The Up&Up Group has identified attracting and retaining the best talent as one of its strategic objectives. At the start of February, Deborah Whitlock was appointed Marketing Director across the group, and Sharleen James was appointed MD of Razor.
The Up&Up Group, previously The M&C Saatchi Group South Africa, comprises M&C Saatchi Abel, Connect, Levergy, Razor, Dalmatian and Black & White. While fully locally owned, The Up&Up Group says it is the African affiliate of M&C Saatchi Group globally.
Whitlock says, "The Group's Africa vision, where its various agencies serve some of the biggest brands on the continent, certainly attracted me to the business. I look forward to leading efforts to build a unified group voice, one of clarity and precision."
Former MD and Co-Founder of Razor, Dustin Chick, takes on the role of Chief Executive. James, formerly group MD at Accenture Song, says that she was attracted to Razor because of its future-oriented vision for PR and communications. "My vision is very much aligned with Razor's future orientation and The Up&Up Group's focus on delivering world-class, impactful work by Africans for Africans."
The two senior appointments come at a time when the Group's integrated creative agency M&C Saatchi Abel is rapidly increasing its headcount, having onboarded more than 40 staff since signing MTN, the largest mobile network operator on the continent, says the group.
The Up&Up Group CEO, Jacques Burger, says, "Before the formation of The Up&Up Group when we had just started M&C Saatchi Abel, we always said that people would be our greatest asset. We believe in the saying: 'The people with the best people win'. With the significant new business we have won across the Group, such as MTN, we have been able to invest heavily in attracting new talent."
"The appointments of Deborah and Sharleen, in particular, who are two highly accomplished leaders, demonstrate the group's commitment to building a world-class talent pool and leadership team. However, it's crucial to focus just as hard on retaining talent as it is on attracting talent. The group's Chief Diversity Officer, Makosha Maja-Rasethaba, who has been an integral part of the business for 13 years, was recently also appointed as M&C Saatchi Abel's Chief Strategy Officer. We view our investment in the best talent as critical to serving our growing roster of pan-African clients and delivering exceptional work."
Burger says the group continues to focus on developing diverse, specialised talent across the various agencies, from strategy to creative, to media and more. "The talent-first approach is a key tenet of the group's growth strategy as we continue to scale capabilities across the continent," concludes Burger.
For more information, visit www.theupandupgroup.com. You can also follow The Up&Up Group on LinkedIn.
*Image courtesy of contributor