Influence begins within: The women helping move Kena Outdoor forward

Women’s Month creates an important space to recognise achievement, representation and progress. For Kena Outdoor, it is an opportunity to look more closely at the leadership behind the business and the work required to turn transformation from a statement into an everyday practice.

As Kena evolves from inventory to influence, its ambition extends beyond the media assets it owns. It is also about the quality of the decisions, systems, relationships and leadership that shape how the business performs and the value it creates for clients. That evolution begins within.

Three women reflect different but interconnected dimensions of this new era: Zandile Radebe, head of business operations, brings operational strength, Constance Manamela, finance director, provides financial stewardship, and Mahlatse Kekana, general manager, drives organisational leadership. Their responsibilities differ, but each contributes to how Kena operates, grows and delivers on its ambitions.

Zandile Radebe – head of business operations

Turning vision into action

Zandile Radebe joined Kena Outdoor as head of business operations at a pivotal stage in the company's growth journey. She brings more than 13 years of leadership experience across business operations, business development, sales, and retail, gained within a range of leading local and global brands.

Her career includes senior roles at GHD (Good Hair Day), Vuse (British American Tobacco), Dermalogica, Orlando Pirates Football Club, and Avon. She also successfully owned and operated a Sorbet franchise, giving her first-hand experience in entrepreneurship, commercial management, and operational leadership.

I am committed to building a trusted, scalable, and high-performing operations function. Through accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence, I aim to strengthen execution, empower our people, and provide meaningful insights that support sustainable business growth.

This diverse background has equipped her with a strong ability to lead high-performing teams, drive business growth, translate strategy into execution, and build operational frameworks that support accountability and sustainable results. At Kena Outdoor, Radebe focuses on strengthening operational effectiveness, improving ways of working, and creating the structure, processes, and insights that enable teams to perform with clarity, manage risk proactively, and deliver consistently for clients.

Constance Manamela – finance director

Financial stewardship as a growth engine

Every ambitious organisation needs a strong and steady financial foundation. As finance director, Constance Manamela helps connect Kena’s growth ambitions to the discipline required to pursue them responsibly. Her role sits at the intersection of financial accountability, informed decision-making and long-term business sustainability.

Much of this work happens behind the scenes, but its influence is felt across the organisation. Sound financial stewardship gives leadership and teams clearer visibility of the business, supports confident planning and helps Kena assess opportunities with an appropriate understanding of cost, risk and return.

Financial discipline is not a brake on ambition – it is what gives the business the confidence to pursue it.

In a period of transformation, financial leadership is not about limiting ambition. It is about creating the stability that allows ambition to move. Through consistency, careful oversight and attention to detail, Manamela’s contribution strengthens the conditions for responsible growth and gives the wider business a firmer foundation from which to act.

Mahlatse Kekana – general manager

Balancing stability with momentum

For general manager Mahlatse Kekana, leading through change requires a deliberate balance between stability and momentum. Having spent more than 12 years with Kena, she brings deep institutional knowledge while remaining conscious that experience should not become attachment to the way things have always been done.

Experience is valuable, but it should never become a limitation. Real leadership requires the humility to embrace new ideas and evolve alongside the business.

Mahlatse describes her leadership approach through two principles: clarity and accountability. Her focus is to help teams understand where the company is going, why the journey matters and how their individual contributions connect to the wider strategy. That includes listening to the realities teams face, strengthening collaboration across departments and addressing risks before they become obstacles.

Her recent completion of the Management Advancement Programme at Wits Business School has strengthened this whole-business perspective. The programme expanded her grounding across human resources, economics, accounting, strategic management, marketing and digital fundamentals. It also challenged her to look beyond isolated problems and consider how decisions affect people, profitability, culture and market positioning across the organisation.

Influence begins within

Three dimensions of one transformation

Kena’s move from inventory to influence cannot be achieved through a positioning statement alone. It is built through decisions made, challenges resolved, standards upheld and people supported. Operational strength makes execution dependable. Financial stewardship gives ambition a sustainable foundation. Organisational leadership connects people and priorities to a shared direction.

Together, Radebe, Manamela and Kekana represent the leadership behind the progress. Their work illustrates that influence is not always the most visible contribution in the room. Sometimes it is the structure that helps a team perform, the discipline that keeps a business steady or the clarity that enables people to move forward together.

As Kena Outdoor continues its journey from inventory to influence, the women driving that change are proof that visibility begins with the work done behind the scenes.

Visibility that moves brands. From inventory to influence.

About Kena Outdoor

Kena Outdoor is a South African out-of-home media business with a 23-year legacy. Through its from inventory to influence positioning, Kena is strengthening the connection between quality media environments, audience intelligence and the outcomes brands seek to achieve. Its promise is simple: Visibility that moves brands.