When history looks back at the evolution of insight-led decision-making across South Africa’s marketing and business ecosystem, Ivan Moroke will stand out as one of the quiet architects who helped give data meaning, direction, and human relevance.

After eight transformative years, Moroke has stepped down from his role as Chief Executive Officer of Kantar South Africa.

What this simply means  is closing a chapter defined not merely by leadership titles, but by an enduring belief that accurate, efficient, and ethical data is the invisible infrastructure upon which modern life, business, and consumer trust are built.

A Compass Called Data

For Moroke, data was never just numbers. It was always a compass.

Throughout a career spanning marketing, strategy, consulting, and executive leadership, he consistently treated insight as the starting point for growth, innovation, and responsibility.

His tenure at Kantar only deepened that conviction. What began as what he imagined would be a brief two- to three-year assignment unfolded into one of the most defining eight-year chapters of his professional life.

During that period, Moroke led Kantar through moments of industry disruption, economic uncertainty, and accelerating digital change, ensuring that businesses, brands, and institutions could see consumers clearly, understand markets deeply, and make decisions grounded in truth rather than assumption.

Why Data Matters More Than We Admit

To imagine business, governance, or consumer engagement without people like Moroke stewarding data responsibly is to imagine a marketplace built on guesswork.

Without accurate and efficient data, brands lose direction, innovation stalls, and consumers become invisible.

Products miss real needs. Services fail to anticipate human realities. Trust erodes.

In that vacuum, consumers pay the price through misaligned offerings, wasted resources, and decisions made without empathy or evidence.

Moroke’s work stood firmly against that reality. He championed data not as a cold instrument, but as a living system that protects consumers, empowers organisations, and enables societies to grow with intention.

Building Something That Lasts

When Moroke joined Kantar, his ambition was deceptively simple: to make a difference, to build something meaningful, and to work with exceptional people.

Over time, that ambition materialised into teams strengthened, cultures nurtured, and relationships forged that extended beyond boardrooms and business plans.

Together with his colleagues whom he affectionately refers to as “the People of the Beautiful South of Africa” he built, learned, stretched boundaries, and proved that insight-led thinking could be both commercially powerful and deeply human.

The friendships formed along that journey, he has said, will remain lifelong.

A Career Forged at the Coalface

Long before the boardroom, Moroke’s relationship with marketing and insight was shaped at the ground level.

His professional journey formally began at British American Tobacco, where he experienced the realities of direct selling and distribution, often operating in rural markets.

That early exposure to consumers at the grassroots instilled in him a lasting respect for real-world behaviour, context, and nuance lessons that would later inform his strategic worldview.

From there, his path led into consulting at Added Value, where he directed qualitative research and strategic marketing projects for blue-chip organisations across FMCG, banking, alcohol, petrochemicals, and other key sectors.

It was during this phase that Moroke sharpened his ability to translate raw insight into actionable business strategy, working across pan-African markets and diverse consumer segments.

From Strategy to Stewardship

Moroke’s ascent into senior leadership saw him take on pivotal roles at Lowe Bull, Yellowwood Future Architects, and later TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, where he served as Group Managing Director and subsequently Chief Executive Officer.

In these roles, he led multi-city operations, drove cultural transformation, strengthened client relationships, and championed creative excellence anchored in strategic clarity.

His leadership was never about scale alone. It was about alignment between insight and creativity, culture and commerce, ambition and responsibility.

This philosophy culminated in the founding of Co-Currency, a marketing insights and strategic consultancy that reflected his belief in independent thinking, evidence-led decision-making, and the value of insight as currency in a complex marketplace.

Kantar and the Maturity of Purpose

By the time Moroke arrived at Kantar, his career had already spanned the full marketing value chain.

At Kantar, that experience converged into stewardship. As CEO, he oversaw the evolution of the organisation’s insights capability, strengthened its relevance to business leaders, and reinforced the role of data as a stabilising force in times of uncertainty.

His leadership extended beyond operations into industry development.

Over the years, he has served as chairperson of the jury for the APEX Awards, chaired the Brand Council South Africa, acted as vice-chairperson of the Association for Communication and Advertising.

There, he contributed actively to the Effies South Africa and the Marketing Achievement Awards.

Across these platforms, he consistently advocated for the strategic value of marketing and the ethical use of insight.

Leadership Beyond the Office

Although stepping away from day-to-day operations, Moroke is not stepping away from purpose.

He continues to serve Kantar as a Non-Executive Board Director, ensuring continuity, perspective, and institutional memory remain anchored within the organisation.

At the same time, his broader contribution deepens through roles that reflect his belief in higher-purpose leadership.

As Chairperson of Heartlines: Fathers Matter, Board Director at The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, and Chairperson of the Marketing Achievement Awards, his influence extends beyond commerce into social development, culture, and values-driven impact.

The Privilege of Choice and the Courage to Pause

At this stage of his career, Moroke speaks of something rarely acknowledged in leadership conversations: the privilege of choice.

Earned through decades of dedication, this freedom now allows him to design a life that balances passion and purpose.

Rather than chasing the idea of work-life balance, he has embraced work-life integration, creating intentional space for thinking, learning, reflection, and new adventures.

Before engaging his next chapter, he plans a sabbatical to reset and recharge, recognising that the same sources of energy that sustain leaders can also deplete them if left unchecked.

The Next Chapter of Ikigai

As Moroke steps forward, gratitude defines his tone. Gratitude to colleagues, clients, partners, and an industry that allowed him to turn insight into impact. l

Gratitude for the freedom to revisit familiar sectors from fresh angles, explore new roles, and finally pursue long-held passions.

His departure from the CEO role does not signal an ending, but a transition, a deliberate shift toward purpose-driven contribution, reflective leadership, and what he describes as the next chapter of Ikigai.

In an era where data often overwhelms, misleads, or dehumanises, Ivan Moroke’s legacy reminds the industry of what insight is meant to do, and that is nothing but to illuminate truth, protect consumers, and help society make better choices.

And in that legacy, his voice measured, principled, and deeply human, will continue to resonate.