Mike Stopforth is an entrepreneur, writer and speaker, passionate about transformational leadership and organisational change with a focus on the digital context. He works with fellow business owners, executive teams and CEOs to get the best out of their people, and the technologies those people use to do their work, in the midst of rapid political, technological and socio-economic change. In this line of work Mike is often invited to offer business commentary for industry publications, on TV and on radio.

Mike took the entrepreneurial plunge to start a company called Cerebra in 2006. With a specialist focus on digital content and engagement, Cerebra won numerous multinational accounts and grew quickly to become Africa’s leading social media agency. In his role as CEO of the business he worked with executive teams in Coca-Cola, Samsung, Toyota, Vodafone, AB InBev, Ford, Huawei, Barclays, and more to build digital capability and agility, and to equip their leaders for success in the social and digital era of business. Cerebra was acquired by global advertising giant WPP in 2013.

In 2007 he co-founded a web start-up called Afrigator.com that was acquired by Naspers just 18 months later. Around the same time, Mike began hosting a popular networking event called the 27dinners, which went on to catalyse business collaborations and relationships through hundreds of successful events.