Dashni Vilakazi is the new managing director of The MediaShop Johannesburg, with the appointment taking effect on 1 July 2021.
Vilakazi joins The MediaShop from her previous roles as GM of marketing where she headed up Absa’s Investment, Wealth, Financial Advisers and Insurance marketing portfolios, and formerly from Old Mutual as the head of retail marketing based in Cape Town.
“Dashni has proved herself extremely capable in all areas of leading a team, in delivering transformation and in pioneering innovative ways of growing every business she’s worked with,” said Park Advertising managing director, Chris Botha.
“There were some great candidates available for the position and we thank them for putting themselves forward, but we believe that Dashni has the correct ability, passion and drive to elevate the Johannesburg team.”
With over 20 years of experience in positions as head of marketing for corporate listed entities and in advertising, media and communication agencies in leadership positions based in Nigeria, internationally and especially in South Africa, Botha said Vilakazi was the obvious choice for the role.
Vilakazi has delivered transformation in corporate strategy initiations, customer centricity, brand building and digitalisation services for sectors in the financial services, FMCG, telecoms, quick service restaurants, retail and beverage categories. She also boasts a Master’s in Business Management (MBA).
“I am honoured to join and lead a legendary media institution that has embraced distinction and merit in this industry especially during these intricate episodes in the communication industry. The MediaShop has accomplished and delivered extraordinary standards of strategy and service to their faculty of significant brands in South Africa,” Vilakazi said.
She has a track record of managing diverse teams and can assimilate new, complex environments to process exponential improvements for business success.
“I believe The MediaShop has tremendous opportunities to capitalise on this established repute and has the correct foundation to innovate for the future and grow its ecosystem,” she said. “It is hugely empowering to be leading a prominent team that spans years of superior media excellence. The agency’s collective knowledge will support me in providing more capabilities that will propagate this business, the communications industry and our well-regarded list of clients to ultimately sustain, innovate and grow their businesses.”
