Chronicle Editor
Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
FORMER Zimpapers head of digital and Sunday News staffer Dr Delta Milayo Ndou (37) has been appointed chief executive officer of Rubicon Group, one of the leading South African media companies, which is setting up three newspapers in Eswatini.
Her appointment is with effect from April 4.
Dr Ndou said she was excited on her appointment and is looking forward to steering the ship in the right direction.
“I am honoured to have been head-hunted and appointed for this challenging role.
Although I was focused on my academic and consultancy work, I didn’t want to forgo an opportunity to take up a decision-making role of this nature given how women remain side-lined in managerial positions in the media across the African continent,” she said.
Dr Ndou views her appointment as an opportunity to leverage her role to train entry level media practitioners, especially women, and to champion empowering forms of journalism.
“This includes explanatory journalism, which is much needed to entrench the kind of media literacy that can inoculate news consumers from disinformation and other information related threats in the digital age,” she said.
In a statement, Rubicon Group said Dr Ndou’s appointment follows a thorough recruitment process overseen by a dedicated global head-hunter, which saw a wide variety of exceptional candidates being placed under consideration and vetted.
“The board of Rubicon Group has the pleasure of appointing Cape Town-based Dr Delta Milayo Ndou as chief executive officer to steer the setting up of three media titles namely Eswatini Financial Times (EFT), Eswatini Daily News (EDN) and Eswatini Sunday News (ESN).
The appointment is with effect from April 4, 2022,” said Rubicon board chairman, Mr Daniel Muller.
“Our priority was and always will be to hire the right people and we believe Dr Delta Ndou has what it takes to position Rubicon to win because of her experience, qualifications, skills, deep knowledge of the media and understanding of Southern Africa’s media context.”
Mr Muller said the board is prepared to dedicate the necessary resources, avail the appropriate technology and infrastructure as well as recruit the best talent.
“We have no doubt that under Dr Ndou’s leadership, our media products will soon become strong and influential brands.
Dr Ndou brings a wealth of expertise to this role having served in various roles of senior leadership over the past 15 years,” he said.
Dr Ndou has held managerial roles across sectors such as telecommunications, civil society, academia and print media where tasks such as repackaging, online engagement, writing and editing, commissioning of stories and content creation were her daily responsibilities.
Her capabilities include extensive print journalism, social media, online journalism and digital story telling experience.
Dr Ndou is a widely respected and high-level consultant whose international work and experience includes serving as a manager at SAGE Publications in the United Kingdom, as an Internet Freedom Fellow in Switzerland and as a Global New Media Fellow in the US.
“Rubicon Group is at the cusp of launching three exciting media entities and we are delighted to have Dr Ndou steering the ship,” said Muller.
“We are confident that with her on board, Rubicon is better positioned to deliver media products and titles that will transform the media landscape regionally and beyond.
As a board, we look forward to working with the team she will recruit to lay a foundation for the kind of content factory that can provide information, which strongly resonates with and is tailored at key and varied audience segments.”
Dr Ndou holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Cape Town and is a Sussex University media graduate with advanced professional media skills and tactical expertise that have earned her international recognition in blogging, new media activism and social media advocacy.
She is a strong leader with a proven track record of developing diverse and high performing teams in news organisations and in media campaign contexts.
Dr Ndou is regarded as a formidable strategist who executed highly impactful consultancy work for international NGOs including the UN Women, Mercy Corps and International Republican Institute (IRI).
— @mashnets
Online Reporter