Advertising group Avatar has confirmed that Veli Ngubane has stepped down from his role as co-Chief Creative Officer with immediate effect, according to a media statement issued on Wednesday. Phil Ireland, previously his co-CCO, will now serve as sole Chief Creative Officer on an interim basis while the agency assesses a permanent structure.
The statement, distributed through Avatar’s public relations agency Northstar Communications, was notably brief and carefully worded. It confirmed that the leadership team, headed by founder and Group CEO Zibusiso Mkhwanazi, would continue running the business, and stressed that Avatar holds all its staff to high standards of professional conduct, adding that behaviour falling short of those standards is not tolerated and is acted upon when identified. The statement did not elaborate on the circumstances behind Ngubane’s departure.
The timing is notable as Avatar restructured its creative leadership as recently as late June, when Mkhwanazi stepped back into a full-time CEO role after a period serving as chairman, in a move the agency described as re-centring the business around the Avatar brand rather than its holding company, M+N.
READ – M+N and Avatar announces leadership changes
That restructuring saw Ireland appointed as co-Chief Creative Officer alongside Ngubane, with Mohlalefi Lentsoane and Darren Kilfoil named co-Executive Creative Directors and Nash Koosialee installed as Managing Director. Ngubane’s exit comes barely a month after he was elevated back into that shared creative leadership position.
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| January 2012 | Avatar founded by Zibusiso Mkhwanazi and Veli Ngubane |
| September 2023 | Ngubane moves from CCO to Chief Growth Officer; Phil Ireland named CCO |
| June 2026 | Mkhwanazi returns as full-time CEO; Ngubane rejoins as co-CCO alongside Ireland |
| 22 July 2026 | Ngubane steps down as co-CCO with immediate effect; Ireland named sole interim CCO |
Ngubane co-founded Avatar in January 2012 with Mkhwanazi, reportedly starting the business with R2,000 in capital. The agency has since grown into one of the largest Black-owned advertising groups in South Africa, expanding to a staff complement of more than 300 and building a client roster that has included 20th Century Fox, National Geographic and Unilever brands such as Aromat and Knorrox. Avatar was ranked the second-best creative agency in Africa and the Middle East in the 2025 Loeries rankings, one of the industry’s most closely watched benchmarks.
Beyond Avatar, Ngubane has held a number of industry leadership positions, including chairing the advisory board of the Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, sitting on the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Transformation and Education Council, and serving as a board member of the Direct Marketing Association. He has also judged major industry awards including the Loeries, Cannes Lions, Bookmarks and AdFocus Awards.
With Ireland now the sole Chief Creative Officer on an interim basis, attention will likely turn to whether Avatar moves to confirm him permanently in the role, and whether further detail on the reasons behind Ngubane’s departure emerges as the industry digests the change. Neither Avatar nor Ngubane had issued further public comment beyond the statement at the time of publication.