SAMRO has announced a number of key appointments to boost its strategic repositioning as a 21st-century copyright asset management and services society.

SAMRO – the Southern African Music Rights Organisation – is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new focus and direction to benefit its more than 10,000 members and licensees.

The music rights organisation has made the following staff changes:

• Gregory Zoghby, SAMRO’s former Chief Operating Officer, will assume responsibility of the newly created position of Group Chief Financial Officer as well as Managing Director of Gratia Artis (Pty) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of SAMRO that will serve as a holding company for all non-royalty revenue streams.
• Bronwen Harty, former General Manager: Finance and Administration, will be promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer and will take responsibility for all Performing and Mechanical Rights operations.
• André le Roux, former General Manager: SAMRO Endowment, will be promoted to the position of Executive General Manager for Corporate Social Investment and acting Managing Director: SAMRO Foundation.
• Sipho Dlamini has been appointed as the General Manager: Marketing and Business Development, and will be responsible for managing the SAMRO brand, as well as market repositioning and development, inter alia.
• Tiyani Maluleke, former Business Development Specialist at SAMRO, has been appointed to the newly created post of Stakeholder Relations Executive: CEO's Office.

Greg Zoghby started out at SAMRO as GM: Operations six years ago, before being appointed to the position of COO. In his new role as Group CFO, he will have oversight of SAMRO departments including finance, credit control, human resources, organisational development, legal services, company secretarial services and general administration.

He aims to reduce SAMRO’s ratio of expenditure to revenue, streamline its financial reporting and ensure proper governance in terms of the Companies Act. Furthermore, Zoghby will head up Gratia Artis, SAMRO’s non-music rights commercial arm, which aims to generate additional revenue for members through non-licensing avenues.

As SAMRO’s new COO, Bronwen Harty will oversee all Performing and Mechanical Rights operations, including the operations division, information management and services (IM&S) and sales.

Harty has been with SAMRO for five years, having started at the organisation as a financial accountant. In striving to realise SAMRO’s core strategic goals, her key responsibilities will include delivering upgraded IT and administration systems, developing synergies within the Group and the three divisions that report to her, and maximising the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation while developing new business opportunities.

An exciting new development is the establishment of the SAMRO Foundation, a newly registered non-profit organisation that will replace the current SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts (SENA). André le Roux will continue as the interim MD of the SAMRO Foundation, in addition to his new position as EGM: Corporate Social Investment.

Le Roux, who has been involved with the SAMRO Endowment since 2006, hopes to continue his vision of “roots to fruits” – nurturing the arts at grassroots level by investing in arts education at primary, secondary and tertiary level. This will be achieved through “platforms for excellence” such as the Overseas Scholarships competition, the Hubert van der Spuy music competition and the Cape Town and Gauteng big band festivals.

He will also be focusing on building the SAMRO Archive and supporting the recently formed Stakeholder Hub with other arts industry organisations.

Sipho Dlamini brings to SAMRO a wealth of experience in the music industry, both locally and internationally. Over the past decade he has worked in South Africa, Dubai, Los Angeles and the Far East in senior executive positions. He has produced top South African artists, established record companies and worked on the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

As GM: Marketing and Business Development, Dlamini will be responsible for managing SAMRO’s and the SAMRO Group’s brand. He will also assist in repositioning SAMRO in the market as a copyright asset management and services business. A key component of his role is market development, including negotiating agreements with rights holders in Africa to represent their rights in an online environment, while promoting South African repertoire internationally.

Tiyani Maluleke has served SAMRO since 2008 in the fields of tariff and business development, and previously worked in finance at various blue-chip companies. She takes up a newly created post in the CEO’s office forging, monitoring and tracking SAMRO’s new strategic direction.

As Stakeholder Relations Executive, she is also responsible for customer experience programmes, delivering on key projects that add value to members and licensees. In addition, she will be handling government relations, and will be liaising with and forming strategic alliances with the four key departments that relate to SAMRO’s business: arts and culture, communications, economic development, and copyright trade and the cultural industries.

For more information on SAMRO, please visit www.samro.org.za, or follow SAMROSouthAfrica on Facebook or @SAMROMusic on Twitter.

For media queries or interview requests please contact Vanessa Perumal or Ayob Vania on:
011 788 7632 or media@jtcomms.co.za

Issued by JT COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS on behalf of SAMRO