Mark Sham is a dynamic entrepreneur, author, and speaker from South Africa, renowned for his passionate advocacy of informal education and his commitment to supporting small businesses. Despite being expelled from school at 17 and lacking formal education, Mark mastered the world of informal learning, leveraging his experiences and self-taught knowledge to propel his career forward. He is the founder of several innovative ventures, including Suits & Sneakers, The Tryst, and Like a Tourist.
Suits & Sneakers is a social enterprise dedicated to revolutionizing education. It hosts events and creates content aimed at promoting lifelong learning through informal education, believing in the power of continuous learning to stay relevant in today’s fast-paced world.
The Tryst is a multi-purpose content creation hub located in Johannesburg, featuring a hybrid event space, video studios, training areas, and a bar. It serves as a collaborative space for bold brands and innovative ideas, helping individuals and companies create meaningful and engaging content.
Like a Tourist focuses on creating unique travel content that highlights the beauty and diverse experiences available in South Africa, aiming to inspire both locals and visitors to explore and appreciate the country’s many hidden gems.
Mark’s entrepreneurial journey is remarkable, given his unconventional path to success. He speaks with a ferocious energy and passion, adept at synthesizing broad-based thinking into formats that audiences can understand. He is not only creating awareness around his vision to change education and training in South Africa but also forging a network of entrepreneurs and corporate businesses to champion these causes.
Mark has spoken at various notable events, including the EOH Finance Indaba and the CEO Series with Lee Naik. He has been invited to speak at events hosted by companies such as EOH, City Logistics, and Standard Bank.
Event planners should consider booking Mark Sham for their next event because of his unique perspective on education and entrepreneurship. His talks are insightful, humorously delivered, and filled with thought-provoking messages. He has a proven track record of captivating audiences and leaving them energized and inspired. His passion for transforming education and his commitment to lifelong learning make him a valuable addition to any event.
In summary, Mark Sham is a passionate entrepreneur and speaker who is making significant strides in revolutionizing education through his various ventures. His story of overcoming adversity and using unconventional means to achieve success serves as an inspiration to many aspiring entrepreneurs and lifelong learners. His dynamic speaking style and commitment to lifelong learning make him a sought-after speaker for events focused on education, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
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Your brand is your most valuable asset in driving business growth – and Simon Grainger has built his career around this belief.
With a deep understanding of the interplay between consumer behaviour and branding, Simon leverages his expertise to develop custom strategies for growth-oriented businesses seeking to elevate their marketing.
As a mentor with Startup Grind, a global platform for early-stage entrepreneurs, and a former senior brand strategy lecturer at Vega, one of South Africa’s leading communication schools, Simon has guided countless individuals and organisations through the complexities of brand development.
A seasoned speaker, including delivering a TEDx talk, Simon regularly shares his insights on marketing and brand-building with industry professionals.
His credentials, including an Honours degree in Media, Communication, and Marketing (Cum Laude) and a Master’s degree in Media and Communication, further solidify his reputation as a trusted expert in the field.
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It’s strange, how in a single brief moment in time, with only a few words spoken, one’s life can change so completely. Suddenly all you know, trust and rely upon, Yavi Madurai plummeted into the depths of the unknown.
This is precisely what happened to self- professed 33 year old, “control freak”, Yavi Madurai.
On the 14th of November 2003, at 15h02, her doctor uttered those words, “It’s breast cancer”. As life around her continued on as normal, the earth still spinning on its axis, people still going about their daily lives, hers came to a painful, grinding halt.
Hopes, dreams and wishes seemed far away now – especially those of becoming a mother.
What followed in the next two weeks, she can only describe as a “Brown Blur” – A surreal experience of living in the limbo between brown medical buildings, carrying brown envelopes containing test results.
Soon this muted hue seemed to seep into every aspect of her life, staining her days with sorrow. But a bright reprieve was to soon emerge from the depths of this monochromatic existence, coming in the form of another cancer patient.
Yavi Madurai is grateful for every new day and loves getting up in the morning. “I feel alive and know that I am now living in the moment” story acted as a catalyst for Yavi, triggering a metamorphosis within her. And like the seasons bring about the change from caterpillar to butterfly, so the new Yavi was born.
Previously her life had been lived in the fast lane, ambitious, driven and always on the go. She never stopped to appreciate the beauty contained within the tiny moments between life.
But now, Yavi had been presented with the precious gift of choice. It was as if her cancer said, “hey listen, wake up, value it”.
She began to view the world through different lenses, counting her blessings for the things she had previously taken for granted.
She decided that her greatest weapon against cancer would be a positive attitude. Even through the physical and psychological devastation of a partial mastectomy and the aggressive courses of chemotherapy and radiation, her positivity was unwavering.
Yavi Madurai soon discovered the undeniable, yet inexplicable power of the mind-body-connection, as her new attitude began to have a marked effect on her recovery.
But perhaps Yavi Madurai is grateful for every new day and loves getting up in the morning. “I feel alive and know that I am now living in the moment” greatest gift came from the “Moments in Time” project, which made her see her cancer as a gift from God. This knowledge allowed her to find profound meaning, in what was once a seemingly senseless struggle.
