EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS

Sharleen James becomes Managing Director of Razor Public Relations

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2025

Highly acclaimed industry executive joins from Accenture Song. Razor co-founder Dustin Chick steps up to new CEO role.

Sharleen James has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Razor Public Relations – a division of The Up & Up Group, the African affiliate of M&C Saatchi. She takes up her new role on 1 February.

Sharleen James (left) with Dustin Chick. Photo: Razor PR

Dustin Chick steps up to become Chief Executive. He co-founded the agency in 2020 with partners Christopher Lazley as Executive Creative Director and Kalay Maistry as Head of Client Services.

James was previously Group Managing Director in South Africa for marketing services business Accenture Song. She is also currently a board member of the Association for Communications and Advertising South Africa (ACA).

Having worked so well with Sharleen for almost 10 years previously, it’s a major highlight of our journey that we now get to welcome her into Razor,” comments Chick. “She brings with her a set of critical skills we believe we need in a more complicated world, where PR continues to evolve so rapidly.”

“Sharleen’s exceptional client services smarts, her sound, fair and kind leadership style, and her ability to manage the demands of both scale and complexity are major aspects of our growth plans.”

A PR agency focused on the future

Says James: “Knowing I can bring 25 years of through-the-line learning to a PR agency focused on the future is exactly what attracted me to this role. I buy into Razor’s view of a more modern strategic communications business.

Our proposition around ‘powerful conversations’ is relevant and distinctive, and I know that my knowledge about process, client delivery excellence and deep client relationships will bring a tremendous competitive edge to our whole team.”

James comes with experience from agencies such Ogilvy, Interbrand Sampson and the King James Group, a highly awarded creative agency that became Accenture Song in 2021.

She has qualifications from the IMM Graduate School, AAA Schol of Advertising, Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and UCT Graduate School of Business.

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