Janine Allem is the Managing Director at Black River FC.

She started her journey in the communication industry in Account Management and has worked many different brands in various categories including FMCG, Retail, Hospitality, Financial Services, Tele Communication and also several Pro Bono Accounts.

She started her career at Bates and then joined The Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg where she was Client Service Director.

After Jupiter she helped set up a small agency called HarrisonHuman where she spent two years; and then rejoined Jupiter for two years before joining Black River FC where she has been for seven years. 

Gia Callinicos is the Strategic Planner at Black River FC and has just shy
of 7 years experience in the communication industry.

She qualified with a BA in Marketing Communication and then found herself at AAA School of Advertising where she completed her Honours.

Gia began her career at The Jupiter Drawing Room JHB, briefly crossed
the floor to marketing and was then an integral player in the launch of Virgin
Money Insurance in South Africa.

Some of the brands Gia has worked on include Absa Bank, Brand South
Africa and Discovery Health. 

Vanessa was born to advertise.

She qualified from the AAA School of Advertising with honours in Art Direction in 1996; and has been working in advertising ever since. She started her career at Mcann-Erickson; but spent most of her time “growing up” under the wings of Graham Warsop at The Jupiter Drawing Room as well as Gerry Human at Ogilvy.

She was voted 5th most awarded Art Director in SA in 2004. Her awards include three Cannes Gold, 10 Cannes Silver, eight Cannes Bronze, Loerie Golds, D&AD’s, London Awards, Clios etc.

Her most outstanding achievements include brushing her toddler’s teeth and getting him to eat his vegetables. 

Ahmed Tilly began his career at FCB before spending a couple of years at Publicis. He then moved to The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town where he was appointed Creative Director. He returned to Johannesburg to work at TBWA/Gavin Reddy. In 2005, Tilly started up Black River FC. In a career that spans over16 years, Tilly has worked on brands like Mini, 1st for Women, Nando’s, Virgin Money, Toyota, Hyundai, British Airways, Sony Playstation, Yfm, BBC, Musica, Galaxy & Jewellers, Foschini, Lucky Star and host of others, winning awards around the globe over the years.

He is a recipient of several Cannes awards, a silver Nominee at D&AD as well as an entrant into its annual and has won a host of South African Loerie Awards and other international Awards.