Dean Ebden

Entrepreneur and business strategist extraordinaire. These words best sum up Dean Ebden. He cut his teeth in the dog-eat-dog world of newspaper publishing. Armed with a marketing qualification, he spent his formative years working for the major publishing houses in SA, Times Media (now Arena Media) and Independent Newspapers, in a variety of portfolios, including newspaper advertising & marketing manager, head of commercial editorial, client service director and new product development. 

Dean has extensive experience in media, lobbying, and networking, with a solid foundation in operations, marketing, sales, finance and business development. 

In 2000 he spread his wings to form Vukile Communications, a full-service agency, now trading as Oxygen Media, with a strong focus in media, marketing and advertising. His thirst to to give expression to his natural entrepreneurial flair led him to diversify his business portfolio into hospitality, setting up 3  fourstar B&B, Micasa Sucasa, and venturing into the restaurant space, opening The Melville Cafe, Chilli Resutuarant, The Curry Shak and Tasca Do Sol. 

Dean was part of the founding  team that led to the establishment of PLUS – The South African LGBTIQ Business Network. PLUS aims to champion, promote, support and empower South African LGBTI business owners and entrepreneurs with valuable opportunities to learn, network, do business and prosper; contributing to the redress of the structural and economic injustices of our past. It intends to address scarce employment opportunities, and discrimination in the workplace of LGBTI people in South Africa, which are harmful to their wellbeing. PLUS intends to address scarce business and employment opportunities, contribute to the diversification of supply chains to be inclusive of the LGBTI community, and discrimination in the workplace of LGBTI people in South Africa.