Kessel is the former CEO and CCO of Leo Burnett South Africa and co-founder and CCO of OwenKessel (before its acquisition by the Publicis Groupe).

He comes with a track record of award-winning creative work over two decades, combined with entrepreneurial excellence in building an integrated agency from the ground up; he drove its creative and strategic outputs to acquisition and merged the agency into a global giant.

Considering the portfolio of WPP Team Liquid, created as a bespoke solution for Distell’s Tier One brands, about 20 of Kessel's years have been spent doing alcohol marketing for some of South Africa’s best-loved brands.

He worked on Castle Lite, where his team was responsible for some of the content-based campaigns in the early 2000s, and also delivered award-winning work for brands like Amstel Lager circa 2010, arresting decline and returning it to growth as a result of some of South Africa’s favourite beer advertising (Boxer, Chef, Amstel Golden Hour). These were cited by the Unilever Institute as some of the most relevant work targeting the South African main market.

Kessel says, "This opportunity, to guide some of South Africa’s most wonderful and powerful brands and tell quintessential, positive South African stories is, of course, a great responsibility but also one that I relish getting stuck into."

"Guiding my team through the transforming landscape of communication while keeping our market engrossed with relevant, insight-based creative work — all with the aim of creating work that not only stands out, but shapes our combined culture positively — is something that drives me personally," he adds.

He has also been responsible for brands McDonald’s, Ciroc, Dimension Data, MTN, as well as Vodacom’s 'Yebo Gogo' campaign in the late 1990s.

Paul Jackson, CEO of Grey and Liquid, adds, "As the WPP Team Liquid model develops and scales, it is fantastic to be able to attract some of the best talent in the market. Felix brings an integrated approach to the unit that is not just about creative output, but also the way in which we structure to get to the best work."

"He is a thought leader in the industry, commenting regularly in the media and with his entrepreneurial roots. We know he will resonate with the business imperatives — not only of our business but, more importantly, with his clients," Jackson says.

Felix will officially take the reins in January 2020, partnering with WPP Team Liquid MD, Mike Middleton. "We are so excited having someone of Felix’s calibre on board and look forward to him continuing to drive creative excellence on the Distell brands," Middleton concludes.

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