According to Eclipse PR, with eight years’ public relations experience, and 10 in the field of journalism, Reddy was a natural choice to steer the Johannesburg team and its continued growth strategy.
Reddy says, "This opportunity means I can work in industries I have not previously been exposed to and affords me the chance to mentor and grow young talent."
She says that her appointment comes at an interesting time for the business with successful acquisitions of new clients and the recent launch of Eclipse Online.
"It became imperative for a dedicated managing director to lead the overall strategic direction of the Johannesburg office, which my knowledge and skills, gained over time, perfectly enable me to do," she adds.
Jacki McEwen, Eclipse PR founding partner and head of strategy and client service, says, "We are thrilled to have someone of Cheryl’s calibre joining the ever stronger leadership team of the company, and look forward to seeing her champion our ethos of ‘Retain and Grow’ – both in terms of staff and clients."
"Having had careers in journalism, corporate communications and PR, Cheryl understands the daily pressures of clients, the way news is consumed, the impact on journalism and the effective and efficient support required from agencies today – all of which make her an asset to the company and an ideal managing director," McEwen adds.
Reddy says, "I am committed to the growth of Eclipse PR, its people and clients. That is my focus for the coming years."
Joulay, who has served as a media and digital strategist at some of South Africa’s prominent marketing agencies, says that he will be growing the online business as an integrated extension of the core business – providing online marketing as well as social media services as part of the Eclipse offering.
Joulay says he aims to advance Eclipse Online ahead of the curve by producing exceptional content-led social media campaigns and community management.
He adds, "Having worked across multiple functions in the marketing industry, I had always been intrigued by the relationship between consumer PR and the social media landscape.
"When the opportunity came along, I was keen to expand my skill set into management and evolve the Eclipse offering by utilising the digital and social landscape as an extension of PR campaigns, and as a separate business," he says.
McEwen adds, "We had worked with Fareez for several years prior to his appointment, so when the mutually beneficial opportunity arose to develop a new division, it was a no-brainer on who to appoint to help take our business in this new direction."
"We have first-hand experience of his skills in the digital space, as well as the results that stemmed from this, and can think of no better person to drive the evolution of Eclipse PR into the new space than him," MCEwen says.
"With Cheryl and Fareez adding their strengths to our traditional and online offerings, we believe we can take our business and clients to new heights, and bring our creative dreams to life," she concludes.
For more information, visit www.eclipsepr.co.za. You can also follow Eclipse PR on Twitter.