Jason is a creative director, filmmaker and media entrepreneur whose creative ventures have spanned all areas of the media industry from film and television to music and the internet. He currently holds the position of CEO and Chief Creative Officer at NATIVE VML, Africa’s leading Digital Agency Network.

 In 1993 Jason graduated from New York University with an honors degree (summa cum laude) in Film and Television.

In 1994, Jason founded VWV Interactive, which rapidly grew to be South Africa’s leading web development company. When Primedia acquired a stake in VWV Jason joined the PRIMEDIA Group where he was instrumental in driving Primedia’s R1,5 billion acquisition of Ster-Kinekor.

As CEO of Primedia Pictures between 1997 – 1998, Jason was involved in the development and production of various projects including Boesman & Lena, starring Danny Glover and Angela Basset.

From 1998 – 2000 Jason held the position of CEO at Metropolis Transactive, an Internet Media company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. At the age of 28, Jason was the youngest CEO of a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

In 2001, Jason completed his first feature film as writer-director, Promised Land, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win several international awards including: The Best Feature Film award at the Apollo Film Festival; The Best Screenplay Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival; The Best Editing award at FESPACO in Burkina Faso; Best Picture Editing and Best Sound Design from The South African Guild of Editors and a Special Mention at the African Cinema Festival in Milan.

In addition to his work as a feature film director, Jason has directed a host of award-winning TV commercials for leading brands such as Johnny Walker, Guinness, Caltex, MTN, Pick n Pay, Unilever, Bells & J&B.

The most striking of these commercial productions was an audacious piece of Branded Entertainment for Guinness called Critical Assignment (2004). One of the first brand-funded feature films ever made, Critical Assignment went on to win the Jury Award at the Hollywood Black Film Festival and the award for Best West African Picture at the Screen National Film & TV Awards in London. Critical Assignment was selected as the Opening Night Screening at the 11^th New York African Film Festival.

From 2004 – 2007, Jason held the position of Executive Creative Director at Y&R South Africa where he played an instrumental role in winning several major accounts.

In 2008, Jason co-founded 2.0 Media, a Branded Entertainment Agency, where he served as Chief Creative Officer.

Jason ranked in the Top 5 Most Highly Awarded film directors at the 2010 Loerie Awards Festival where he won Campaign Gold and Campaign Silver awards.

The following year he snapped up the highly-coveted Bookmark 2011 award for Best individual contribution to SA Digital Media and Marketing.

Over the pat 3 years, under Jason’s leadership, NATIVE has won many awards including the Creative Circle’s Ad of the Month and Digital Ad of the Quarter awards, Assegais, Bookmarks, and Loeries awards, spanning diverse categories from digitial, mobile and identity design, to alternative media and Integrated.

In June 2013, NATIVE joined forces with VML, one of the world’s leading digital agency networks, to form NATIVE VML, the first digital agency network of its kind in Africa.

Jason was a 2013 finalist in the African Chapter of the presitgious Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards.