#Newsmaker: Dashni Vilakazi, newly appointed MD of The MediaShop Johannesburg

Dashni Vilakazi joins The MediaShop from her previous roles as GM of marketing where she headed up Absa’s Investment, Wealth, Financial Advisers and Insurance marketing portfolios and formerly from Old Mutual as the Head of Retail Marketing based in Cape Town.

With over 20 years of experience in positions as head of marketing for corporate listed entities and in advertising, media and communication agencies in leadership positions based in Nigeria, internationally and especially in South Africa, Chris Botha, group managing director at Park Advertising says that she was the obvious choice for the role.

Congrats on your appointment. How do you feel about it?

I am open to the extraordinary changes taking place in this field right now and that interests me greatly. I am about to become the author of this blank book to cement my passion in settling into the “game”.

How and when did this come about?

I believe that progress is the nativity of change and when I knew I was ready, this opportunity and I converged a year ago.

What excites you most about taking on this new role?

Leading and collaborating with a team of achievers and creating our next best shift together to recreate our great work in partnership.

How did you end up working in the marketing industry?

One of the companies that contributed to my final thesis at business school, hired me to head up their marketing after I graduated.

What do you love most about your career, the industry and what you do?

Early on in my career I embraced that my work was going to supplement a large part of my life and to be truly triumphant, I do what I believe to be work of credence. I love how my strategies play out incrementally on a balance sheet.

What is the most memorable and rewarding project you worked on?

It was the projects and campaigns that immediately addressed the value that customers sought, from the product/service benefits to the swift execution of my campaigns and the feedback loop from customers.

What has been your biggest career highlight?

The minute I deciphered what the difference between an allegiance and an accomplishment was. That set my energy forward into creating bigger and better so that seeking validation became something of the past.

What is your biggest motivation in life?

To make it mine. Everything works out for me graciously, therefore I will continue to forge ahead and discover my own path.

What career advice would you give to anyone entering the marketing and advertising industry?

Focus on your next move. Prepare to operate as a generalist by studying which business highlights make marketers stand out, what insights are leading to value for customers and how this value is innovatively demonstrated by agencies. The more you can influence the value chain upstream, the more you will be attributed a seat at the “table”.