EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS

Clockwork appoints a Managing Director for Technology and Innovation

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2026

Jakes Naudé joins from Accenture Song to focus on how brands use tech, data and AI to deliver customer and marketing experiences at scale.

Clockwork, the digital marketing and PR agency operating out of South Africa and the UK, has appointed Jakes Naudé as Managing Director for Technology and Innovation.

According to the agency, the appointment marks a significant step in its evolution as it deepens the integration between technology, consulting and creativity.

Naudé joins Clockwork from Accenture Song, which claims to be the world’s largest tech-powered creative group.

Jakes Naudé of Clockwork. Photo: LinkedIn

At Accenture Song, he worked across complex, multi-market environments, helping organisations connect brand ambition to customer behaviour through technology, data and experience-led thinking.

At Clockwork, Naudé will focus on how brands use technology, data and AI to design, deliver and optimise customer and marketing experiences at scale.

Rather than treating these as isolated capabilities, his role centres on using them to drive smarter strategy, stronger creative work and faster, more responsive customer relationships.

“There’s a growing gap in our industry between what agencies say they can do and what they can actually deliver,” says Tom Manners, Clockwork CEO.

“As customer and brand relationships become more dynamic, more personalised and increasingly real-time in 2026, technical depth and real-world experience matter more than ever. Jakes brings the credibility and capability to close that gap and to help us build solutions that work beyond the pitch deck.”

Naudé says Clockwork’s independence was a key drawcard: “What excites me is the opportunity to move quickly and build boldly. Independent agencies like Clockwork have the agility to genuinely bring consulting thinking, technology and creativity together, without layers of friction.”

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