Ian Fernandes, former CEO of Mediamax Networks, MD of Nation Broadcasting and Digital and MD of KTN has been appointed to the Board of Engage BCW, a Kenyan Public Relations and Communication agency.
With his addition to the Engage BCW Board as Executive Director, Ian is expected to add value to the PR agency as it targets its next phase of growth.
Ian has a proven track record in growing and scaling businesses gained over a 27-year career spanning the media, technology and communication industry. In his new position, he will support the Engage BCW management team with driving growth, transformation, innovation and strategic-thinking to leverage on the massive business opportunities in Kenya and the Sub-Saharan region.
Ian started off his career as an ICT consultant at KPMG, and later joined the Standard Group in 1993 as the IT manager. Within four years, he rose through the ranks to be appointed as both the Managing Director of KTN and the Group Technical and Production Director, serving both the television station and Standard newspaper.
In 2005, he joined Nation Media Group (NMG) as the Managing Director in charge of the company’s Broadcasting Division. In 9 years at NMG he oversaw the business turnaround of NTV Kenya, launched NTV Uganda and was responsible for the strategy and formulation of the group’s new Digital Division.
In 2014 he moved to Mediamax as the CEO, where he served for 5 years. While at Mediamax, Ian disrupted the Kenyan newspaper market by re-launching People Daily as Africa’s first national free newspaper, relaunched K24 TV with revamped program content and re-formatted the group’s seven radio stations. These include Kameme Fm , Milele Fm, Meru Fm, Mayian Fm, Emoo fm, and Pilipili Fm to become forerunners in their respective categories.
Commenting on his appointment, Ian said, “There is now a fine line between PR and advertising, with many brands now realizing that what your consumers say about you, is now more important than what you say about yourself. We have had to relook at established ways, to come up with new solutions to meet client needs.”
