All about the DStv International Seminar of Creativity speakers
Here are the speakers and a little more about who they are:
Natalie Lam
Lam is chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. With her roots in design, a strong digital background and being a hopeless romantic for big ideas, Her seminar topic, “What rivers, widows, near-misses, repeat visits and more” taught me a thing or two about creativity”, will see Natalie sharing some important learnings that helped her through her career path.
Debbie Vandeven
Vandeven is the global CCO for VMLY&R Kansas City. Throughout her career, Vandeven has continually fostered a collaborative creative environment that delivers smart and innovative solutions in partnership with clients across the globe. Vandeven will share insights themed around her topic “Follow the Yellow Brick Road”.
Esra Gülmen
Gülmen is an artist and designer from Berlin. After graduating from Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Interior Design she worked as an assistant professor and taught basic design at the same faculty. She continued her career at Ogilvy Amsterdam as an art director and four years as a head of design at Heimat Berlin. She shares building her art while working in advertising and how she approaches and develops ideas with her topic “But is this Esra enough”.
Karin Onsager-Birch
Onsager-Birch is the vice president creative of Lyft San Francisco. Karin joined Lyft as VP creative in February 2021 to steer the iconic rideshare and micro-mobility brand. She leads an entrepreneurial in-house creative team and agency partners to make bold work that shines across every brand touchpoint. Join Onsager-Birch with “The Art of Disruption Starts From Within” - how an existential un-crisis led one CCO to jump ship and find a bigger creative platform.
Mariana O’Kelly
O’Kelly is the Global ECD at Ogilvy Chicago. She is a human-first creative leader, who is driven by the love of people and her belief in the immense creative power they hold inside them. She has over 27 years of experience working for top global brands and agency networks. Her seminar topic “Lost in Translation” explores how we are finding ourselves in a post-Babel period of advertising and communication.
Monique Nelson
Nelson is chair and chief executive officer of UWG, New York. Nelson contributes to many organisations and charities. She sits on the Audacy Board of Directors (AUD), Advertising Week Global Board, AdWeek Diversity and Inclusion Council, The Brandeis Board of Trustees, The Eagle Academy Board, and the New York Advisory Board for The Posse Foundation, of which she is an alumna and is a participant in the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing. Her topic is “Global Growth through Black Creativity".
Allan Sperling
Sperling is the executive head of content at Showmax. As a content and long-form production extraordinaire, Sherling is responsible for commissioning, acquiring and curating a diverse slate of international and local content for SVOD across the African continent and diaspora. He rounds up the day with an exploration into “Content Creation and Brand Integration in the SVOD space”.
The DStv Seminar of Creativity takes place on 6 October from 10am to 3pm at The City Hall, Cape Town. Tickets are limited and are on sale here. Ticket price includes a light lunch.