The global licensing community is powered by an incredible group of professionals whose diverse backgrounds and creative energy drive innovation and excellence. Each week we’re profiling one of these professionals in this ongoing series.

How did you get into licensing (or how did licensing find you)?
I managed to find myself with a role on a placement year at Disney within the EMEA Home team which led me to my current role. During my time at Disney, the EMEA Home team managed EXG’s contract, which is where I became aware of their brand, and the rest is history!

What’s a “typical day” in your current position?
Probably the most exciting piece, and the reason I love my role, is that there is a diverse range of work to get stuck into. Aside from licensor conversations, both prospective and existing, I look after our Amazon vendor account and more recently have started supporting from a regional sales capacity. Too much happens in each day to call any single one “typical!”

What’s your biggest personal and professional accomplishment?
Personally, I’ve always been a keen athlete and have competed in many sports, but more recently I have been pursuing bodybuilding (yes, the one with the fake tan and hours in the gym). Last year I was lucky enough to win several medals as a natural athlete and earned a pro card ,which is something I never thought I’d be able to say.

Professionally, I’m proud of every positive impact that I can make for the business within my role, be it adding growth to our Amazon account or enhancing our licensing portfolio either with new deals or making improvements to existing ones. It’s very humbling to be entrusted with these opportunities and to be building excellent working relationships with our partners!

What are the most significant trends or changes that you’ve seen in the business in recent years?
The world is becoming increasingly digital and there are all these technological innovations that present opportunities to the point where they are actually a little bit scary. With the mass adoption of the likes of Web3, AR, VR, NFTs, and even AI, there is enough to be immensely excited about but it’s daunting the deeper you dive into them. They will no doubt continue to change the way businesses operate and how consumers behave, but the wealth of IPs within our industry has fantastic synergy to make the most of them.

What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest challenge these days?
Time! Not because I’m bad with time management but because I tend to be ambitious in all my work. It’s just the nature of working in a small business that, for every one thing that comes to a close, there will be two more pressing things to do.

In your opinion, what is the top skill every licensing executive should have in order to succeed?
Being a good communicator—there is no way around it. It underpins every aspect of the job!

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, or what is your favorite quote?
Manage expectations. That’s both from the perspective of setting yourself boundaries as well as being realistic about your capabilities to deliver for your team under pressure.

What is your favorite licensing deal of all time? (It doesn’t have to be one that was signed by you.)
As a typical South African rugby fan, it has to be the Marvel Super Rugby licenses. My team, the Stormers, playing in their Thor kit could not be more fitting and added a level of excitement to the competition at the time. Would absolutely love to see more of this across different competitions and sports.