The Loeries, the awards show and festival that champions creative excellence in brand communication across Africa and the Middle East, recently held its annual general meeting where a new board was appointed for 2020/2021.
Fran Luckin (pictured), Chief Creative Officer, Grey Africa, was elected as the new chairperson, taking over from Tseliso Rangaka, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Joburg and Hellocomputer. “I am delighted to be joining this incredible team of industry captains to propel the Loeries vision forward and nurture budding creative talent,” she says. Also joining the new board is Sydney Mbhele, Chief Executive of Brand at Sanlam.
The new board comprises:
Fran Luckin (Loeries Chairperson) Chief Creative Officer, Grey Africa
Preetesh Sewraj Chief Executive Officer, The Loerie Awards
Tseliso Rangaka Chief Creative Officer, FCB Joburg and Hello Computer
Neo Mashigo Chief Creative Officer, M&C Saatchi Abel
Gareth Leck Group CEO, Joe Public
James Barty Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, King James
Gaby de Abreu Creative Director, Switch Design
Linda Bogle Executive Producer, Your Girlfriend
Dawn Rowlands Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network Sub-Saharan Africa
Suhana Gordhan Executive Creative Director, FCB Africa
Sydney Mbhele Chief Executive: Brand, Sanlam
In his Chairperson’s Report, Tseliso Rangaka reflected on the success of Loeries Creative Week in 2019, “Around 2,500 entries were received. A total of 646 brands were represented by 281 agencies from 15 countries across Africa and the Middle East. The awards were judged by over 140 regional and international industry leaders in their fields including international Jury Presidents Nedal Ahmed, Tara McKenty, Ralf Heuel and Katja Thielen.”
He further adds, “2020 is no-doubt a defining year for the Loeries. It has also shown itself as a year of many firsts. For the first time ever, entries to the awards are free. This is to assist agencies with a cost burden many cannot afford to have right now.
“We would like to thank the outgoing Loeries board for its hard work, commitment and guidance over the last 12 months. The board made immense strides to deliver on its mandate of supporting creativity across Africa and the Middle East,” says Preetesh Sewraj, Loeries CEO.
The new board’s focus now turns to delivering on the aptly named theme of #CreateChange for Loeries 2020. “This year’s Loeries Creative Week will deliver deep insights into how creativity helps business and society in general move forward, even if they face of one of our toughest challenges,” he concludes.
Under the board’s leadership, the Loeries plans to deliver an innovative roadmap with the aim of recognising, rewarding, inspiring, and fostering creativity for positive change within the Africa and Middle East region.