Asha Patel Head of Brand Communications

Introduction and Journey

Hello, I'm Asha Patel, Head of Brand and Communications at Capitec. My role is centred around humanising our brand to make meaningful connections with current and future clients. This involves ensuring our purpose and vision are clearly articulated across all touchpoints and that our brand personality is consistent. I lead five disciplines in my role: Brand Studio, Media, Digital Communications, PR, and Employer Brand, overseeing a team of creatives, producers and brand, media and digital strategists.

My journey began in my parent's retail stores in Klerksdorp, where I developed my entrepreneurial spirit while working over weekends and school holidays. At university, I did promotions for Samsung Mobile, which developed my love for cellphone technologies and which, in many ways, led to my first full-time role in cellphone gaming at The Mobile Games Company. Following this, I joined Standard Bank, where I was part of the first digital team that established the bank's websites for 18 African markets, and where I worked on exciting and innovative projects like launching South Africa's first cellphone ATM and branch locator (long before Google Maps).

After four years at Standard Bank, I joined Google, where I spent 12 years in various advertising sales and marketing roles. At Google South Africa, I led banking, lending and FMCG verticals. As Global Business Manager at Google UK, I worked with one of the largest global advertisers, Unilever. I led Country Marketing and B2B Marketing across Sub-Saharan Africa in my last role at Google, which focused on the digital transformation of large and small organisations.

Outside of work, I love spending time with my family and friends, attending the occasional live music festival, and trying new flavours in the kitchen. I have a deep love for meditation and yoga, and if I had all the time in the world, you'd likely find me away on a spiritual retreat.

Attraction to Capitec

Capitec is one of South Africa's greatest success stories, driven by vision, foresight, and a commitment to serving the underserved. Growing up, one of my family's retail stores was out in the mines, and I saw just how difficult and confusing it was for our clients to navigate their relationships with financial institutions. Over the past two years, I started a small family business, where I've experienced the significant friction felt by SMEs, too. And so, Capitec's purpose of making banking simple, transparent, and affordable for everyone resonates deeply with me.

Staying Updated and Applying Trend 

I am generally interested in learning from what others are doing and seeing if their lessons can be applied to my world.

I'm fortunate to have incredible mentors in the global industry, some of whom have built their businesses or led marketing at large multinational companies. I regularly attend seminars and trainings and read extensively about market trends and insights. I'm passionate about startups and curious about the problems they are solving and how they go about it. I also have a community of close friends who are lifelong learners, and who inspire my continuous learning.

Advice for Aspiring Marketers 

Perhaps the most critical piece of advice for someone at the beginning of their career is that the barriers to information and practical experience have collapsed entirely. At the same time, much of what we do has become highly technical and data-oriented. So, a 15-year-old who starts her own e-commerce business and runs ads can learn just as much, and perhaps more, than a graduate student who has yet to do the same. This means candidates with the most incredible hunger to know to rise to the top, regardless of their qualifications.

Additional Information

In many ways, joining Capitec feels like I've returned to tech, where things move at the speed of light, and there are incredible opportunities for exponential growth. I'm excited about the future and look forward to contributing to Capitec's ongoing success.