Webster Malido
Senior Corporate Executive
Johannesburg
Summary
Leadership and strategic planning background developed in fast-paced corporate environment seeking to transition skills to new field. Extensive experience in driving organizational change and improving operational efficiency. Eager to apply leadership and strategic thinking abilities to new challenges and opportunities.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
Work History
Global Head & Senior Director – Corporate Communications
One Acre Fund
Nairobi
04.2023 - 02.2025
- Leading a 25-person global communications team
- Providing oversight leadership to External Communications, Internal Communications, Design & Creative units, with 25 staff combined
- Working with Business Development in overseeing strategic donor outreach strategy and plans on behalf of the organization
- Providing strategic guidance and hands-on support to these units to build the organisation’s corporate identity and deepen stakeholder engagement through stakeholder engagement, thought leadership, among others
- Guiding on major organisation-wide change initiatives
- Building relationships across the organization with senior staff
- Working with relevant departments, to ensure that partners are well-informed and that complex projects are on track
- Together with a highly-skilled and dynamic team of deputies, I anticipated risks and managed crisis situations for the organisation, applying the best judgment to decide when to escalate issues to the leadership team
- Developed and executed end to end change management plans working with Country Directors for Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia to effect major organizational restructuring programmes
- Working with the Business Development team, developed and implemented a donor outreach and engagement programme around climate related activities which contributed to gaining additional new donors – both corporate and individual, raising several millions of dollars
- Developed, designed and implemented a resourcing plan for all countries to set up Corporate Communications functions where they had none previously, thereby building in-country capacity for internal and external stakeholder management
Managing Partner
Aprio Strategic Communications Group
05.2021 - 03.2023
- Positioning top global brands across African markets on brand reputation and positioning, corporate social responsibility, impact investment, ESG and commercial sustainability
- Providing strategic and tactical support to client leadership around crisis and reputation management, public policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and customer outreach
- Developing bespoke strategic communications plans for blue-chip client subsidiaries mostly in African markets
- Client portfolio included AB Inbev Africa, Sanlam Insurance, BioNTech and South African National Roads Agency, Standard Bank Zambia, Zambeef
- Was lead strategic advisor for external outreach support for AB Inbev covering subsidiaries in Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia
- Provided strategic PR support and developed stakeholder engagement strategy for Germany’s BioNTech during launch of biontainers (vaccine manufacturing containers) in Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal
Head of Communications, Absa Regional Operations
Absa Group
06.2012 - 03.2020
- Driving Absa Group (previously Barclays Africa) corporate communications and stakeholder engagement strategies and priorities across businesses/countries outside South Africa (Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
- Coverage across business divisions – Retail, Business Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking and Insurance
- Coordination of external and internal communications agenda across Absa Group’s 12 markets outside South Africa
- Providing leadership with strategic communications and reputation advisory on financial services industry affairs as well as stakeholder engagement tactics to Country Corporate Affairs/Country leadership teams
- Alignment of Group communications tools, platforms, processes and policies for African banking operations
- Driving Absa Regional Operations Chief Executive’s internal and external communication agenda including developing employee engagement campaigns, preparing executive briefing documents for government and regulatory engagements
- Was part of a senior leadership team that oversaw the successful rollout of the Absa brand in previously Barclays-branded African operations
- Workstream included developing regulatory engagement plans, customer outreach and driving staff buy-in for the new brand
- Developed and implemented a social media strategy for all Barclays/Absa operations in Africa (minus South Africa) which saw the bank grow its online presence from zero to over 2 million followers at the time I was leaving my role
- Worked closely with country CEOs to oversee the successful integration of previously Barclays run and operated African franchises with Absa South Africa, which led to the creation of the present day Absa Group
- My main role was to design and implement as effective engagement strategy with regulators across eight (8) African countries, customers and staff
Head of Corporate Affairs and Marketing
Barclays Bank Zambia (now Absa Bank Zambia)
05.2009 - 06.2012
- Owning and bringing to life Barclays Zambia brand strategy, positioning and values within country
- Contributing to strategic business growth as a key member of the Country Management Committee (EXCO)
- Developing content on message, on brand, accurate and tailored to business needs
- Articulating mission, vision and strategy to wider external and internal stakeholders
- Driving focus on customer insights and customer planning
- Managing relationships with key business divisions across Barclays Zambia
- Liaison between CEO office, legal and regulatory affairs for public sector engagement activities
- Working with local and international partner organisations on corporate social responsibility initiatives
- Providing leadership to Corporate Affairs and Marketing Department team
- Led group-wide project on behalf of Barclays Bank leadership for the consolidation of previously multi branded banking divisions into 'One Barclays' brand, which resulted in better singular brand recognition in the market
- Part of the project leadership team that oversaw a seamless major restructuring of the bank both in terms of human resourcing and distribution network to achieve better operational efficiencies
- Designed and led the newly created Corporate Affairs and Marketing Department, which previously operated separately, resulting into a more integrated and coordinated approach to the work on external stakeholders (public, customers, media, regulators) outreach
Media & Public Relations Manager
Barclays Bank Zambia (now Absa Bank Zambia)
02.2008 - 06.2009
- Driving understanding of business stakeholder engagement needs across the organisation
- Scoping and defining internal and external stakeholder engagement needs for the business
