SA’s top marketing and supply chain talent unveiled at IMM Institute Gala Event

Top South African supply chain and marketing specialists walked away with coveted awards at this year’s IMM Institute Gala Dinner. The awards, adjudicated by professionals across the depth of the marketing and supply chain sector, were selected from 57 entries spanning students, entrepreneurs, teams, as well as emerging talent.

‘The most coveted awards, however, were that of lifetime achievers. We can proudly say that Robin Brozin was awarded the Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award and Lebogang Letsoalo, the Supply Chain Lifetime Achievement Award. Each of these people have demonstrated unwavering commitment to their respected sectors, going the extra mile to advance the relevant industries as well as helping create new leaders,’ says Irene Gregory, CEO of the IMM Institute.

The winners in each category were:

Marketing Student of the Year:

Sria Roopchand – Sria has moved up within Securadoor from working in sales to being a marketing assistant and is also a professional actor. She completed a Bachelor of Business Science degree at the IMM Graduate School last year.

Supply Chain Student of the Year:

Gugu Nkala – Gugu is a Customs Compliance Consultant who has been working in this industry since January 2016. Gugu is set to finish a Diploma in Export Management, Logistics, Materials and Supply Chain Management at the IMM Graduate School next year.

Emerging Marketer of the Year:

Liat Madinane – Liat successfully ran her own company before joining Sauce Advertising as Chief Integration Officer.

Marketer of the Year:

Happy Ngidi – Happy has been Chief Marketing Officer at Proudly SA for almost a decade and a graduate in PR & Communications. A budding author, she is also a motivational speaker.

Supply Chain Professional of the Year:

Lethlohonolo Mpshe – Lethlohonolo is the Managing Director of SME company, Atarah Solutions, which provides automation systems to the transport sector.

Corporate Marketing Team of the Year:

Proudly SA – A campaign that encourages South Africans to buy local products and services.

Entrepreneur of the Year:

Mitheel Ramdaw – Mitheel is a data explorer who is passionate about artificial intelligence (AI). He recently led a project to design and implement AI and machine learning models to predict student performance

In the Supply Chain Corporate Team of the Year category, an honourable mention went to Chery SA, the local subsidiary of a Chinese car manufacturer that has been exporting vehicles globally since 1997,

‘We were impressed with the quality of entries this year and it is clear that South African professionals are advancing the supply chain,’ says Judge, Ronald Mlalazi, a procurement professional and Supply UK Fellow.

Lethabo Sekhu, Co-founder and COO at Credipple and one of the Judges adds, ‘South Africa’s marketing talent is world class and this was clearly evidenced through the quality of nominations we received. It wasn’t an easy task selecting the winners.’

The awards were bestowed on the winners at the IMM Institute’s Annual Gala Dinner, which was held on 7 March at The Maslow. ‘The evening was a success in terms of bringing together professionals who were able to mingle and learn about each other’s respective industries at a time when they are converging,’ says Gregory.

Gregory explains that speed-to-market requires not only a solid understanding of a brand’s target audience and a marketing plan based on that, but also an efficient supply chain. ‘We believe that lasting relationships were formed and best practices discussed during the lively event,’ she concludes.