Clare O’Neil is the commercial director of ViacomCBS in South Africa. She was most recently the CEO of the BRC, setting it up and running it for a five year term. She has been in the media, marketing and advertising industry for over three decades, trained both locally and internationally. She started her career at the Argus Group as a media research analyst, working in the print media and then with various advertising agencies before moving to M-Net as a research analyst, then progressed her way through the organisation over a period of seven years to the point of becoming General Manager, Marketing at the groups advertising sales house Oracle Airtime Sales.
She left Oracle in 1997 to join the Midi consortium, who was bidding for the new free-to-air television broadcasting license in early 1998. Their bid was successful and e.tv was born in October 1998 and O'Neil was one of the eight people who set up the fledgling channel, her role being that of Commercial Sales Director.
She went on to become Managing Director of media agency, Initiative Media for nearly two years, before joining the SABC as General Manager, Television Sales and Marketing in 2001. Clare worked in that role until the end of 2005. During that time, the SABC Television Sales division won the respect of advertisers, by winning two awards for “the top sales & marketing team” from both Unilever and South African Breweries.
Upon her departure from the SABC, Clare consulted in the media and broadcasting sector, including at the two satellite TV licensees, Telkom Media and ODM.
Apart from consulting in the broadcasting sector, she is also co-owner and Director of an integrated outdoor solutions company, MMAP.