Gareth Leck

One of the keys to Gareth’s success – as both Group CEO and founding partner of Joe Public United – is his unique passion for driving both the business of creativity and the creativity of business.

Having completed a B.Com. degree at UCT, followed by a post-graduate Diploma in Marketing at AAA School of Advertising, Gareth joined Pepe Marais in opening Joe Public Take-Away Advertising in 1998. In only its second year of business, Joe Public was nominated by Financial Mail as Emerging Agency of the Year. By 2014, the agency had risen to the top of the industry, ranked by the Adfocus awards as Agency of the Year.

In his personal capacity, Gareth has been voted as Marklives.com’s Agency Leaders: Most- admired Ad Agency Boss in South Africa in 2014 and again as runner-up in 2015. In 2016, he was again awarded as runner-up for Agency Leaders: Most Admired Ad Agency Boss in Jozi. Gareth’s ability to both recognise and apply exceptional creativity in solving complex business challenges has earned him a position on a number of boards including the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) and the Loerie Awards.

Gareth’s approach to creativity-focused business solutions is also mirrored in Joe Public’s emergence as the top agency at the 2016 and 2017 Apex Awards. Being focused on campaigns that drive business results, Gareth is strongly aligned to the agency’s purpose of growing its clients, relishing the opportunity to build brands such as Cell C, Chicken Licken, Clover, Jet, Nedbank, SAB and many more.

Under Gareth’s business leadership, Joe Public United is currently ranked as one of the top independent South African advertising groups, where he remains committed to Joe Public’s purpose of growing its people, clients and country.