General manager of Jacaranda FM, Kevin Fine, is leaving after eight years of running the successful Pretoria-based radio station.
But he won’t be lost to Kagiso Media. Fine will be heading a new business within the company as the founding director of Expedite, a business aimed at creating “new value for clients, the stations, and stakeholders” by leveraging radio’s resources and inventory.
“Kevin’s passion for the Jacaranda brand and for the various initiatives that the station has been famous for over the years has helped take the station to the heights it enjoys today,” said Nick Grubb, Kagiso Media’s radio chief executive. “It’s always a tough decision to take a winning formula and apply it to something new, but we know Kevin’s skills will also help to drive this new venture into a growth engine for the portfolio in a short period of time.”
Fine said he was proud to have helped create a strong platform for future success and is ready for the next chapter. “This is a great challenge and I’m stoked to have been afforded this opportunity which allows me to bring all my experience I’ve developed over the last years to contribute to high levels of innovation in the media space,” he said.
Head of digital, Charis Coleman (who writes a monthly column for The Media Online), will start in a new position as market engagement manager across East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM.
“Charis will still be a driving force in our online content strategy, but she is now going to have a very specific focus on gathering as much data out of our audience interactions as possible, for the benefit of our programming and marketing teams, and also for our customers,” said Grubb.
Coleman said she was looking forward to working with the radio teams to build a more complete understanding of the radio audience across various platforms. “The radio industry is at a point where big data needs to be considered. Now more than ever, consumers expect brands to understand them and treat engagements as evidence that they are committed to knowing them better as individuals. Whether it be through events, competitions, promotions or content, brands will benefit from going the extra mile,” she said.
Jacaranda FM’s finance manager, Vuyani Dombo, has been promoted to head of finance: radio, and will oversee the radio division finance teams effective September 1, 2019. “As we seek to maximise shareholder value from our radio assets, I look forward to driving our portfolio efforts to optimise financial management, improve governance and explore growth initiatives,” Dombo said.
Both of Kagiso Media’s key stations have had vacancies in the marketing manager positions, and the recent changes have now included the appointments of Leith Smith at Jacaranda FM and Tanya Davis at ECR. Both were acting in the position in the last financial year, and both constitute a promotion from within the marketing departments at each station.
“It’s great to see how both Leith and Tanya have stepped up to really make an impact on the marketing of both brands in a limited time. It’s always great to be able to promote internally and give other opportunities to more staff within the structures too” said Grubb.
The Jacaranda FM General Manager position will be advertised in due course.
