About us
Protecting today.
Inspiring tomorrow.
Who we are, what we do, and why the Association for Communication & Advertising is important.
Our mission
We believe in the power of creative leadership to drive sustainable change.
Our governing regulations
We are the change we want to see. We therefore support the concept of self-regulation in advertising, and abide by the Advertising Regulatory Board Code which seeks to regulate advertising in the public interest.
The Association for Communication & Advertising is represented on relevant ARB committees and is actively involved in ongoing revisions to the code.
The ACA enforces self-regulation, and is steadfast in its promise to:
- promote agency and professional transformation in order to remove barriers that may prevent access for disadvantaged groupings
- discourage dishonest and undesirable practices in advertising and related fields of activity, and to promote self-regulation of advertising standards
- state commonly accepted practice in the profession, so that both advertisers and agencies are aware of their respective rights and obligations
- encourage fair remuneration for advertising and communications agencies
- be an advocate of advertising and freedom of commercial speech.
Meet our board
The future of advertising and communications is in safe hands
The 78th Annual General Meeting of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) took place on Wednesday, 16 July 2025, where the new Board of Directors and Executive Committee (Exco) for the 2025/26 fiscal year was confirmed. The incoming Exco will be led by Luca Gallarelli, Group CEO of TBWA\South Africa, who assumes the role of Chair. He is joined by Kagiso Musi, Group Managing Director of Meta Media, as Vice Chair. The Exco also includes Mpume Ngobese, Co-Managing Director, Joe Public, Jarred Cinman, CEO of VML South Africa, and Gillian Rightford, Executive Director of the ACA. This dynamic leadership team brings together diverse experience and complementary skillsets to ensure a forward-focused, delivery-driven approach to the ACA’s mission.
The newly elected Board is as follows:
Gillian Rightford
Executive Director
Association for
Communication & Advertising
Luca Gallarelli
Chair
Group Chief Executive Officer
TBWA\South Africa
Kagiso Musi
Vice Chair
Group Managing Director
Meta Media
Mpume Ngobese
Executive Committee
Co-Managing Director
Joe Public
Jarred Cinman
Executive Committee
Chief Executive Officer
VML South Africa
Adeshia Singh
Managing Director
Alison Deeb
Group Chief Executive Officer
Metropolitan Republic
Andrew Brand
Chief Executive Officer
Ninety9cents Advertising & Communications
Brenda Khumalo
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Lobengula Advertising
Derek Coles
President
McCann Joburg
Gareth Leck
Group Chief Executive Officer
Joe Public
James Moffat
Chief Executive Officer
Promise Brand Specialists
Jason Harrison
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
The Up and Up Group
Karabo Denalane
Chief Executive Officer
TBWA\Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg
Koo Govender
Chief Executive Officer
Publicis Groupe Africa
Pete Case
CEO & Creative Chairman
Ogilvy South Africa
Preetesh Sewraj
Chief Executive Officer
The Loeries
Roxana Ravjee
Chief Executive Officer
Dentsu South Africa
Sarah Dexter
Chief Executive Officer
MullenLowe South Africa
Sharleen James
Managing Director
Razor PR
Sibuyile Mabena
Founder and Chief Creative Officer
Duma Collective
Sinqobile Mjali
Managing Director
The Odd Number
Vicki Buys
Managing Director
Ogilvy South Africa
Wayne Naidoo
Group Chief Executive Officer
Duke Advertising
Xola Nouse
Chief Executive Officer
The Odd Number
Meet our executive committee
Gillian Rightford
Executive Director
Association for
Communication & Advertising
Luca Gallarelli
Chair
Group Chief Executive Officer
TBWA\South Africa
Kagiso Musi
Vice Chair
Group Managing Director
Meta Media
Mpume Ngobese
Executive Committee
Co-Managing Director
Joe Public
Jarred Cinman
Executive Committee
Chief Executive Officer
VML South Africa
Meet our secretariat
Your go-to place for advice and consultation
Gillian Rightford
Executive Director
Association for Communication & Advertising
Sharon Bergmann
Financial Manager
Association for Communication & Advertising
Melanie Platt
Executive Assistant to the Secretariat
Association for Communication & Advertising
Ashogan Subban
Assistant Accountant
Association for Communication & Advertising
Sne Khumalo
Senior Marketing Project Manager
Association for Communication & Advertising
Dineo Mashiane
Marketing & Project Coordinator
Association for Communication & Advertising
The ACA code of conduct is a shared vision.
We are committed
to the transformation of the industry. After all, the future of our profession will be shaped by our actions today. Members are therefore expected to adhere to the ACA Transformation Charter and to comply with directives by the ACA to effect the principles and philosophy of the Charter.
We support
freedom of commercial speech and advertising for products and services that are legally sold, as long as such advertisements are legal, decent, honest, truthful and not harmful or misleading.
We believe
in healthy competition among our members, such as is appropriate in a free market economic system, but seek to ensure that competitive activity is at all times ethical.
We accept
that it is impossible to formulate precise rules to regulate a diverse and dynamic industry and therefore undertake to observe not only the letter but also the spirit of the General Principles and Code of Conduct.
We ask
that transgressions of the letter and/or spirit of these principles and code by members of the ACA be reported and dealt with in terms of the ACA Memorandum and Articles.