PMP® CERTIFIED, 2024

Carla
Fernandes.

Creating better systems. Delivering business value.

I connect people, processes and technology to solve the right problems, make better use of time and resources, and create value that matters.

English Portuguese

EXPLORE MY CAREER ↘ LINKEDIN ↗

Johannesburg, South Africa · UTC+2

THE THROUGH LINE

Thinking in systems.
Creating efficiencies.
Delivering value.

I started in campaign delivery and moved into the systems behind it: how teams share information, plan capacity and make decisions. Now my focus is simple: making sure a team’s time goes into the work that creates value.

CAREER AT A GLANCE

Hello Yellow · Digital Project Director · Jan 2025 to Present+

First Project Management hire. I built the agency's operational infrastructure from the ground up: delivery governance, standards, workflows and a central source of truth. I took on end-to-end operational ownership, which removed significant founder dependency and let leadership put their time into growth and commercial strategy. I lead 15 senior specialists across creative, media and technical disciplines, and built an AI and automation layer that connects our systems and removes repetitive admin.

Jellyfish · Project Manager to Senior Project Manager · May 2021 to Dec 2024+

Led global delivery and owned a regional P&L of about R70M. I built matrix teams of up to 20 specialists across CRO, paid search, social, analytics and data, and protected margin through rate management, change requests and scope control. My proposal to templatise how we scoped, planned and ran work across regions became the blueprint for the agency's ways of working, including onboarding. It was adopted as a company standard beyond my region and helped eight interns move into PM roles. I also partnered with finance on regional forecasting that fed into global EBITDA planning.

Essence Mediacom · Client Manager, The Coca-Cola Company · May 2020 to Apr 2021+

Joined the Coca-Cola account as COVID-19 hit and led the pivot of a multi-market strategy across eight African markets and the TCCC multi-brand beverage portfolio, with no playbook. I kept client, agency, media and creative teams in different countries working to one plan.

Sprout Performance Partners · Digital Account Manager, FNB (FirstRand Group) · Aug 2017 to Apr 2020+

Grew from junior to account manager on FNB, South Africa's largest retail bank, owning client relationships across retail, business, brand and sponsorships, and private banking, with a paid media budget of about R40M. I rolled out FNB's first e-migration campaign as the bank drove app adoption, and ran lead generation for Save the Children.

Grupo Local · Brand & Business Marketing Manager · Maputo · May 2016 to Nov 2016+

My first full marketing role, in my home city. End-to-end production and delivery of TV, radio and outdoor campaigns for leading Mozambican brands, coordinating clients, production crews and talent, and localising work for brands entering Mozambique.

02 / CLIENT LANDSCAPE

A career across brands,
markets and industries.

A selection of brands I've delivered for, across five agencies and four continents.

Hello Yellow

UK · US · Australia · New Zealand

AllBright

Wood Veneer Hub operates across the US, UK, New Zealand and Australia.

Jellyfish

Global delivery and digital services

TIH portfolio included First for Women, Auto & General, Dialdirect, Virseker and Budget.

EssenceMediacom

Integrated, multi-market campaigns

Sprout Performance Partners

Performance marketing

Golo

Traditional advertising

03 / WHAT I BELIEVE

“

Culture is a consequence,
not an initiative.

The way people experience work is shaped by the systems, decisions and behaviours they encounter every day.

Systems only work if the people in them feel supported. I lead with clear expectations, accountability paired with care, and real investment in people’s growth, from onboarding new starters to helping eight interns into PM roles. At Jellyfish, I led Jellyfish in Colour, our employee resource group, and moderated a conversation about belonging at work.

Carla moderating an Employee Resource Group conversation — Jellyfish in Colour · Moderating a conversation about belonging at work

04 / AI & WORKFLOW DESIGN

AI should remove friction and protect thinking time.

At Hello Yellow, I introduced an AI-enabled meeting workflow that captures discussions, turns them into owned actions in Asana and shares summaries in Slack. The aim is simple: an effective team that spends less time chasing information and more time delivering strategic value and solving business problems.

Understand before automating.

I audit the current process, learn how the business works and speak to the people doing the work, so the fix targets the real problem.

Build and test together.

I work with the teams affected to test the workflow in practice. We check that actions are accurate, ownership is clear and information reaches the right place before launch.

Launch, learn and improve.

After launch, I review how the workflow is being used, listen to feedback and refine it. The measure is whether it removes friction and gives people more time for work that needs their judgement.

05 / HOW I WORK

High standards.
Low ego.

Make ownership clear.

I set out who owns the work, what needs to happen and where a decision is needed.

Build around the real process.

I design systems around how the work actually moves, not how a template says it should.

Develop people as well as process.

I onboard every new starter at Hello Yellow, supported an intern into the team, and helped eight interns move into PM roles at Jellyfish.

Stay close to the business.

I connect delivery decisions to client priorities, commercial needs and the people available to do the work.

06 / PLATFORMS & SYSTEMS

Systems first. Tools second.

I design the way work moves: how projects are briefed, ownership is set, dependencies are tracked, capacity is understood and leaders see what needs attention. The tools below support that system.

PROJECT & WORK MANAGEMENT