01 April 2026
By Andrea Djan-Krofa, CEO - Women in Marketing Africa; Director - Women in Marketing Global.
I want to start by giving credit where it’s due. Kudos to Brand Africa and its partners for curating and launching the inaugural ACMO 100. I think it’s a strong and timely initiative, and an important way of recognising the marketing leaders helping to shape some of Africa’s most influential brands.
Lists like this matter. Not simply because they celebrate individual achievement, but because they help shape the wider narrative around leadership in our industry. They signal what is valued, who is being seen, and whose work is helping to move brands, businesses and the continent forward.
And visibility matters.
For a long time, many of these leadership stories have existed, but they haven’t always been seen at scale or acknowledged in ways that feel visible enough, current enough, or connected enough across the continent.
One of the first things that stood out to me about this year’s list was the number of women featured. That feels significant. It reflects real progress, and it’s encouraging to see so many women recognised for the leadership, strategic thinking and commercial impact they bring to the industry.
I was also genuinely pleased to see members of the WiM Africa community featured within this year’s ACMO 100, which speaks to the calibre of talent across our network. Congratulations to all those recognised, including Rosalind Gichuru, Gugu Mthembu, Khensani Nobanda, Mphothe Elizabeth Mokwena, Mzamo Masito, Nontokozo Madonsela, Cherry Eromosele and Ifeoma Agu, alongside many more friends of WiM Africa on the list.
These are leaders we’ve had the privilege of engaging through WiM Africa platforms and partnerships, and it’s good to see their contribution acknowledged in this way.
At the same time, this kind of moment naturally raises a bigger question for me: does visibility at the top mean the work is done?
I don’t think it does.
The picture is more nuanced than that. Yes, representation is improving, and that should absolutely be recognised. But there is still more to do when it comes to how leadership pipelines are built, how opportunities are opened up, and how consistently women are supported, promoted and retained across different organisations, sectors and markets.
That is part of why this matters so much to me personally, and to us at WiM Africa.
For me, this list is both affirming and motivating. It is affirming because it shows that change is happening. But it is also motivating because it reminds us why the work continues. We still need to keep building pathways, platforms and opportunities for more women to be seen, supported and able to thrive at senior levels.
So yes, the ACMO 100 is a welcome addition to the industry landscape. Not just as a list, but as a marker of where we are and where we may be heading.
I’ll be very interested to see how it evolves over the coming years, both in who is recognised and in how it helps shape the conversation around marketing leadership across Africa.