Industry stalwart Lucille Jacobs passes away

Lucille Jacobs on SABC Morning Live last year, talking about the Rand Show

She is a former deputy CEO and founding member of The New Age newspaper and former CEO of RCP Media, which included Rapport, City Press and Sondag.

Since leaving TNA Media in 2013, Lucille ran her own media, marketing and management consultancy, including managing the Rand Show for the past three years.

After completion of her B. Comm (Honours) degree from the University of Pretoria, she spent close to two decades in media management, firstly at Media24 as the only female CEO of a newspaper business unit in South Africa, RCP Media; and then as founding member and deputy CEO at The New Age.

Lucille was passionate about entrepreneurship development and women empowerment initiatives and was on both local and international boards of various institutions in these fields, including the Gender Mainstreaming Advisory Board; Commonwealth Businesswomen Council, Advisory Board of The South African Black Entrepreneurs Forum (SABEF); and as an advisory board member for Business Engage.

Friends and colleagues described her as an incredibly positive person, inspirational, and mentor and role model for others in the industry, who will be greatly missed.

Lucille lost her battle with cancer on Friday night, 9 September 2016. She leaves her two young children, Ethan and Gia, and her husband Ettiene.