About
My formal career has taken me from selling and producing advertising in broadcast media to building agency strategy, launching digital products in telecommunications, and helping one of the biggest financial institutions in East Africa to grow digital adoption, personalisation and measurement at scale.
That journey has given me a fairly simple view of digital: the channels are rarely the hard part.
The harder work is deciding what the organisation is trying to achieve, understanding what customers actually need, putting the right technology and data behind it, and building a team that can keep improving the system after the launch excitement has passed.
I enjoy that work. I like the point where strategy becomes operational: where a journey needs to be redesigned, a dashboard needs to answer a better question, a new product needs a go-to-market plan, or a team needs the confidence and structure to move from digital activity to digital growth.
My career, in context
01 / 05
I learnt the commercial basics first: customers, revenue, pricing, inventory, budgets and the practical work of turning an idea into something people would pay for.
Business Account Executive
WBS Television
Jun 2008 – Oct 2011
Marketing Officer
Uganda Broadcasting Corporation
Feb 2012 – Mar 2014
02 / 05
I moved fully into social and digital, working across Daily Monitor, magazines, KFM and Dembe FM. It was an early lesson in audience behaviour, newsroom speed, content systems and the value of building online habits around established media brands.
Social Media Specialist
Monitor Publications / Nation Media Group
Mar 2014 – Feb 2016
03 / 05
Agency life sharpened my strategy, client management, creative collaboration and campaign delivery skills. It also exposed the limits of treating digital as a separate execution layer, rather than an integral part of the broader business and customer journey. It was my shortest stint in an industry, but one of the most formative for my career.
Digital Communications Executive
QG Saatchi & Saatchi Uganda
Mar 2016 – Jun 2016
Digital Project Manager
J. Walter Thompson Uganda
Jul 2016 – Sept 2016
04 / 05
Telecom changed the scale of the problem. Digital was no longer just communication; it was product, self-service, revenue, service cost, analytics and customer experience. I worked on apps, partnerships, websites, content platforms, campaigns and digital operating models.
Digital & Social Media Specialist
Vodafone Uganda
Oct 2016 – Feb 2018
Digital Marketing & Strategic Alliances Manager
Airtel Uganda
Mar 2018 – Mar 2020
05 / 05
At NSSF Uganda, the work became enterprise-wide: digital growth, channel migration, online reputation, personalisation, data, content, customer service and product go-to-market, all inside a high-trust institution serving millions of members.
Digital SupervisorCurrent
National Social Security Fund Uganda
Apr 2020 – Present
In the media
Daily Monitor
Read the full story
SoftPower News
Read the full story
New Vision
Read the full storyIndustry leadership
Alongside operating roles, I hold ongoing leadership, teaching and professional standing within Uganda's digital and marketing community.
Uganda Digital Society
Founding president of Uganda's professional body for digital practitioners, established to advance standards, education and community among the country's digital marketing and technology professionals.
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Teaches on the Chartered Institute of Marketing's professional qualifications, bringing practitioner experience from telecommunications, media and financial services into the classroom.
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Holds Chartered Marketer status, the Chartered Institute of Marketing's senior professional designation.
10 qualifications
Chartered Member (CMCIM)
The Chartered Institute of Marketing ·
Recognises experienced marketers who influence marketing direction and business decisions, and continue to invest in their professional growth.
Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Marketing
The Chartered Institute of Marketing ·
Experienced marketers and senior professionals working in complex, internationally focused environments.
Certificate in Data Analysis
University of Cape Town · 2022
Turning data into actionable business insights that improve decision-making, performance and growth.
Digital Marketing, A Strategic Perspective
Yale School of Management · 2022
Developing integrated, data-driven digital strategies that enhance customer experience, drive lead generation and conversion.
Speaking
PanelI was privileged to join the ICT Association of Uganda for the 3rd National ICT Summit, held in partnership with the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The Summit brought together government, industry and Uganda’s digital ecosystem to explore how technology can accelerate national development.
September 2026 · National ICT Hub
Panel2026 NSSF Career Expo
I joined fellow speakers to engage students at Makerere University Business School, Kyambogo University, Victoria University and Uganda Christian University on the future of work in the age of AI. My contribution focused on a simple shift in perspective: rather than asking whether AI will take their jobs, students should be asking how they can use it to deepen their expertise, improve decision-making and work more effectively. Drawing from my experience with data, technology and customer insight, I emphasised that AI creates the most value when paired with strong domain knowledge, sound judgement and the curiosity to keep learning.
April 2026 · Kampala, Uganda
PanelAnnual Digital Marketers Roundtable
As President of Uganda Digital Society, I led the inaugural Annual Digital Marketers Roundtable, bringing together senior marketing practitioners for candid discussion on the future of marketing in Uganda. The event created a platform for practitioners to exchange perspectives, challenge prevailing thinking and strengthen professional connections, reflecting the Society’s broader ambition to build a more connected, collaborative and progressive digital marketing community.
April 2026 · Kampala, Uganda
PanelAfrican Marketing Confederation Conference
I spoke at the African Marketing Confederation Conference in Accra, Ghana, on how technology, customer adoption and data are reshaping service delivery. Drawing from NSSF Uganda’s digital transformation, where more than 90% of customers are now served online, I shared lessons on moving beyond building digital solutions to driving meaningful adoption, improving customer experience and using data to make better decisions.
August 2025 · Accra, Ghana
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What clients say
In John, I found the secret weapon for all things social and digital! He is a diligent professional who was and continues to ably guide the organisation to engage meaningfully on the selected social and digital platforms. He is committed to self-improvement and is continuously seeking knowledge, skills and mentors to build his expertise.
Jackie NamaraCEO, Iguru Consult Ltd
