Edna Mohale-Maphita, Head of Marketing, Kenvue SSA – From Chemical Engineering to Marketing

Edna Mohale-Maphita, Marketing Director of Kenvue SSA (Photo source: provided)

Her mom, a domestic worker, couldn’t afford college tuition, so she had to rethink her career aspirations.

She studied for work and then enrolled in a diploma in public relations. She then went on to gain qualifications in sales, marketing and business.

Twenty years later, she is a Chartered Marketer and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of South Africa (IoDSA) and has extensive marketing experience in senior and management roles across a range of industries both locally and globally.

In her current role, she leads a passionate marketing team that delivers everyday care to South African consumers through brands such as Neutrogena, Johnson’s Baby, Listerine, Nicorette and Benylin.

“I’m passionate about meeting evolving consumer needs and identifying opportunities to meet those needs through brand purpose-led communications, brand building and innovation.”

What is the biggest challenge you face as a woman in your career?

The biggest challenge was joining an all-male executive team (Exco) with a long history of working together, with no female representation and no people of color.

This made it difficult to develop new business strategies because some executive committee members resisted change or saw things differently.

What helped me overcome this challenge was staying authentic, confident, and having a clear vision and purpose. I took the time to learn, used data and insights to support my proposals and decisions, and sought guidance.

This gave me more confidence and helped me perform better.

As a woman, how do you view leadership? What do you think are the key qualities of an effective leader? What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of being a woman?

Authentic and conscious leadership is essential to me. I don’t try to emulate or be someone else. I believe in taking responsibility, being performance-oriented, and being compassionate.

An effective leader should be inspiring, transparent, have vision and purpose, lead with integrity and know how to understand and support their team.

As a woman, I have a natural caring quality and use this to support those around me.

When I joined Kenvue a year ago, I was excited to join the SSA board, which was well represented with women from all backgrounds and allowed for diversity and different perspectives.

What initiatives or projects are you most proud of and why do you think they were successful?

I am most proud of those meaningful initiatives that have changed, or attempted to change, the daily lives of South Africans.

• Joining Kenvue as Head of Marketing in 2023, I had the opportunity to launch Aveeno in South Africa, dedicated to relieving a variety of skin conditions. We launched a range of products to support consumers on their skin journey and launched our In my skin campaign. The campaign is a transformative initiative to redefine body skincare, making it more accessible and more compatible with South Africans’ skin. Aveeno aims to make every South African feel comfortable, informed and proud in their own skin.
• In my previous role at Tiger Consumer Brands, I had the opportunity to manage the reputation and repositioning of the Koo brand to drive the achievement of the objectives. This reaffirmed the role that the brand continues to play in all South African households. It also raised awareness about healthy eating. It created jobs across the value chain, including appointing black women farmers and profiling them. In addition, it provides scholarships for young people to pursue their dreams in a field where there are few opportunities or funding.

What advice would you give to other women aspiring to succeed in your industry?

• Be yourself, don’t try to pursue someone else’s dreams
• Have vision and goals
• Good at using data to gain insights to drive business decisions
• Be confident, have your space, and don’t apologize
• have fun