#WomensMonth: Hey, Vicki! New deputy MD of Ogilvy CT

Hey flanked by Gallarelli and Rangaka

Vicki Hey has just been announced as deputy managing director of Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town.

An apt move as O&M CT MD Luca Gallarelli calls Hey the perfect fit for her new job as she’s helping write a new chapter in the O&M Cape Town story”. ECD Tseliso Rangaka adds that she understands the value of creative ambition in driving clients’ business forward.

I found out what the 37-year-old is most looking forward to from her new role, having been responsible for O&M’s iconic relationship with Volkswagen SA for the past three years.

1. Congratulations on the new appointment! What are you most looking forward to from your new role?

Hey: Thanks so much. I’m really looking forward to working closely with MD Luca Gallarelli and ECD Tseliso Rangaka to drive the creative and business agenda of the agency.

2. Share the highlights package of your career so far, as well as future aspirations.

Hey: I’ve really had huge fun working in advertising. I’ve worked on some of the smallest as well as the biggest and best brands, at some of the best agencies in the country and with the most talented people. One highlight was being part of the team at Lowe Bull that won a Loeries Grand Prix for a Cape Times print campaign in 2007. Another was landing a very rare Gold Loerie for Effective Creativity this year, for Volkswagen Uber up! That campaign also won a 2016 APEX. I am excited about the future – I’d love to run an agency one day.

3. What was your response as a little girl when people asked what you wanted to be when you grew up? How did your response change as you got older, and why?

Hey: I always hated that question! I never really knew what I wanted to be – at one point my poor mother thought I was going to sweep the street to pass the time, but I always knew that when I found that thing I was going to work really, really hard at it and become the best I could. When I fell in love with advertising at Joe Public it all clicked and I’ve never looked back.

4. Who is your career mentor or idol and why?

Hey: I’ve been lucky enough to work consistently with the best in the industry. I’ve learned so many lessons from people along the way. I have been so inspired by Gareth Leck and Pepe Marais from Joe Public and their journey back to independence, Kirk Gainsford and his creative insanity at Lowe Bull, James Barty and Alistair King of King James for the phenomenal business that they have built over the years, and now, here at Ogilvy I have been able to learn from industry legends like Chris Gotz and Rob Hill.

5. Looking further afield, list a few of the specific challenges females face in the advertising industry and how we can work together to overcome them.

Hey: The challenges are complex and layered and often intangible. I was always told as a child by my parents that I could be anything I wanted to be. And I believed them, almost naively. So I’ve never really let any foolishness stand in my way. I have always loudly fought for what I believe in and for what I and my teams deserve. The best way to overcome issues is to be relentlessly unafraid of pointing them out and committed to resolving them. Having a role model like Nunu Ntshingila at the very top of Ogilvy SA for so many years has really helped me and many others.