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Raymond van Niekerk

Adjunct Professor, with expertise in Branding, Marketing, Business Strategy, Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility, University of Cape Town

Branding & Sponsorship Expert, Motivational Speaker, Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB). Raymond motivates, creates, builds, and challenges brands and businesses.

Currently active in brand advisory services, sponsorship management and small scale equity investing, Raymond also finds time for public speaking engagements. Through covering various topics including corporate culture, building corporate and personal brands, the interrelated nature of culture and brand, and various other motivational topics, he gets to share his own business and life lessons learned. He also teaches branding classes at the UCT GSB.

Raymond was for 16 years the architect of Investec's brand, as global head of marketing for the group. Prior to joining Investec, he was founding partner and director of Sw!tch Branding & Design, with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. Before starting Sw!tch, Raymond was Director of Consulting, and board member of KSDP Pentagraph (at the time the 10th biggest design consultancy in the world), where he was involved in both international & local branding, and design projects. He has also worked at BP and served as a professional soldier.
Raymond matriculated at Grey College in Bloemfontein, read for a Bachelor of Arts (Communication) degree at the University of the Free State and holds a MBA from the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town.

Five branding mistakes you should avoid in your small business

Mar 30, 2017 04:26 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

Small and medium enterprises tend to underestimate the power of branding. This must rank as one of the deadliest mistakes in the world of making business. You have most likely read about the branding failures of large...

Economy

U.S.-Iran Tensions Escalate as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Disrupts Global Oil Markets

Geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran continue to intensify, significantly impacting global energy markets and international diplomacy. U.S. naval forces recently intercepted a sanctioned vessel, the M/V...

Canadian Dollar Outlook: Resilient Performance Driven by Oil Prices and Market Dynamics

The Canadian dollar (CAD) has demonstrated notable resilience among G10 currencies in recent weeks, even as domestic economic data shows signs of softness. According to Goldman Sachs, this strength comes despite...

U.S.-Iran Conflict Stalls as Diplomatic Efforts Collapse and Global Oil Tensions Rise

Hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough in the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran have faded as negotiations remain stalled, prolonging uncertainty in global markets and geopolitics. Efforts to end the two-month conflict...

U.S. Sanctions Target Chinese Refinery Over Iranian Oil Purchases

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., a major Chinese independent refinery, over its large-scale purchases of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. The...

US Dollar Weakens as Iran Talks Boost Risk Appetite in Forex Market

The U.S. dollar edged lower on Friday as global investors shifted toward riskier assets, encouraged by renewed diplomatic signals between the United States and Iran. This movement in the forex market reflects growing...

Politics

Taiwan Minister Visits Eswatini Amid Airspace Dispute and China Pressure Claims

Taiwans Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung has arrived in Eswatini, reaffirming Taipeis determination to expand its global presence despite alleged interference from China. His visit comes shortly after Taiwan accused Beijing...

Russian Drone and Missile Strikes Devastate Dnipro, Killing 10 and Injuring Dozens

Russian forces launched a series of intense drone and missile attacks on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens in one of the most prolonged assaults in recent months. The...

Ukraine Marks 40 Years Since Chornobyl Disaster Amid Ongoing War Risks

Ukraine is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster under the shadow of continued conflict with Russia, raising fresh concerns about nuclear safety in the region. The 1986 explosion at reactor...

Palestinian Local Elections Resume in Gaza and West Bank Amid Low Turnout and Ongoing Crisis

Palestinians participated in local elections on Saturday, marking a significant political moment as voting extended to Gaza for the first time in nearly two decades. The inclusion of Deir al-Balah, a city in the Gaza...

Romania Condemns Russian Drone Incident as NATO Tensions Rise

Romania has recovered fragments of two drones following an overnight Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine, raising fresh concerns about regional security and NATO airspace violations. According to Romanias defense...

Science

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

Technology

Judge Dismisses Elon Musk’s Fraud Claims Against OpenAI, Trial to Proceed on Remaining Allegations

A U.S. federal judge has dismissed key fraud claims brought by Elon Musk in his high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI and its co-founder Sam Altman, marking a significant development in the ongoing legal battle. The ruling,...

$16B Michigan Data Center Project Boosts U.S. AI Infrastructure Expansion

Related Digital, a major data center developer, announced on Friday that it has secured $16 billion in financing to support the construction of a large-scale data center campus in Michigan. This significant investment...

U.S. Raises Alarm Over Chinese AI Firms’ Alleged IP Theft Through Model Distillation

The U.S. State Department has launched a global diplomatic effort to highlight what it describes as large-scale intellectual property theft by Chinese artificial intelligence companies. According to a diplomatic cable...

DeepSeek Launches V4 AI Models with Enhanced Reasoning and 1M Token Context Window

DeepSeek has unveiled preview versions of its latest open-source artificial intelligence models, marking a significant step forward in AI performance and reasoning capabilities. The new releases, DeepSeek-V4-Pro and...

Amazon Stock Rises as Meta Expands AWS Partnership for AI Infrastructure

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares climbed around 2% শুক্রবার morning after Meta revealed a major expansion of its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), signaling strong momentum in the growing artificial intelligence...