By Darren Gilbert

Of course, it had to be the right fit for him, both on a personal and a professional level.

Before starting his search, Gotz had been working at Ogilvy Chicago after transferring there from Ogilvy Cape Town in late 2015. He had been successful too, helping the agency to win its first Cannes Gold. However, for various reasons, the job itself didn’t fit with his expectations.

This was around mid-2016, a time when his two young sons were on summer break from school, so he, along with his family, travelled back to Cape Town for a holiday. Gotz had every intention of going back to the States; wanting to work in New York City.

However, Gotz confesses, Cape Town is “particularly beguiling”, and today, he can be found working at Old Friends young talent (OFyt) in Muizenberg. As for how he came to be sitting in an agency overlooking False Bay as opposed to one in the Big Apple, Gotz describes it as serendipitous.

“When we came back here for a holiday, we decided to ‘Airbnb’ it out in Simonstown and lo and behold, Gary Leih [OFyt co-founder and former Ogilvy colleague] lived literally four houses down the road from us,” says Gotz. “We ran into each other at the beach and he invited me to lunch.”

Prior to the chance meeting, Gotz had already met with another former colleague, Greg Burke, who also happens to work at OFyt, running the creative side of the business.

“I had lunch with Greg, and he mentioned that he was on his way to France to look for a place to live and he jokingly said I should take over from him. We both had a good laugh,” says Gotz. “But then, when Gary and I had lunch, he mentioned he had heard about that conversation and said I should really consider it.”

A week later, Burke returned from France saying he had found a little chateau that he planned on restoring and the job was there for the taking. Based on this, and following a serious bout of decision-making, Gotz decided to stay in Cape Town. However, that doesn’t mean it was an easy decision to make.

From a personal point of view, it was harrowing, he admits. “It was 180 degrees from what my family’s intentions were because we had already made the decision to move to New York. When I looked at the spread of accounts, though, it was a very attractive proposition for a creative person. I am sure if we had gone back to America, we would have been happy too. But home is home.”

It also helps that he has joined an agency where he will be getting back on the ground. “One of the things that happens when you get into very senior positions in the industry,” explains Gotz, “is you tend to move far away from the coalface. By joining OFyt, I am able to drop right back into a situation where I am very involved with the work.”

That is not all he will do, though. Besides being responsible for getting the creative work out of the agency door, he will also be heavily involved in OFyt’s internship programme. OFyt currently takes on 10 interns every year. Considering the agency employs between 30 and 40 people, that means 20% to 25% of the agency is made up of interns. While a massive commitment, Gotz is looking forward to the challenge.

Having also signed on as a co-partner and shareholder of the business too, this brings a unique element to his position.

“It’s definitely a different vibe; having a stake in the business,” he admits. “Now, I’ll be going into a pitch knowing that if we win it, it will manifestly change the fortune of my company. But that is very exciting. I want this to be worth something and I’d like to grow something significant.”

“This industry has also been extremely generous to me over the last 20 years and now I feel a certainly responsibility to make that career available to more people in this country,” adds Gotz. “That is what you get with OFyt – this is an agency built around a bunch of people who want to give something back to the industry. That’s what I want to do too.”

For more information, visit www.ofyt.co.za. Alternatively, connect with Gotz on Twitter.