Yvonne’s career has been focused on advertising and marketing with early forays into fashion design and acting. She has had a long and successful career in the marketing arena, with her last 7 years as the Chief Executive of the International Marketing Council, a body established by the President to create and market Brand South Africa.
The intention was to increase Tourism, Trade and Investment, to improve international relations and to integrate business and Government activities to create a cohesive message emanating from all stakeholders in South Africa. She and her team developed the well known and beautiful Television work promoting a South Africa “Alive With Possibility”. Pivotal to the success of the work of the IMC was the realization that positioning the nation brand can ultimately affect social issues, job creation and unemployment.
During her time at the helm of the organization which she started, she interacted with a Board of 40, leading lights in Business and Government, she built an organization from one office, and four people, to two Domestic offices, three international offices and 40 people.
Brand South Africa has received many accolades particularly for the level of communication and world class advertising that appears on local and international TV channels. Brand South Africa was responsible for the official web portal for the country – www.southafrica.info.
In 2005, Yvonne was nominated as a finalist in the BWA Business Woman of the Year award. She is widely respected as a leading communication strategist and is a much sought after public speaker both at home and abroad. She speaks on Branding, the mood of the nation, the current economics and politics and the role of women in business. She was a key motivator in the creation of a conference called “ A Safe South Africa” – for the first time looking at all of the root causes of crime in South Africa.
Previously she worked for 20 years in many of the leading Advertising agencies as Media Director. For 5 years she was the Group Media Director of Ogilvy and Mather.
She is currently running her own business – a marketing consultancy whose clients include Financial Mail, GIBS Business School, The Women’s World Cup of Golf and Cape Town Tourism
She sits on the Boards of SA Tourism, and Valued Citizens.
