Samantha Siyieyio Kipury is a Kenyan advertising executive who quit a lucrative job at 25 to start her own agency. She began with just one client, Nokia, and handled everything herself - from pitching to taxes; for the first 6 months. She also enrolled for an MBA to learn business management while building the company.
Her childhood shaped her drive. Her mother left for Canada on a scholarship when Samantha was 4, so she was raised by her father. She credits that period for giving her what she calls “masculine energy” and a no-excuses work ethic.
The business grew fast. She merged her firm with two others to form Dentsu Kenya, where she and partners Joel Rao and Chris Madison now share equal ownership. The parent company is based in South Africa. Under her leadership, Dentsu Kenya has handled major campaigns like Barclays to Absa rebrand, Safaricom’s ‘Bonga For Good’, Guinness ‘Made of Black’, the NIC-CBA to NCBA merger, ‘Malaria No More’, and Netflix’s viral ‘Free The Whole Storo’ ad.
Today, 39-year-old Samantha is Dentsu Kenya Group Head of Media and manages about 28 local and international corporate clients. She was named in Business Daily’s ‘Top 40 Under 40’ list in 2018. She’s now entering a new chapter - starting a family while still leading big moves in Kenya’s advertising industry. Mungu nibariki sasa …
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