Mike Joubert

Mike Joubert has over 36 years’ experience, starting his career at the University of Pretoria as President of the Student Representative Council and Chairperson of the National RAG Organisation of South Africa. Armed with a BCom from the University of Pretoria, he graduated with an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch, obtaining a first-class distinction for his thesis, ‘Black Economic Empowerment with specific reference to the Informal Sector.’

Mike gained further experience in various executive roles including CMO of Computicket, Strategic Marketing Director of Ogilvy, CMO of Diageo South Africa, CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. South Africa and EVP of Marketing for Levi Strauss & Co. in Europe.

Upon returning to South Africa, he founded The BrandsRock Group, a successful brand solutions company. Five years later, his entrepreneurial adventure was rewarded when he sold his business to the Publicis Groupe, where it merged with Saatchi & Saatchi. He remained involved as Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi South Africa until March 2017.

In 2016 he founded The Billybo Group, a collective of experienced business founders, marketing leaders and creative alchemists, where he thrives in using his experience to create value for other businesses. He specialises in mission-driven business strategy, brand leadership, digital innovation, sales-driven marketing and the development of entrepreneurs.

Mike has extensive governance experience, having served on numerous boards since 1990, notably the Levi Strauss Foundation, SA Fashion Council, Cape Town Fashion Council, KWV (Pty) Ltd, Twizza, Project Literacy, the Marketing Federation of South Africa, Population Services International and Quicket, which he chaired through to its acquisition by Ticketmaster in 2024.

He currently serves as Chairman of Viya Health, Shopstar, Fae Technologies and Locstat. He is a Global Board Member of HealthX Partners, a Non-Executive Director of Stone Three Impact, a Board Member of the University of Pretoria Convocation and a Trustee of WWF South Africa. He is a Venture Partner at Knife Capital and a Director of NGOJO Projects, and advises Trevethan Distillery, JemCarat and Ctrl Technologies.

He has also been a keynote speaker and guest lecturer at various universities, conferences of note and start-up events in SA, Europe and the USA, and was awarded ‘South African Marketing Person of the Year’ in 2006 at the Sunday Times Markinor Marketing Excellence Awards.

Mike regularly assists SMEs with strategic business and brand advice, mentorship, and is an active investor in several South African and UK start-ups.