Cancer was no longer a burden under which she stumbled and faltered. Rather, it was a second chance at life.
And then, as if by some act of universal synchronicity, Yavi was granted her greatest wish, giving birth to a beautiful baby girl in October, breast cancer month.
This survivor had come full circle, from fighting for her life, to giving new life.
She believes that her cancer not only prepared her for the challenges of motherhood, but also gave her a priceless heirloom, a legacy that could be passed onto her daughter; the fundamental values she learnt, that so wholly transformed her life.
Today, Yavi Madurai is grateful for every new day and loves getting up in the morning. “I feel alive and know that I am now living in the moment”
Branding solutions and Reputation Management
Brand positioning and reputation management go hand in hand and serve as the heart of the Marketing and or Communications strategy of any company which in effect is the foundation of that company. At BBT, we have a passion for brand management solutions and ensuring a company’s reputation is managed efficiently
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Gareth Woods – Marketing Innovation states that despite being the largest and most lucrative of demographics millennials continue to confound traditional marketing tactics to the frustration of marketers globally.
Despite their apparent “counter culture” perspective these “unique and special snowflakes” are not without their similarities and Gareth helps us to unpack some of what makes them tick through one of their largest and fastest growing passion points – video gaming.
Gareth has been into video games pretty much since video games existed and has played almost every console ever made.
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Khaya Dlanga is well-regarded marketing personality, having been listed in “The Annual – Advertising, Media & Marketing” as one of the 100 most influential people in Advertising, Media & Marketing.
Khaya Dlanga is a winner of Financial Mail’s Adfocus New Broom award 2009, awarded to a young marketer making an impact in the industry.
He is passionate about social causes. In 2015, he organised the Peace Bus initiative which spoke out against Xenophobia and provided supplies for displaced people.
The initiative garnered wide-ranging public support.
He has been awarded more than 40 times both locally and globally for his work in the advertising and marketing field.
His accolades include Loerie Grand Prix, Loerie Gold for Marketing Effectiveness, two New York Festival Grand Prix, two Cannes Gold Lions.
Khaya has also been a contributor to the South African discourse by writing weekly columns for the Mail & Guardian, News24 and the Cape Times.
His online columns would always feature on the list of most read articles of the year.
The Author of ‘In My Arrogant Opinion‘ and the bestseller, ‘To Quote Myself, a Memoir‘.
This memoir had the dubious of honour of being the most stolen book in the country soon after it was published.
To Quote Khaya Dlanga would receive the rare honour of a memoir being shortlisted for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize. A feat for a memoir.
Khaya was at the Coca-Cola company for more than five years where he raised the bar for its marketing and communications department.
He led the Coca-Cola names on packs in South Africa. His work was so highly regarded that it traveled to 96 countries even though it was intended for the sole use of South Africa.
In 2015, Warren Buffett, a major Coca-Cola shareholder mentioned his work as an example of what results great creativity can achieve.
Khaya Dlanga has addressed organisations and events like Investec, FNB, Nedbank, Jacaranda, TedX Soweto, Suits and Sneakers, MC’d the world’s largest design conference, Design Indaba two years in a row.
He addressed the first annual Daily Maverick’s The Gathering, his talk was so popular that after the Daily Maverick published it, it became the publication’s most-read article for over a year.
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Carmen Murray is the founder of Boo-Yah! a leading Modern Marketing Business that provides a number of initiatives to ensure businesses become Future Fit™.
She is a marketing activist and torchbearer for Diversity and Inclusion and was recently recognised by Meltwater as the top Women in Tech, Africa, 2019.
She received the most prestigious award, a Black Pixel, IAB Bookmarks 2019 for her best individual contribution to Digital, Africa 2019.
Murray has become a household name among business professionals and flying through the ranks as she applies robust approaches to help businesses become Future Fit™. Her strong background in Content, Digital, Mobile, Innovation and Data Analytics, allows her to identify emerging trends and conceptualise disruptive marketing strategies, deployed with precision.
The customer and their needs are always at the heart of her approach.
Carmen delivers thought-provoking keynotes to fuel creativity and inspire innovation. She has been a keynote speaker in over 40 countries and got to deliver over 250 masterclasses in 3 years to a combined audience of 11,000 business professionals.
Carmen Murray continues to be a popular panelist on both the local and international conference circuit. Murray can also be found on the Digital Airwaves with her charting Podcast in Marketing:
The Carmen Murray Show | #FutureFit Yourself. She interviews Activists, Storytellers, Celebrities, Newsmakers, and Business Experts across the globe.
She also collaborated with John Vlismas and started another podcast:
The IN with the TWO Outsiders.
Industry Contributions include MMA, IAB, DMA, MRMW, AMASA, BOGDM which includes GIBS, AAA School of Advertising, and an array of local and international business schools. She is also the exclusive representative of The Connected Marketer™ in Africa which includes courses on CX, UX, AI, Mobile to name a few. Carmen Murray also lectures at the University of Johannesburg. (UJ)
She served on the following councils:
Carmen started a quarterly Future Fit™ Networking event, powered by Boo-Yah! and joined forces with the University of Johannesburg, Department of Marketing and Management to create an annual #MarketingFit Event for Marketing Professionals of South Africa.
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