Thembi is a brand and marketing strategist who has spent the last 18 years putting the South African tourism sector on the local and international map. In 1997, while South Africa’s democracy was just taking off, she became the first black person and woman to manage an airport in South Africa, namely George Airport, representing the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) on local and regional tourism bodies. She helped secure South Africa’s competitive advantage as a tourism destination by introducing new Hotel Star Grading Criteria as the CEO of the Tourism Grading Council and was founding Chairman of South Africa’s premier Tourism Awards – the Lilizela Tourism Awards.
As a proudly South African agency in its 19th year of business, Thembi joins Edgar Nelson (MD: Production) and Kim Nelson-Eckoldt (MD: Client Services) as a 31% shareholder of icandi CQ. With an impressive list of clients that include Arrowhead Properties, GE Healthcare, Investec, KFC, Liberty, Nedbank and Tshikululu, Thembi will lead the agency’s major growth strategy which includes expansion into Africa and the tourism sector. Thembi’s appointment will focus on new business development and supporting the team in their continued focus on building brands from the inside out through impactful and strategic communication.
“We are thrilled to have Thembi on board. Her vast experience as a brand building and marketing specialist complements our leadership team and icandi CQ’s niche areas of expertise, which aims to build brands through effective communication and employee engagement (along with the strategically driven, full-service communication, marketing and brand consultancy services we provide). We are confident that Thembi will not only be adding creative intelligence to our brand, but to our clients’ brands too,” says Kim.
“Finding this unique investment opportunity in icandi CQ was a great joy for me given the natural fit in terms of the shared passion for branding, marketing and communication, the work ethic, the strategic outlook and, of course, the dynamic team that has grown the icandi CQ brand over the past 19 years. Taking icandi CQ to its next level of growth is going to be an exciting path for us, given all the opportunities we have identified already, and we look forward to forging successful and long-lasting partnerships on the continent,” says Thembi.
