Trading places
● Flume Digital Marketing has appointed Mike Stopforth as MD.
He founded social media agency Cerebra, which was acquired by WPP in 2013, and was also instrumental in building digital leadership academy Beyond Binary and crisis communication agency 48HOURS.
Flume co-CEO Jacques Du Bruyn said: “Mike’s joining, coupled with our recent international expansion, is a testament to Flume’s growth and our ambition to be Africa’s leading independent agency group.”
Flume co-founder and co-CEO Ruan Oosthuizen said: “Mike’s track record of finding, developing and nurturing digital talent in an ever-evolving environment will be indispensable as we enter this next chapter of the Flume story.”
● Adams & Adams has appointed Joanne van Harmelen as a new equity partner.
She has experience as a patent attorney in life sciences, chemical inventions and plant breeders’ rights, and was admitted as a South African patent attorney in 2009. She holds a PhD in medical microbiology and vaccine development from the University of Cape Town and an LLB degree from Unisa.
Janice Galvad, partner and chair of the patent department at Adams & Adams, said: “We are delighted to welcome Joanne to Adams & Adams. Her extensive experience in intellectual property law makes her an asset to the team. We look forward to her contribution to our patent practice and supporting our clients.”
● Alexforbes has appointed Mpho Molopyane as chief economist.
She joins Alexforbes from Absa, where she was a senior economist. Before that she was an economist at Rand Merchant Bank and has also worked at the National Treasury and Standard Bank.
She has a master’s degree in econometrics from the University of
Pretoria, a master’s in global management from Fordham University and a BCom (hons) in economics from the University of Pretoria.
Alexforbes Investments CEO Ann Leepile said: “We welcome Mpho as a valuable addition to our team. Her experience in economic research and strategy will make a significant contribution to our objectives.”