SA's Broadcast Research Council Names New CEO

Industry body the Broadcast Research Council (BRC) of South Africa has appointed Gary Whitaker as Chief Executive Officer, following the departure of Clare O'Neil at the end of last year.

Established in 2015, BRC commissions and oversees the delivery of radio and television audience measurement research for broadcasters, as well as the advertising and marketing industry. The non-profit collects and manages contributions from media owners via a levy system.

Whitaker (pictured) joins after a stint at Publicis Media, where he served as Head of Social Media, Content and eCommerce; and prior to this was Global Head of Marketing at Regenesys Business School. He began his MR career at Nielsen and Kantar Millard Brown, before joining Mindshare as a Media Strategist, and then UM Worldwide as Senior Communication Channel Strategist. Later, he set up consumer insights agency Measuremint, and he worked at Nestlé; initially as Manager of Consumer Insights, before becoming Head of Media.

In his new role, Whitaker's immediate focus will be on ensuring a smooth transformation of the BRC's currency across radio and television, and managing the transition to a 'digital universe' through multi-media audience measurement during the next twelve months. He replaces O'Neil, who left at the end of December. Commenting on Whitaker's appointment, BRC Chairperson Monde Twala said: 'We are pleased to have Gary on board. The BRC remains focused on driving the transformation of audience measurement in South Africa and we are confident that he will provide the leadership and expertise required to adapt to the evolving landscape'.

Web site: www.brcsa.org.za .