Jarred Cinman

As the CEO of VMLY&R South Africa, Jarred leads both the Johannesburg and Cape Town offices. He oversees the inner workings of the agency, managing all departments from a business, HR and operational point of view. Jarred is also the executive in charge of HR and IT.

Before VMLY&R was established in 2018, Jarred served as co-chief operating officer of Y&R Africa Group, overseeing operations at Y&R South Africa and NATIVE VML.

Jarred founded his first company in 1995 and went on to co-found three more businesses. He co-founded Cambrient, one of the businesses that later merged to become NATIVE. NATIVE eventually joined the VML network as NATIVE VML, paving the way for what would eventually become VMLY&R South Africa.

Jarred started out in digital advertising immediately after university, where he earned an honours degree in philosophy. Since the internet was a concept few people understood then, he learned almost everything on the job, and has continued to do so over the years.

In addition to his role at VMLY&R, he also chairs the Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA), the industry body in South Africa that represents digital publishers, agencies, brands and educationalists.

Jarred sits on the Loeries Committee, Bookmarks Committee, and The Creative Circle and is an alternate board member for the South African Audience Research Foundation (SAARF). He also writes extensively on industry matters for various publications and blogs.