Kanthan Pillay

Kanthan Pillay is a director of companies. He has extensive experience in media and in technology at senior management level coupled with strong business and creative skills. His media experience includes newspapers and magazines, radio and television, and digital – through business management, marketing, corporate communications, and journalism. His technology experience includes academic applied research and business environments.

Career highlights:

  • Political Reporter, Post Natal, Durban, (1980 - 1986)
  • Systems Administrator; Princeton University Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Princeton, New Jersey, USA (1990 - 1992)
  • Senior Research Scientist; Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia, Italy (1992- 1994)
  • New Enterprises Manager, Independent Newspapers, Johannesburg (1996- 1997)
  • Managing Editor, Cape Times, Cape Town (1997- 1999)
  • Head of Corporate Affairs; Executive Producer: News; Head of Africa Operations, e.tv, Johannesburg (1999 - 2005)
  • Chief Executive, Yfm, Johannesburg (April 2007 - April 2017)
  • Chairman: McCann Worldgroup South Africa (2009 - 2010)
  • Founder, Nqabile Recorporations. Johannesburg (2006 - present)

Kanthan was born in 1961, Durban, South Africa; completed secondary schooling in Bangalore, India; and majored in Political Science, Princeton University. He has certificates in Journalism from Boston University and from the Senior Journalist Development Programme, Niemann Foundation, Harvard University.

In 2011, he travelled around the world in 10 days.