Ruschda Ismail

Dentsu is celebrating a new era as they bid farewell to Bevis Hoets who has been the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for dentsu Africa for over 10 years. During his time at dentsu, Bevis has made significant contributions both locally and across the African region. 

Together with Dawn Rowlands, dentsu Africa’s CEO, Hoets has played a vital role in building a high-performance team across the region, growing the African talent pool from a team of 40 to over 1500 inspired people under their leadership, across 11 markets.  

Hoets will be taking on a new role at RUBRO, a family business, to further drive the company’s expansion globally. Dentsu wish him all the best for his future endeavours and know that his family business will continue thrive with his support. 

Stepping into the role of dentsu Africa CFO is Ruschda Ismail, former CFO for dentsu South Africa. Ruschda joined dentsu in July 2016 as the CFO for dentsu SA, having spent 2 years at DENTSU CREATIVE, formerly known as John Brown South Africa, as Finance Director, and 10 years at Media24 in various financial management roles. 

True to form, Ruschda oversees all things financial at dentsu South Africa, she is an experienced CFO with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Ismail’s extensive knowledge and experience in finance strategy, accounting, group accounts, internal controls, tax and financial reporting is unrivalled. 

Commenting on her promotion, Ismail had this to say: “I am extremely excited for the next stage of my career journey. Working with our group’s incredible talent has led me to this amazing new chapter as dentsu Africa’s CFO. Dentsu is a place for growth, and this is deeply rooted in the culture of the business. I am really looking forward to working with all my new colleagues across the region and contributing to achieving great value for all our stakeholders, from our shareholders right through to the communities that we serve.” 

Continuing the vision and strategy of dentsu Africa, dentsu is proud to have Ismail move into this position and contribute to dentsu being the first fully female-led network in Africa with a priority and emphasis on empowering women, succession planning and growing our people. Ruschda has worked closely with Bevis and the dentsu Africa finance team throughout her 7 years at dentsu. She is highly driven and thrives on the challenge of streamlining processes to maximise efficiencies. With her vast knowledge and experience, Ismail will ensure a smooth handover process and that all finance elements continue to function effectively, ultimately leading dentsu Africa to greater success.