ALPHA Media Holdings (AMH) chairman Trevor Ncube has expanded his influence beyond the media with the launch of Trevor & Associates (T&A), a strategic communications consultancy aimed at helping organisations across Zimbabwe and Africa redefine their purpose.
Ncube, who owns major media brands including the Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard, NewsDay, and online broadcaster HSTV, unveiled the venture in Harare this week.
He emphasised that the consultancy was born out of a critical need for businesses and institutions to re-examine their core existence, shift mindsets, and proactively shape their industries rather than react to disruptions.
“We launched Trevor & Associates in response to a clear and growing need; a need for organisations and leaders to be better understood, more resilient and more proactive in how they show up in the world,” Ncube said.
“Communication, when done strategically, is leadership. It is action. It is behaviour. It is clarity when the world is confused. It is dignity when the world is divided.”
T&A was created to help business and organisational leaders “speak with purpose, listen with empathy and engage with impact”.
Ncube emphasised that communication was not about a one-way flow or messaging.
“Communication is not merely about being heard. It is about listening first, speaking second, and being understood third. We believe in two-way dialogue, not one-way declarations. We help leaders craft messages that resonate, not just reverberate,” he said.
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Ncube stressed the importance of attending to reputation management.
“Reputation has become a leader’s most valuable and most vulnerable asset. In a digital age where a single post can undo decades of credibility, managing your reputation is not about what is known as spin; it’s about substance and strategy.”
In recognition of this, reputational resilience had to be built.
“We prepare our clients to not only survive crises, but to emerge from them stronger, wiser, and more trusted than before,” he said, adding that crises were a probability and not a possibility.
Ncube described lobbying as a misunderstood feature of communications management.
“Lobbying, when done ethically, is essential to democracy, progress and problem-solving. It is not about smoke-filled rooms. It is about sunlight, sincerity, and strategy,” he said.
T&A would work with organisations to “advocate effectively for policies, projects and partnerships, not with bluster, but with research, relationships and respect.”
“In today’s world, if you are not shaping the conversation, you are being shaped by it,” he added.
Ncube described the pace of change in the world as “breathtaking”.
“Climate change, geopolitical shifts, digital revolutions, AI disruption; these are no longer distant risks, they are present realities. We cannot afford the illusion of choice. We no longer get to decide if we engage with these forces, we only decide how. The choice is stark: lead, or be led, shape or be shaped, influence or be irrelevant,” he said.
A key focus of T&A would be helping a leader take the driver’s seat, not becoming a “passenger dragged, heels digging, into uncertainty”.
Ncube said a timeless principle at the heart of the consultancy’s thrust had been articulated “not by a strategist, but by Saint Francis of Assisi, who prayed: ‘Grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand.’ ”
“This wisdom is foundational to what we offer. We listen before we speak. We understand before we advise. And we strive to serve with sincerity, sound judgment, and a commitment to ethical leadership,” he said.
“We believe that when you truly understand the context, the audience and the moment, you unlock the power to act decisively and communicate meaningfully.
Specialised tools of the consultancy’s work focus include environmental, social and corporate governance, as well as brand management and effective communications.
The launch event was attended by business leaders, diplomats and representatives of leading non-governmental organisations, who were also shown a short audio visual encapsulating the work model of the consultancy.
Among those attending was real estate developer Ken Sharpe, who commended Ncube for the initiative, saying: “this is an essential service and one that we in business will appreciate and make use of”.
Ncube said he would be leading T&A with the support of a number of associates, who were key strategists in various fields, each with a substantial level of experience and expertise.
