Construction World April 2016

CONSTRUCTION WORLD

APRIL

2016

FRESH APPROACH

MARKETPLACE

A few weeks into the job, Twala is focused on making Corobrik

the number one brand choice for clay bricks and paving products.

Reporting to Corobrik’s commercial director, Musa Shangase,

Twala’s key responsibilities are to oversee the company’s public relations

functions, above-the-line marketing and brand management.

“The marketing team are doing a great job for the brand and I am looking

forward to continuing this legacy, revitalising tried and trusted strategies

and introducing new ideas where needed,” she said.

Twala grew up on the East Rand in Gauteng, obtained a bachelor’s degree

in business administration from CIDA City Campus in Lyndhurst and has

spent most of her 11-year career working in Johannesburg.

Her last job before joining Corobrik, was marketing manager for the

JSE-listed Aveng Group: manufacturing operations of construction, infra-

structure and engineering companies.

Here, she was responsible for managing all marketing activities for the

group’s six business units, with a focus on promoting the brand.

While working for Aveng, she was part of the task team that built and

marketed a concrete factory at Tete in the north of Mozambique. She

also managed the marketing of various newly acquired or newly merged

business units.

Prior to that Twala was head of marketing at South African National Blood

Service for five years where she managed a division of 22 staff members.

Her key role there was stakeholder relationship management, building part-

nerships and networks with the media, large corporations and institutions.

She has also worked as advertising manager for Marketing Concepts at

Vaal Mall Shopping Centre, responsible for events, promotions and exhibi-

Hatch and the WCCD will jointly promote the

critical role that ISO-certified city data can

play in developing new solutions for planning

and infrastructure challenges faced by urban

communities in the 21

century.

The two organisations will also build inno-

vative tools to map and analyse urban trends

and associated city responses. As urbanisation

around the world drives new and established

cities to find ways to achieve their social and

economic goals more productively, under-

standing how cities can improve is key.

“Hatch and the WCCD will provide a combi-

nation of practical, useful data and expertise on

how cities can use this to meet their goals,” says

Martin Doble, Hatch’s global managing director

of infrastructure.

Doble is responsible for the strategy, devel-

opment and operation of Hatch’s global infra-

structure businesses in transportation and

supply chain logistics, economic corridors, urban

development and smart cities and water.

He leads business units and regional lead-

ership teams in developing businesses driven

by outcomes for Hatch’s clients and their

communities, and drawing on Hatch’s diverse

and differentiated skills and technologies.

When Pulane Twala joined Corobrik’s Durban

office as marketing manager on 11 January this

year, she was looking forward to bringing a fresh

approach to this leading brickmanufacturer which

has been in operation for 113 years.

tions and was an account executive for Fishwick Printers and Du Toit Majola

Advertising Agency in Johannesburg.

“I am a marketing all-rounder,” she says with a smile. “I consider myself

an expert in brand auditing and overall brand management. I also have

wide-ranging experience in media relations and implementing corporate

identity programmes as well as change management, specifically geared

towards brand identity changes.”

Describing herself as “a people's person, feisty and energetic”, Twala

believes that one of her key challenges in her new job will be in the fast-de-

veloping digital arena, consolidating Corobrik’s position in the digital space

and continuing to establish a strong digital reputation.

A self-proclaimed ‘short-course freak’, she has completed numerous

courses at different organisations in subjects ranging from financial plan-

ning and budgeting to performance management customer relationship

management and media relations.

“I also work hard at keeping abreast of new developments in the industry

and being at the forefront of the latest business trends,” she said.

Pulane Twala, Corobrik marketing manager.

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FORGED

Hatch, a global engineering and consulting firm with expertise

in the infrastructure, mining and metals, and energy sectors, has

announced a strategic partnership with the World Council on City

Data (WCCD), a world leader in standardised city data and metrics.

Martin Doble is global managing director of infrastructure at Hatch.