Culture eats strategy for breakfast

Bizcommunity together with the Nedbank IMC Conference, will present exclusive profiles of the speakers running up to the event.

Bassil is the BBC’s first-ever chief brand officer.

His role is dedicated to redefining how the BBC connects with audiences around the world, which includes overseeing everything from brand positioning and audience experience to growth metrics and investment across the broadcaster’s platforms.

Before joining the BBC in 2024, Bassil built a reputation for revitalising and repositioning well-known brands for long-term growth. He has most recently served as global vice president and chief marketing officer for Absolut Vodka in Stockholm.

Bassil has a passion for creativity, collaboration, and purposeful brand building. His leadership has consistently focused on human connection, innovation, and creating cultural impact.

How would you describe yourself in one word?

Interested.

What excites you the most about your industry?

The opportunity to positively shape culture.

What upcoming trend is important for the industry and why?

Human connection. It may not be a “trend”, but it remains the most important thing we should focus on in the face of increased automation and algorithmic polarisation.

What gives you the most satisfaction in your work?

Bringing people together across an organisation to solve a problem or to create something that didn’t exist before.

What excites you about the upcoming IMC and being a speaker at the event?

I am very excited to be back in South Africa and be on stage alongside so many friends and colleagues whom I admire and love.

IMC Conference

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What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career?

That culture eats strategy for breakfast – with thanks to Peter Drucker.*

Given the above, what advice do you have for a young person looking to enter the industry?

Be sure you are listening intently to your consumers/audiences. And then rise above the noise. Business is built on understanding what people need, and then providing them with something that meets those needs in a way that they never expected.

(*Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an Austrian American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of modern management theory.)

About the IMC 2025

Early bird tickets to the Nedbank IMC 2025 on 18 September have sold out. In-person tickets are priced at R4000 (excl. VAT). Virtual tickets are also available.

For more information and to book your tickets, visit IMC

The annual Nedbank IMC Conference is Africa’s foremost integrated marketing conference. Launched in 2019, it has become Africa’s biggest marketing conference. This conference has more CMOs, senior marketers and agency leaders attending than any other in Africa and is relevant to anyone in the business of communication.

One day of 15-minute presentations (with some exceptions), the conference is known for its hard-hitting global agenda with no sales pitches.

The Nedbank IMC is presented in association with MASA, in collaboration with the ACA and is endorsed by the IAB. The 2025 theme is Marketing is Business.