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Published: February 3, 2020

New Advantage South Africa Team Dylan Piatti and Thando Ntshinga

Advantage Group International (AGI) is proud to announce the appointment of Dylan Piatti as Managing Director for Africa, along with Thando Ntshinga as Program Manager for South Africa.

Piatti brings with him a wealth of consumer industry acumen and strategic insight, having been involved with Deloitte Africa’s SSA Consumer and Manufacturing Industry since 2010. Most recently he served as the firm’s Senior Strategist for the industry in Africa. In a thought leadership capacity, he has co-authored retail and CPG Africa reports, led executive workshops, panels, and given keynotes including at the World Investment Forum, the Global Digital Leaders Forum, Global Ecommerce Week, EA and SA Manufacturing Indaba, Africa Retail Summit, Finance Indaba, CGCSA, and Food & Beverage Africa.

“The South African retail landscape is highly competitive and presents some fascinating dynamics as brands battle to reach increasingly demanding, yet highly diverse, consumer segments”, says Richard Kellam, Advantage CEO. “Dylan’s knowledge of the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the industry will add tremendous value to our South African and African client base, as he acts as a strategic advisor to convert their Advantage results into targeted action plans”.

Piatti will remain active in industry and not-for-profit initiatives, championing the growth of the Digital Economy in Africa through his position on the Board for the Ecommerce Forum Africa, while also remaining involved in an Advisory Board capacity with the DTN (Digital Trade Network), ATIGS, TAPS and other Africa focused development initiatives.

“As a strong believer that meaningful business-to-business relationships begin with collaboration and ecosystem development, I’m excited to lead Advantage’s engagement programs in the African market”, says Piatti. “Digital transformation will play a massive role throughout the continent, and I’m especially excited about the role that AGI’s digital solutions can play in facilitating business partners to work more effectively together.”

In addition to managing the South African program portfolio and building up a local team, over time Piatti will be leveraging his knowledge and network in other sub-Saharan African countries to expand Advantage’s presence into new markets within the continent.

Thando Ntshinga, who served as Program Manager in South Africa, will be rejoining the organization with expanded responsibilities. During her break from Advantage since mid-2018, Ntshinga re-focused her efforts full time on e-Volving SA, a boutique data and analytics talent recruitment firm that she co-founded in 2015.

“I’m excited to be re-joining the Advantage team and look forward to being part of this important quest to help businesses, across sectors, shape and strengthen their strategic partnerships”, says Ntshinga.

In addition to supporting Piatti in an operational capacity, Ntshinga will play an active role in managing some locally based retail and supplier clients.

“Thando is a huge asset for our South African business, having successfully managed our programs in the past and struck up solid relationships with our local clientele. I have every confidence that she and Dylan will drive our local operations to new heights”, says Anthony Guadagnolo, VP of Commercial and Market Development, Advantage.

About Advantage Group International

Advantage is on a mission to help businesses unlock growth through partnerships. Healthy relationships are the foundation of any successful business, large or small. Today’s ultra-competitive environment demands listening and responding. Making it matter helps everyone play at the top of their game. That’s what we’ve been doing at Advantage in 40+ countries for 30+ years. Helping businesses be better together.