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Q&A𑗅Peter Magona: The Pharmacist-Turned-Strategist Dispensing Kick-ass Campaigns With an academic background in pharmacy, Peter Magona’s path to the top of Uganda’s advertising industry is anything but conventional. Now Managing Director of TBWA Uganda, Peter has spent over 13 years navigating the complex world of brand-building, client relationships, and agency leadership. In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, he reflects on the principles, pivots, and people that have shaped his journey—from pitching campaigns that move hearts to managing the crushing lows of lost accounts. Peter speaks with clarity and conviction about the importance of consistency, the soul of a brand, and why creative agencies must focus not just on ROI, but on return on relationships. He unpacks lessons from failure, the challenge of managing Gen Z talent, the place of AI in agency life, and why agency work must ultimately serve the brand—not just the client or the creative brief. For leaders, marketers, and brand builders alike, this is a masterclass in resilience, relevance, and reimagining what agency life can be.

$Peter Magona, Managing Director of TBWA\Uganda, in various settings including team meetings, award celebrations, and office portraits, reflecting his leadership in the advertising industry.$

Peter Magona, Managing Director of TBWA Uganda, has navigated a remarkable journey from pharmacy to advertising, building brands with a focus on strategy, consistency, and the long game. For him, the true client is always the brand — and success is measured not just in ROI, but in return on relationships.

Muhereza KyamuteteraSeptember 6, 2025September 10, 2025

Let’s start with your personal journey. Before we dive into your leadership in the advertising world, help us understand the man behind the title. What’s your background, and how did you end up in this industry? Was advertising always part of the plan, or did you stumble into it by chance—like many of us often do? I literally stumbled into advertising. Let me just backtrack a bit. I was studying pharmacy at university, and one thing I knew—just after a semester in—was that I’d struggle to find motivation or stimulation to be a full-time pharmacist. Pharmacy felt very prescriptive and…

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