Dr. Ivan May championing the Wits Legacy

Last edited: May 06, 2010

Posted by Business and Arts South Africa

Dr Ivan May is a thoroughbred Wits Alumni. He obtained his BSc, BSc Honours, Masters, PhD and MBA qualifications from this institution.

He started his career with a ten year commitment to academia in the biological sciences at Wits University and the Agricultural University in the Netherlands. Subsequently, Dr May went on to serve as the strategic, brand and marketing visionary for several companies in the private sector, including Greatermans, Ogilvy Worldwide and Nedcor Ltd from where he retired in 2003.

Dr May has served on the boards of several organisations including the Advisory Council for the United Nations Earth Summit 2002, the International Advertising Association, the Association of Marketers of South Africa and the South African Advertising Research Foundation. He is also a former chair of both the Loerie and Raptor Awards.

He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Constitution Hill Trust of South Africa, the Intellectual Capital Corporation of Africa, and Radio Today. He also serves on the board of the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa, the Vodacom Foundation, the National Research Foundation and the National Biotech Advisory Committee. A council member of the Institute of Directors, Dr May plays a key role in the Charities Aid Foundation, Business and Arts South Africa and the Salvation Army.

Dr May is an elected Fellow of both the Institute for Marketing Management South Africa and the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK, and is also a registered Chartered Marketer in South Africa, Europe and the UK. He chairs the Sunday Times Business Times Marketing Excellence Awards Council and serves on the King 3 Committee on Corporate Governance. He also chairs the Council of Chartered Marketers of South Africa.

He has been involved in the Council of the Market Theatre Foundation for many years and has also served as Vice-Chancellor of the Order of St John in SA.

The recipient of prestigious awards, Dr May holds the Endangered Wildlife Trusts’ Cheetah Award, the WWF Gold Medal; the BirdLife SA Eagle Award; the Marketing Federation of South Africa’s gold Loerie Award and the Association of Marketers’ prestigious Protea Award, amongst others.

Dr May, a World Fellow of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, received a Knighthood of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

More importantly, Dr May has recently been appointed as the President of Convocation of Wits University and is an elected member of the Senate and Council. He also holds an associate professorship in the Faculty of Science.