John Vlismas

As the South African comedy landscape evolves, John Vlismas continues to reinvent himself. His tenacity was on display recently at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, where he was chosen to appear in a television special at the invitation of Comedy Central, earning him a meeting with Warner Brothers executives.

While stand-up comedy is still his first passion, John has began a dramatic shift in his career with an intellectual bent.

Vlismas received an MBA scholarship from Henley Business School in 2017 and is currently pursuing this degree. His involvement at the prestigious school has seen him appointed as an associate faculty member and co-designing and facilitating course material with Dr Puleng Makhoalibe. John was also invited to speak with the Deans of Henley Africa and Global at the Henley Global Masterclass Series in Lagos in 2018.

The award-winning comedian continues to utilise his public performances to push the envelope and discuss sensitive topics. His ability to synthesise complicated instructional material with snappy presentations and comedy has earned him high praise from CEOs who have attended his Henley seminars.

"The Shared World," his incisive presentation on performers' capacity to size up a crowd and move them using a heightened sense of empathy, has won rave reviews from the growing number of corporations that have hired him to lecture during their leadership and strategy sessions.

He was invited to lecture on the issue of entrepreneurship in the creative industry at a Nedbank Biz Seminar, and he was the only local speaker at the prestigious DSTV Creative Seminar at the 2014 Loeries.

Those who attend Vlismas' speeches and learning sessions regard him as a gifted disruptive thinker who can communicate complex subjects in a way that is both approachable and instructive.