahead, what is even more exciting is that this came at a time when there has been a process of reviewing our business environment under the new MD, we have been identifying gaps internally and redefining the culture and business approach. We need to ensure that everyone understands the direction that we are taking as the station as well as the goals we have set ourselves," says Kesaris.
Gagasi FM is on 99.5 in Durban, 98.5 in Pietermaritzburg, 89.1 in Mooi River, 88.6 in Ladysmith, 107.9 in Newcastle, 103.5 in the South Coast as well as 94.7 in the North Coast and Ulundi. All over KZN.
