#BehindtheSelfie: Leander Kettledas, corporate communications & marketing manager at Canon SA

Leander Kettledas is the corporate communications & marketing manager at Canon South Africa.

What are three things you would like people to know about you?

1.  I consider myself a relentless problem-solver. As a quick thinker who is solutions-driven, I won't stop until I find a way to overcome any challenge.
2. I am passionate about helping others reach their full potential. As a leader, I believe in the power of mentorship and motivation to inspire growth and development.
3. I am kind but firm when it comes to deliverables, ensuring that expectations are clear and consistently upheld while treating everyone with respect and impartiality.

Describe your career up to this point in two sentences.

I am a dedicated marketing professional, continually growing and evolving in my career. I’ve had the privilege of working with renowned brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Gijima, RMB Properties, and currently Canon. Over the years, I’ve gained comprehensive experience across all spheres of marketing, strengthening my capabilities through diverse roles and exposure to various industries.

What I’m most passionate about is blending strategic thinking, creativity, and stakeholder collaboration to drive brand growth, enhance customer engagement, and deliver business success in highly competitive markets.

What do you think are the three most important factors to consider when working with people?

1. Understanding their point of reference — Everyone approaches situations based on their own experiences, perspectives, and understanding. Recognising this helps create more meaningful and effective communication.
2. Empathy — The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is essential for building trust, strengthening relationships, and truly understanding their challenges and motivations.
3. Effective communication — Clear, transparent, and timely communication ensures expectations are understood and that all parties are aligned, reducing misunderstandings and fostering collaboration.

What are your desert island picks? (Film, song, book)

1. The Bible
2. My family – for company (lol)
3. Delicious Snacks

What do you consider to be the most important component of a successful marketing campaign?

For me, the foundation of any successful marketing campaign is having clarity on your objective and how success will be measured. Once that is defined, it’s essential to approach the execution strategically — ensuring that every element is aligned, implemented effectively, and adapted with agility as the campaign evolves. This balance of clear direction and flexible execution is key to driving meaningful results.

If you could get a redo on your career, what is one thing you would do differently?

If I had the chance to start over, I might have chosen an entirely different path — perhaps something within the health and science industry, which has always intrigued me. However, within my current field, the one thing I would do differently is approach opportunities with more courage and confidence from the start. I would have embraced bold decisions earlier in my career and viewed potential failure as part of growth, rather than something to fear.

What do you consider to be your most important task as a sustainability manager?

As a sustainability manager focusing on social impact, I believe the most important task is ensuring that our initiatives are rooted in purpose and create meaningful, lasting value — not only for the business but for the communities we engage with. Too often, social sustainability is reduced to a transactional process, but at Canon, we are guided by the philosophy of Kyosei — living and working together for the common good.

This belief shapes how we approach partnerships and community investment: we aim to understand the deeper purpose behind every initiative, ensuring it aligns with our brand values and contributes to long-term, positive change. Our goal is to build relationships that extend beyond corporate responsibility and reflect our commitment to making a difference where it matters most — in people’s lives.

Who/what inspires you?

I find inspiration in many different places, depending on where I am in life. But what truly moves me is seeing people embrace their unique purpose and or talents and channel them into genius creations — whether it’s the artistry of a film production, the emotion captured in a song, the creativity behind a powerful advertisement, or the brilliance of a strategic business idea that positively impacts lives, together with the endurance and/grind that goes with implementing it.