#WiMMeets Gopolang Ngale-Lekgetha - Executive Head of Marketing for Vodacom Business

 

In this interview, we sat down with Gopolang Ngale-Lekgetha, Executive Head of Marketing for Vodacom Business.

 

Gopolang Ngale-Lekgetha is currently the Executive Head of Marketing for Vodacom Business and a member of the Vodacom Business EXCO. Her flair for innovation, technology and new business development, has allowed Gopolang to create impactful business campaigns and programmes for companies like Oracle and Microsoft across Africa. Gopolang’s professional experience includes business to business (B2B) marketing, corporate communication, business development, stakeholder and partner management in large technology multinationals. Gopolang holds an MBA from leading business school GIBS and is an all-round Africa enthusiast.

 

GN: I find strength in my faith and knowing that there is a plan for my life. We are all on this earth to fulfil a purpose, finding out what my purpose is excites me and drives me to keep moving! I also believe in constant learning – having a growth mindset helps me discover new ways of doing things and keeps my mind sharp and curious.

And of course dancing in the mornings!

 

WiM Africa: Which advertising campaign, from any brand, has been the most memorable for you and why?

GN: The BMW Car Commercial Theo Jansen Kinetic Sculpture campaign. What attracted me to this campaign was the merging of art and engineering. Merging of two different worlds and finding parallels. Demonstrating the science of art as a form of expression. As Marketing professionals, we live in a creative world and need to make that world serve business and drive business impact in a functional way.

 

WiM Africa: What three pieces of advice would you give to a woman marketer aspiring to a senior position about getting to and staying at the top of their profession?

GN: Learn to quantify the impact your work has on the business, by showing the Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). Marketing needs to be a strategic partner to business

Be your authentic self – there’s only one “You” and that’s your super power

Growth mindset – stay learning!

 

WiM Africa: Which one person, dead or alive, would you say inspires you the most and why?

GN: This is going to sound like a cliché, but Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has managed to create an empire off doing what she loves. Her sphere of influence spans generations, race, gender and creed.

 

WiM Africa: If you were stuck on a desert island what three things, excluding electronics, could you not do without?

GN: Red lipstick (MAC Russian Red to be exact)

The book ‘Principles’ by Ray Dalio

Picture of my Family

 

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