The prestigious accolade honours marketing leaders who have demonstrated exceptional impact on brands, businesses and the broader marketing industry. Croeser becomes only the second SAB marketer to receive this recognition, further cementing SAB's reputation as a leader in marketing excellence.
Under Vaughan's leadership, SAB has delivered a series of impactful and award-winning campaigns, including Castle Milk Stout African Time, Castle Lager Fans that stood the test of time, Corona Sun Shadows and FIFA World Cup activations, among others. His approach has consistently combined consumer insight, creativity and commercial discipline to drive brand growth and business performance.
The official release includes commentary from key leadership across SAB, AB InBev global, the Loeries board, and agency partners. Award recipient Vaughan Croeser (VP of Marketing, SAB) attributes the recognition to his teams and agency partners, emphasising that SAB's strength lies in balancing global scale with local relevance to build brands that connect deeply with South Africans.
Supporting this, SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac highlights Croeser's strategic vision and how his team fuses consumer insight with bold creativity, while AB InBev Global CMO Marcel Marcondes frames the win as a testament to the world-class marketing talent within the global business, demonstrating how creative courage and commercial discipline drive compounding growth.
Providing crucial industry perspective, Nedbank CMO and Loeries board member Khensani Nobanda commends Croeser as a marketer who combines commercial rigor with creative courage while elevating overall industry standards in South Africa. From an agency partner standpoint, Pepe Marais (Founder and Group CCO at Joe Public) calls the award long overdue after a decade of working together, praising Croeser's rare ability to pair commercial pragmatism with creative ambition, back bold ideas, and lead with authenticity and respect.
*Image courtesy of contributor