By WINSLEY MASESE

Top marketer James Ngomeli has been elected chairperson of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and East Africa Chartered Marketers Forum for a renewable two-year term.

CIM is the world’s oldest and leading professional body of marketers. It was established in 1911, with its head office in the UK, and represents over 70,000 members. In the region, it has a base of 3,500 professionals, with 120 chartered marketers and eight fellow chartered members.

Ngomeli, who is the current culture change and corporate rebranding coordinator at Kenya Power, will serve Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Ethiopia is expected to gain membership soon. 

He will be tasked with integrating the professional marketing qualification and experience into real-life experiences to take full advantage of brand and communications.

“My intentions are to bring marketing skills to the centre of government operations as we rally behind the President’s call for value addition to our products,” said Ngomeli.

 The CIM Eastern Africa office plays a key role in creating demand for the professional qualification of marketing in the region. It offers global professional qualifications recognised by nearly 120 countries. The Institute is also a one-stop centre for marketing professionals seeking placement in various organisations.

 “In my term in office, we will work closely with the government as it moves to implement its agenda for national development,” said Ngomeli.

Ngomeli talked of the need to build positive perception and brand-building activities to market Kenya as a favourite investment destination as well as increase visibility of Kenyan brands. He noted that marketers would help develop marketing strategies for the organisations receiving funds, especially the women and youth funds. 

“If these groups could get value addition services to enable them brand and position their products and services, it would double their incomes and have ripple effects across the board,” he said. 

“We are also re-structuring to work closely with various arms of government in communication. We see a huge gap where the public is not engaged with what the state is doing.”