Sarah Dexter

MD of Lowe Bull & OIL

Sarah Dexter graduated from the Nottingham Trent University Business School with a 1st class Honours degree in Business. She was also awarded the Boots the Chemist ‘most outstanding business graduate’ accolade

Her 1st real job was at Research International, London in the Advertising & Media research division. After 2 and a half years there working with blue chip companies such as Mars Confectionary, she was seconded to Durban to run the Unilever tracking studies. After being granted permanent residence Sarah then moved to Joburg to start up the planning division at the then Lintas advertising agency. She subsequently launched the brand & research consultancy within the Lowe + Partners, OIL. In 2008 Sarah was lured to the ‘dark side’ & became MD of Lowe + Partners and OIL!

Sarah was voted a “Top Women in Business finalist” in 2011, chairs the Education portfolio of the ACA & regularly speaks at industry forums.

Her spare time is spent with her 2 young daughters, 2 senile dogs, Art Director husband & a bottle
of good red wine

Michael Lawrence

Senior Planner, Jo’burg

With nearly seven years as part of the OIL team, Michael has extensive experience as a strategic planner across a wide range of industries, from pharmaceuticals and 16-wheeler trucks to Nigerian mobile telecommunications and beer.  Within these industries, Michael has worked on a range of high profile local and global brands including Axe, Coca-Cola, Flora, Nedbank, Nike and Rand Merchant Bank.

Michael’s broad-reaching brand experience means he is able to collaborate at a senior level with clients and other communication specialists on all stages of the strategy process, from portfolio management and positioning right through to communication strategy.  A considered thinker, he tackles each brand problem with strategic rigour by identifying the core issue, understanding what makes the consumer tick, and then delivering the solution with simplicity and clarity.

Springing from his love for design, Michael appreciates how a powerful visual can bring thought to life, and so believes that strategy should also look good.

When not immersed in a strategic problem, you’ll find Michael solving sustainable architectural design problems – a passion to which he dedicates as much spare time as he can.  He is infinitely indebted to his easygoing and tolerant wife for allowing these selfish indulgences.

Lesego Kotane

Born and educated in Johannesburg, Lesego graduated from the University of Johannesburg (RAU) with a BA Marketing Communications. He began his adventurous career in advertising at Morris Jones as an intern, and soon joined the strategic planning team on a full-time basis. From Morris Jones, Lesego moved onto planning at Young & Rubicam Brands, Mind over Matter and TBWA Hunt Lascaris. In deciding to take the plunge and relocate to Cape Town he joined OIL in 2010. His work has crossed various sectors including media, financial services, alcohol, FMCG and telecommunications. In his spare time he loves to search the wonderful world of the internet for interestingness, doodle on his phone, take walks on the promenade in his new home town and hit a glass of wine while blasting the tunes. He believes in brands making the world more interesting, and advertising eliciting belly laughs in all of us.

Kathryn Aquadro

Strategic planner, Jo’burg

Kathryn grew up on a farm in the Freestate, and at the age of 16 moved with her family to Cape Town. She studied her undergrad at UCT, and graduated from University of Stellenbosch with Honours in Clinical Psychology (Cum Laude) in 2006. After some time in the working world abroad and in Cape Town, she stumbled into Honours in Brand Strategy at Vega School of Communication. She was fortunate enough to achieve The Vega Pencil Award that year. She interned at The Jupiter Drawing Room in Cape Town, and soon after, was employed by OIL Cape Town. After a year, the appeal of big city lights got to her, and she transferred to the Joburg branch.

She has worked on a breadth of industries, including a range of different FMCG’s, pharmaceuticals, alcohol brands, and media channels.

Balancing her inner plaasmeisie with her big girl, socialite lifestyle, is a constant challenge. She loves nothing more than being outdoors, barefoot - whether in the veld or on the beach. She’ll never pass up on a challenge, especially on the hockey field, tennis court or swimming pool, and she spends way too much time eating and drinking with friends. Unfortunately for her, she will only go to sleep if she has learnt something new that day.