Biography
Global African branding authority · Johannesburg, South Africa
Thebe Ikalafeng is a Hall of Fame global African branding authority and THE leading advocate for a brand-led African renaissance. He is a trailblazing marketer who has been recognised as one of the Most Influential and Reputable Africans. Since being awarded a Marquette University American Marketing Association award for marketing excellence upon graduation in 1992 in the United States, he has made a sustained, distinguished and consequential contribution to branding and to reframing the African narrative for over 30 years.
He is the founder of Brand Leadership Group, a multi-disciplinary branding advisory group at the intersection of strategy, creativity and intellectual property law; the founder of Brand Africa, the seminal non-profit pan-African movement for a brand-led African agenda, and pioneer of the ‘Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands’ initiative which is widely referenced as the definitive barometer of brands in Africa.
He has been recognised with Lifetime Achievement awards by Financial Mail AdFocus (2021) and the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (2022) for his contributions to marketing, branding and communications, and received a Special Recognition award for extraordinary contributions to branding and Africa at the 7th EMY Africa (2023) in Ghana, and was honoured as an “Industry Icon” at the GQ Men of the Year awards in 2023.
He has been conferred with Honorary Doctoral degrees (PhD, Honoris Causa) by the University of Johannesburg and the University of South Africa for exceptional contributions to the industry, branding and Africa.
He has been to every country in Africa and every continent in the world, from Cape to Cairo, and the North Pole in Greenland to the South Pole in Antarctica.
Honours and appointments
2024
University of Johannesburg
2024
University of South Africa
2023
GQ Men of the Year
2023
7th EMY Africa · Ghana
2022
Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa
2021
Financial Mail AdFocus
1992
Marquette University · United States
To confirm
Sol Plaatje University · Kimberley, South Africa
In conversation
SAARF’s closure and replacement by the Marketing Research Foundation (MRF) marks a significant change in the media and marketing landscape. Gordon Muller and Thebe Ikalafeng discuss this with Jennifer Daniels, Sechaba Motsiela and Virginia Hollis.
SAARF’s 40-year reign as Africa’s gold standard in South African media and marketing ends with its closure, marking a seismic shift, replaced by MRF. Gordon Muller and Thebe Ikalafeng discuss with industry leaders Jennifer Daniels, Sechaba Motsiela and Virginia Hollis.