Getty Gizaw Marketer

Getty Gizaw has built a career from her passion for promoting Africa to the global market.

She brings a wealth of experience in marketing and public relations as well as knowledge of different regions' business, political and regulatory environments, social customs, media landscapes and other factors crucial to success in Africa’s emerging markets.

Based in New York, she is currently international vice president of THISDAY/Leaders & Co, one of Africa’s leading, privately held media conglomerates, with 800 employees in several countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, the US and the UK.

She oversees operations, marketing and sales, brand and strategic development and partnerships.

She also has oversight of numerous corporate functions, including finance, budgeting and cash flow, human resources, corporate culture and process and internal and external communications.

Gizaw began her career independently, founding her firm, G2 Media Inc, 10 years ago in New York with one client, professional US football player and Super Bowl MVP, Terrell Davis.

G2 has gone on to provide global marketing, management, public relations and event production services to clients as varied as Clear Channel, the US’s largest radio conglomerate, the United Nations and other corporations and non-governmental organisations, as well as celebrities, restaurant groups and various national tourism authorities in Africa and the Caribbean.

G2 has executed numerous successful marketing campaigns and events globally, including movie premieres, stadium concerts, record releases, brand launches, and award shows.

In the course of her work, Gizaw has also brought numerous celebrities and dignitaries to visit, speak or perform in Africa, including Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Elton John, Shakira, Usher and many others.

In conjunction with South African Tourism, she developed numerous campaigns to raise the country's profile internationally as a world-class tourism and film location.

In 2006, engaged by the South African Broadcasting Corporation to help boost the visibility of the Cape Town International Film Festival, Gizaw created the Sithengi Celebrity Roundtable, a high-powered exchange of film-industry ideas between American film makers and stars, including actor Morgan Freeman and director Chris Robinson.

In 2007, Gizaw organised a highly publicised tour of South Africa for Best Actor Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker and his family.

Most recently, she arranged for and produced R&B star R Kelly’s performance at the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

A native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and a US resident, Gizaw grew up and received her education in countries throughout Africa, Europe, and Canada before graduating magna cum laude from Long Island University with three degrees in media arts, marketing and management.