MEET THE TEAM

Sarah Browning-de Villiers

Acting President

Sarah’s holistic, results-driven approach has led to some of Sarah’s most rewarding work in her current role as Chief Content Officer for Machine_ (Publicis Groupe Africa), which has included award-winning content marketing, B2B and internal communications strategy for clients such as Sanlam, RCS, Nedgroup Investments, PepsiCo, Sanlam Reality, Vivo Energy Africa and more.

Mosima Phale

Co-Founder & Vice President

Mosima’s diverse comms career spans over 10 years across the education, energy, and tech sectors. She currently oversees internal comms at CSIR and manages her own public speaking business.

Hannah Meyer-Watts

Co-Founder & Reputation Specialist

Hannah is a reputation & communication strategist, currently completing her research master’s degree in internal comms, with a focus on effective change comms.

Thato Leokaoke

Events Manager

Thato’s career spans almost 20 years in the telecoms space, and now in the financial services sector. Currently an Internal Comms Manager at FNB, her passion lies in engagement and authentic storytelling.

Phumzile Matsheni

Events Specialist

With over 10 years in public relations and internal comms, Phumzile has a love for storytelling and events. She currently works as an Internal Comms Officer at the SA National Blood Service.

Ruth Mthembu

Content & Communication Manager

With almost 10 years’ comms experience in the non-profit and retail sectors, Ruth leads comms and community engagement at the Africa Health Research Institute, exploring her passion of science comms.

Mathaka Mkhumane

Brand Manager

With 7 years of experience in public affairs, sustainability comms and internal comms in the FMCG industry, Mathaka currently champions Internal Comms at Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

Elaine Saunders

Professional Development Manager

A career that spans 26 years has seen Elaine working her way up from a client servicing environment to the Head of Internal Comms at Discovery. Elaine has witnessed the evolution of internal communication in the financial services sector and works closely with cross-functional teams to deliver effective employee communication.

Hlengiwe Mashinini

Professional Development Specialist

With almost 7 years experience in communications and 4 years specialising in internal communications, Hlengi uses her passion for storytelling to drive impactful internal comms strategies.

Phindile Vilakazi

Administration & Membership Manager

Phindile has over 6 years of integrated comms experience in the pharmaceutical, telecoms, and FMCG sectors. She is currently part of the internal comms team at Shoprite, with a passion for employee engagement.

Bongi Mbuli

Media and Reputation Manager

A global internal communications strategist with over a decade of experience helping organisations navigate change, build culture, and connect meaningfully with their people.

Advisory Board Members

Adesh Chetram

Group Head: Integrated Communications at Nedbank

Adesh’s two decades-plus experience, and executive-level leadership in Communications at multinational, JSE-listed companies across the telecoms and financial services sectors, is accented by award-winning marketing and communications solutions, that reinforce strong foundations on the basics and drive innovation to co-create the future landscape of the discipline.

Adedoyin Jaiyesimi

Communications Advisor, Corporate Trainer and Co-Founder of The Comms Avenue

With over 13 years of professional experience, Adedoyin is passionate about equipping African communication professionals with the knowledge and resources they need to deliver impact-driven results and contribute to the positive development of the African continent.

Carryn Dewing

Head of Internal Communication at New Media

She leads an award-winning team of 17 strategists, editors, designers, copywriters and client liaisons, who partner with corporate clients across Africa to engage their most valuable assets: their employees. Carryn has worked in the media and communications industry for 19 years, spending 14 of those specialising in the field of internal communications and employee engagement.

Mia Azam

Managing Director at Blindspot Communication

With 20 years of experience across corporate, consulting, and entrepreneurship, Mia has helped global brands excel in internal communication, change communication, and employee engagement. Recognised with local and international awards, he contributes to the field through industry bodies, award panels, and thought leadership.

Driving excellence and innovation in internal communication