Willem van der Merwe, formerly Managing Director at Trigger Isobar, has been appointed as Managing Partner at JWT Cape Town (@jwtmea & @JWTSouthAfrica). Van der Merwe, 33, will report to Jim Faulds, COO at JWT S.A. Jonathan Lang also joins JWT Cape Town as ECD on April 1.
Van der Merwe (@WillvanderMerwe) is expected to beef up the digital savvy and through the line thinking of JWT CT. Prior to Trigger Isobar, a digital specialist agency, he held the position of Head of Digital Media at Digital Fire, an email marketing and digital media specialist.
Faulds says the role of Managing Partner tips the hat to a new structure in the agency and hands van der Merwe responsibility for agency strategy rather than day-to-day operations. The new role will be client facing.
Lang (@jonolang) joins JWT Cape Town from Ogilvy CT where he worked on various brands including VW and Carling Black Label. Lang is proficient in all sorts of channels and will help drive change, alongside van der Merwe, to make JWT competitive in a fast evolving market.
Faulds says his aim with the appointments is to bring a diverse set of skill sets into the agency rather than ‘simply appointing ad people.’ This will ultimately ‘future proof’ the agency in a time of fundamental change in the marketing landscape.
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