OMD SA appoints Litha Vimbi as general manager

OMD SA, the country's largest full-service media agency, has appointed Litha Vimbi as its new general manager.

Based in the agency's Johannesburg office, Vimbi will work closely alongside MD, Julio Rodrigues, and be responsible for strategic direction, business growth and talent retention. 

Vimbi, who started at OMD SA in 2017 as a media strategist, has worked her way up through the company and gained extensive experience in the media industry.

The transition from being a business unit director to a general manager is a natural step in Vimbi's career, which began with an internship in media followed by marketing roles at Unilever, where she worked in both local and global teams.

She regards winning business accounts and industry awards as some of her major successes.

“My success has been gained by interest, enthusiasm and active involvement — and being part of a global media group, such as OMD, has definitely been an advantage,” says Vimbi.

“During my time at OMD SA, I’ve been in a fortunate position of leading some of the country's most-loved brands in the financial, consumer and alcohol sectors.”

“I now head up the Diageo brand account, one of the pieces of business that I pitched on and won, with a dynamic team of experts,” she says.

"[This multinational alcoholic beverage company] operates from 132 sites worldwide, and different dynamics obviously apply to different markets, but when a single performance standard applies across markets, there can also be reasonable expectations about what success should look like.”

'New normal', new leadership skills

“I pride myself on being an empathetic leader with ‘heart’,” says Vimbi. “Especially now, with Zoom calls and staff working from home some days of the week, we’re just not connecting face-to-face like we used to — and there can be a lot of distractions. This ‘new normal’ requires leaders with patience, thoughtfulness and empathy.”

These are all skills that Vimbi is polishing while completing a degree in psychology.

Says Rodrigues: “Litha has been an industry colleague of mine for over a decade, as such I’ve been one of the people in the front row seats of her career development and successes. Her being appointed to this position is not only exciting for the business, but makes me proud at a personal level too.

“I have no doubt, with Litha’s work ethic and commitment, only better milestones will come, not just for her but for the business and her team as well”.

“OMD SA is a place for growth and success. I look forward to pouring my heart into this new role,” says Vimbi.

This article was paid for by OMD SA.