Nkwenkwe Nkomo, group chairman at Draftfcb

&untilAccording to Andrew Human, CEO of The Loerie Awards, “Nkwenkwe's contribution to the industry has been characterised by an ability to see the bigger picture.

“He built his own career against the odds in very turbulent times in South Africa's history, but continued to find ways to serve the broader industry and his country while doing so. He displays the insight, loyalty and vision of a true leader.”

Nkomo has spent all of his 26 years in the brand communications industry at Draftfcb (initially Lindsay Smithers) . In an industry characterised by job hopping, he sums up his dedication to one company simply: “It's because I believe that when you finally reach a place where you are given the opportunity to do a job you love, to grow and expand your influence, and are treated with respect, you stay regardless of the other, possibly more enticing, financial offers.”

Trainee copywriter

In 1983, Draftfcb, then Lindsay Smithers, appointed Nkomo as a trainee copywriter. This was at a time when he was struggling to find work after his release from Robben Island, and in the face of strong discouragement by the security police of the apartheid government. This was so unusual that the pass officials refused to believe a black man could be working as a copywriter in Johannesburg, so his official job was listed as “labourer”.

Nkomo recalls that at the time, the industry was English-centric, and Afrikaans and black copywriters were really only translators. However, at Lindsay Smithers , regardless of skin colour or mother tongue, if any copywriter's idea were the best, it was the one that was presented to the client.

Over the years, Nkomo has scaled the ranks at what is now Draftfcb to become group chairman. His core functions centre on corporate transformation, new business development, key client contacts and industry matters. His first love, however, remains the creative product and he remains a watchful influencer in this area at Draftfcb.

He has been instrumental in driving a company that was already ahead of its time in terms of transformation to a point where it is now at a Level 4 Empowerdex Rating, and aims to achieve AAA status as a broad-based black empowerment company by mid 2011. No other agency reportedly has matched this achievement - the highest possible under the current charter.

Transformation

Nkomo's focus hasn't been limited to his own place of work, and he was instrumental in the setting up of the charter to ensure transformation across the industry. In 1989, he was part of a group - the Communication Advertising Forum for Empowerment (Café) - that drove the industry's transformation agenda, rather than waiting to be told how to transform.

After the marketing and communication GCIS Secretariat developed the preamble to the Transformation Charter, the industry formally adopted it in 2000, and in 2005, Nkomo worked with Peter Vundla on the task team responsible for driving the adoption of the charter across the industry. In 2008, he was appointed as chairman of the Marketing, Advertising and Communication (MAC) to ensure the charter was made ready for gazetting.

He says that, today, the challenge is to ensure that the transformation process is real - that the numbers in the industry must also reflect the influence that those numbers wield.

First black chairman

In 1997, he became the first black chairman of the Association of Advertising Agencies (AAA) - now the Association for Communications & Advertising (ACA). He performed this function for 10 years.

In 2007, Nkomo was appointed chairperson of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of South Africa, after having served on the ASA board since 2001. He also sits on the ASA final appeals board. In this role, he will, from time to time, be called upon to adjudicate matters where race is an issue, but believes that South Africa compares favourably to other countries when it comes to matters of race.

“I'm not saying that race is not an issue,” he says. “It still is and will be for many years to come. But, advertising particularly, can play an important role in helping to ease race tensions and break down the stereotypes.”

Nkomo is also the deputy chairperson of the 2010 National Communication Partnership.

Boy scout

Outside of his industry-based activities, Nkomo is also a real boy scout, being chief scout of South Africa from 1996 to 2005 and a member of the World Scout Committee. He is a lover of music, a keen jazz fan, husband to Thoko, father to Sizwile and Rhulani, and self-proclaimed Mad Hatter.

And in 25 years, he has attended 25 Loerie Awards ceremonies. Now how many creatives can say that?