EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS

Starcom promotes Kershnee Pillay to the role of Managing Director

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2025

Pillay heads Starcom in South Africa and brings with her extensive executive-level experience within Africa and the Middle East.

Media planning agency Starcom, part of the Publicis Groupe, has announced the promotion of Kershnee Pillay to the position of Managing Director in South Africa.

She has previously held the roles of Media Operations Director and Business Development Manager within Publicis Media.

Prior to that, her experience includes being Managing Director of Brand Lounge Africa, Executive Director of J. Walter Thompson in South Africa, and Managing Director of Zeleman Communications in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Kershnee Pillay. Photo: LinkedIn

“Pillay’s promotion to Starcom MD reflects her reputation in the advertising and media branches of the industry,” Publicis Groupe says in a press release.

“She is particularly adept at weaving brand narratives and showcasing creativity across the full ‘through-the-line’ communications spectrum – most recently within the Middle Eastern and African regions.”

Appreciation of the opportunities that data and technology present

According to the press release, Pillay has a strong appreciation of the opportunities that data and technology present in transforming brand marketing, and similarly appreciates the strategy and innovation that underpin the transformation.

“With this background, she understands the myriad of goals and challenges premium brands encounter, having had extensive experience on both the agency and client sides of the business.”

Pillay is a graduate of the 2019 Stanford Leadership Program for Strategic Entrepreneurs in Africa and, says Publicis, “is particularly adept at media intelligence coupled with data optimisation that drives exceptional client value”.

Founded in 2000, Starcom South Africa provides services in areas such as media strategy, media buying, social media, search, display, programmatic, analytics, reporting and consulting.

The Starcom global client list includes Cadbury, Visa, Samsung, McDonald’s and Kellogg’s.

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