Dubbed "Mr Brand" by the Mail & Guardian, Thebe Ikalafeng has been recognised as one of South Africa's top 10 thinkers in marketing along with former South African State President Nelson Mandela in a survey by Ipsos Markinor. An award winning marketer and advisor, he is the founder of the 2008 Fin Week "Marketing Services Company of the Year," The Brand Leadership Group and a non-executive director of Mercantile Bank Holdings and Foodcorp Holdings, and a member of Durban University of Technology council, Vega School of Brand Communications advisory committee, and the Sunday Times Marketing Excellence council.