The current general manager of Jacaranda FM, Kevin Fine, will be leaving the station after eight years at the helm. Fine is leaving to start a new business within the division. He will be the founding managing director of Expedite, and this business will aim to create new value for clients, the stations and stakeholders by leveraging radio's resources and inventory.

The division says that Fine has been a 'key part' of Jacaranda FM’s success over the last few years; he leaves the station with audience numbers on the rise and digital engagement and reach at 'unprecedented levels'.
 
Nick Grubb, Kagiso Media Radio chief executive, says that he is looking forward to great things from Fine and Expedite. "Kevin's passion for the Jacaranda brand, and for the various initiatives that the station has been famous for over the years, has helped take the station to the heights it enjoys today," says Grubb.

"It's always a tough decision to take a winning formula and apply it to something new, but we know Kevin's skills will also help to drive this new venture into a growth engine for the portfolio in a short period of time," he adds.

Fine says that he is proud to have helped create a 'strong platform for future success and is ready for the next chapter'. "This is a great challenge, and I'm stoked to have been afforded this opportunity, which allows me to bring all my experience I've developed over the last years to contribute to high levels of innovation in the media space," Fine adds. 

More details on Expedite will be made available when it is formally launched in September. Another significant move is the appointment of Charis Coleman to assume a new position as market engagement manager across East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM.

Formerly in charge of the digital content teams, Coleman has been instrumental in helping the radio brands strive to stay at the top of the audience rankings (compared with other radio station websites) for the last 11 years.

"Charis will still be a driving force in our online content strategy, but she is now going to have a very specific focus on gathering as much data out of our audience interactions as possible. [This is] for the benefit of our programming and marketing teams and also for our customers," says Grubb.

Coleman says that she is looking forward to working with the radio teams to 'build a more complete understanding of the radio audience across various platforms'.

"The radio industry is at a point where big data needs to be considered," says Coleman. "Now, more than ever, consumers expect brands to understand them and treat engagements as evidence that they are committed to knowing them better as individuals. Whether it be through events, competitions, promotions or content, brands will benefit from going the extra mile."
 
Jacaranda FM’s finance manager, Vuyani Dombo, has been promoted to head of finance: radio and will oversee the radio division finance teams. The appointment will be effective from Sunday, 1 September.

"With our ambitious growth plans and simultaneous focus on responsible cost management, [Dombo] will step up his involvement across all our assets to ensure we are both successful and responsible," says Grubb.

Dombo adds, "As we seek to maximise shareholder value from our radio assets, I look forward to driving our portfolio efforts to optimise financial management, improve governance and explore growth initiatives."

Both of Kagiso Media's key stations have had vacancies in the marketing manager positions, and the recent changes have now included the appointments of Leith Smith at Jacaranda FM and Tanya Davis at ECR. Both were acting in the position in the last financial year, and both constitute a promotion from within the marketing departments at each station.

"It's great to see how both Leith and Tanya have stepped up to really make an impact on the marketing of both brands in a limited time. It's always great to be able to promote internally and give other opportunities to more staff within the structures too," concludes Grubb.

The Jacaranda FM general manager position will be advertised in due course.

For more information, visit www.kagisomedia.co.za.