Ciko Thomas

ByWBSComms

Ciko Thomas

Current title
Group Managing Executive: Retail and Business Banking, Nedbank Limited

Course at Wits Business School
Master of Business Administration, 2000

A defining moment in my career
I had just started working for M-Net where I took my marketing knowledge to the entertainment and content-creation space. We had gone to the 1994 Promax International conference in New Orleans, which is an annual conference that brings together global leaders in creating, programming and marketing television and video content. The theme for the 1994 conference was “Reinventing the Rules” and TV maven Barry Diller was the keynote speaker, addressing us about the future of content.

He called it “smart agenting” and spoke about how we would come to use data to help us make choices based on our interests and needs. It was ground-breaking. He was speaking about the future of digital entertainment before it was fashionable, before it even really seemed possible. And the way he was talking about the future opened my eyes to what grand visioning really was. It was shape-shifting visioning that was re-imagining how people could work and interact and it brought the idea to life for me.

It has shaped the way I approach my own businesses and the way I imagine futures for my businesses, my teams, and clients. Barry Diller became one of the most powerful people in the world, and the true power of his address is only really making itself clear now. The things he spoke about in 1994 are coming to disrupt a whole host of industries, and primarily the television industry, as we know them today.

Similar Posts

  • Dino Rech

    ByWBSComms

    It’s not easy to pinpoint one defining moment. There have been a number that has shaped the person and professional I am today. One person (and series of events) that stands out was a young patient of mine during my internship year as a junior doctor.

  • Ebrahim Kharsany

    ByWBSComms

    As an activist and a businessman, I experienced several defining moments in my career. I completed my MBA at Wits Business School in 1971. I could not find any meaningful employment as the predominantly white corporate business sector would not employ people of colour in senior management positions.

  • Nozuko Mbalula

    ByWBSComms

    My career-defining moments involved starting long processes with a payoff coming much later. One most important career-defining moment for me was when I realised the power of making the right choices and displaying my risk-taking characteristics.

  • Takeshi Kimura

    ByWBSComms

    There is no doubt that applying to business school can be a very stressful undertaking. However, even after my graduation more than ten years ago, I can say Wits Business School was a great fit and special for me with quality time spent.

  • Deon Opperman

    ByWBSComms

    The defining moment of my career happened when I was 12 years old. My father was the managing director of Glenton & Mitchell in the Eastern Cape, the company that launched Joko Tea during the first half of the 20th century.