- Nurturing a healthy two-way engagement process with target audiences internally
- Ensuring brand values are embedded into all communication deliverables
- Establishing and managing a network of communications champions across the business
- Measuring and monitoring effectiveness and impact of communication interventions
- Developing and publishing relevant material for various communication channels such as intranet, newsletter, bulletins
- Developing and executing effective media and public engagement plans for leadership
- Raising public profile of Barclays in-country across the Group
News Editor
The Post Newspaper
01.2003 - 01.2008
- Responsible for the smooth operations of the newspaper’s news department with more than 30 full-time journalists
- Responsible for real-time co-ordination of news gathering and smooth flow of news copy from reporters
- Responsible for day-to-day editing of editorial content/copy before submission to production department
- Occasionally responsible for writing opinion-editorial comments on behalf of the Editor-in-chief
- Responsible for expansion of news gathering efforts through opening up of new offices locally and bureau outside Zambia
- Restructured the general operations of the news department including effecting changes to news gathering deadlines which saw production timelines significantly improve, allowing newspaper printing to be completed much earlier to enable distribution to outside Lusaka locations by early morning the next day
- Oversaw the introduction of new sister publications in addition to the weekly daily editions, which saw the introduction of Saturday and Sunday editions
- Oversaw the opening of news bureaus in Zimbabwe and Cuba as part of the strategy to own gathering and reporting of regional and global news
- Serving concurrently as Chairperson of the Press Freedom Committee, I oversaw major initiatives including working with other media organisations to drive progressive legal reforms around the operations of media and journalists in the country
- Worked with various organisations to get the government of President Levy Mwanawasa to rescind the introduction of VAT on newspaper sales as it would reduce accessibility to news and information for majority of Zambians
- As Press Freedom Committee chairperson, I wrote proposals and secured funding from the European Union towards advancement of news writing and reporting skills for community media journalists across the country
Business, Economy and Political Reporter
05.2000 - 12.2003
- Writing business, economy and political news on day-to-day basis
- Career highlights as a reporter include covering international assignments such as: African Union summits in Lusaka (2001), Mozambique (2003), Libya (2005), World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Dubai in September 2003, United Nations World Summit on Information Society in December 2003, International AIDS Conference in Thailand in July 2004, National elections in Zimbabwe (2002), Tanzania (2005), Venezuela (2006), Presidential State Visits to Japan, Tanzania, South Africa: African National Congress (ANC) Leadership Conference in Polokwane (2007)
Education
Bachelor of Mass Communication -
University of Zambia
MSc - International Business Administration
SOAS University of London
Skills
- Journalism Expertise
- Marketing Communication
- Policy Advocacy and Relationship Management
- Strategic Risk Mitigation
- Organizational Strategy
- Project Coordination
- Financial Data Analysis
- Strategic Business Insight
- Corporate Governance Expertise
- Team Leadership
- Results-Oriented Performance Oversight
Affiliations
- International Association of Business Communicators
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom
Executive Training
- Advanced Strategic Leadership, 2010, Park Li Group, United States
- Global Corporate Citizenship, 2017, Milpark Business School, South Africa
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, 2019, Franklin Covey
- Building Business Acumen, 2019, Franklin Covey
- Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, 2010, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom
Directorship Board Membership
- Director, Zambia Daily Mail Board, 2012 to 2015
- Board Member, Junior Achievement Zambia, 2009 to 2012
Skills Competencies Expertise
- Journalism and media
- Marketing and corporate communication
- Public policy and stakeholder management
- Enterprise risk and reputation management
- Strategic planning
- Project management
- Financial analysis
- Business acumen
- Corporate governance
- Leading teams & performance management
Telephone
+27 79 5161692
Summary - Professional Personality
Highly skilled corporate executive with deep experience in financial services sector, development finance sector, media and journalism with an extensive wealth of knowledge of African and other global regional markets. Between 04/2023 and 02/2025, served as Senior Director and Global Head of Communication at One Acre Fund, leading a multi-disciplinary team of 25 members across various regional geographies. Previously served as Head of Communication for Barclays Africa/Absa Regional Operations (Absa Group’s businesses outside South Africa) and was part of team that oversaw the successful rollout of the Absa brand in previously Barclays-branded African operations. Prior, served as Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Barclays Bank Zambia (now Absa Bank Zambia) including being a member of the country executive management committee. Before pivoting into corporate communications, worked as a business and political journalist and served as editor at The Post newspaper in home country of Zambia, at the time the leading national daily. Served as a non-executive director on the board of the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper between 2012 and 2015. Skills, experience & expertise: mainstream journalism and media; public policy and stakeholder management; enterprise risk and reputation management; strategic planning; project management; financial analysis; business planning/acumen; corporate governance; leading teams & performance management. Strong journalism, media and communication professional with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication from University of Zambia and MSc International Business Administration from SOAS University of London.
Personal Information
Nationality: Zambian
Timeline
Global Head & Senior Director – Corporate Communications
One Acre Fund
04.2023 - 02.2025
Managing Partner
Aprio Strategic Communications Group
05.2021 - 03.2023
Head of Communications, Absa Regional Operations
Absa Group
06.2012 - 03.2020
Head of Corporate Affairs and Marketing
Barclays Bank Zambia (now Absa Bank Zambia)
05.2009 - 06.2012
Media & Public Relations Manager
Barclays Bank Zambia (now Absa Bank Zambia)
02.2008 - 06.2009
News Editor
The Post Newspaper
01.2003 - 01.2008
Business, Economy and Political Reporter
05.2000 - 12.2003
MSc - International Business Administration
SOAS University of London
Bachelor of Mass Communication -
University of Zambia
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