Reinher Behrens to chair new ACA board in 2006

The Association for Communications and Advertising (ACA) has announced its newly elected board for 2006, led by chairman Reinher Behrens, CEO of Lobedu Communications Group. This follows the earlier decision by the outgoing ACA chairman Maserame Mouyeme not to stand for re-election.

Behrens has been one of three vice-chairmen for the past two years and previously served as a board member. He takes over at the time of finalising the new tender and pitches guidelines that ACA has been working on together with the Government Communication & Information Systems (GCIS).

Some of his key focus areas for 2006 will be to increase ACA's future revenue through additional subscriptions from smaller agencies; training and development programmes and other revenue-generating projects identified by the board; ensuring implementation of the sector transformation charter and scorecard, and that the industry is financially viable by developing a sustainable business model.

Behrens said the key imperatives for the ACA would be to increase its relevance and value-add to members and continue building relationships with key stakeholders.

"Other key focus areas will be the implementation of the Industry Training Programme and ensuring that, once finalised, the new tender and pitch guidelines are implemented and adhered to. There is also a need to change the perceptions and the stigma that the ACA is elitist," he commented.

Under Mouyeme the ACA spearheaded the process of developing and finalising the recently signed Marketing, Advertising and Communications Charter and scorecard, and earlier this year initiated the Industry Training Programme. Together with the Creative Circle, it took back the Loeries Awards from the MFSA.

"It has been a great honour for me to have had an opportunity to be the chairman of the board of the ACA in 2005. This has been a challenging and yet rewarding year for the ACA. I wish the new board and new chairman the best for 2006," said Mouyeme.

ACA Board 2006

Barty, James: Managing Director - King James (CT Representative)
Behrens, Reinher: CEO - Lobedu Communications Group (Chair 2006)
Motshabi, Zeona: Managing Director - Lobedu Leo Burnett
Bosman, Mike: Group CEO - TBWA SA
McCarthy, Justin: Managing Director - TBWA Hunt Lascaris
Curtis, Gail: CEO - Saatchi & Saatchi
Gendel, Mike: CEO - Gendel Advertising & Marketing
Little, John: Managing Director - Ogilvy Africa
Scorer, Nandi: Managing Director - Ogilvy Johannesburg
Miya, Abdulla: Managing Director - Net#work BBDO
Pezisa, Boniswa: Deputy MD - Net#work BBDO
Mkhari, Given: Chairperson -The Jupiter Drawing Room
Silverstone, Renee: CEO - The Jupiter Drawing Room
Mohanoe, Makhaola: Managing Director - Inroads Multimedia
Morris, Nina: Managing Director - morrisjones&co
Muthuma, Ann: Deputy MD - Herdbuoys McCann Erickson
Nchabeleng, Groovin: Managing Director - Blueprint Strategic Marketing Communications
Nkomo, Nkwenkwe: Group Deputy Chair - FCB South Africa
Nurock, Ann: CEO - Grey Worldwide
Wilkins, Paul: CEO - Mediacom (Grey Group)
Rightford, Gillian: Group MD - Lowe Bull
Sham, Peter: Group CEO - J. Walter Thompson Co. SA
Spriestersbach, Marc: Managing Director - Publicis
Tyawa, Evan: Managing Director - O'Brian Marketing

Ex Officio: Zandile Nzalo (ACA CEO), Maserame Mouyeme (Immediate Past Chairperson)