• O’BRIAN opens for business.
• Secured first long-term contract in September 1997 (Soul City Institute for Health and Development)

At the dawn of our new democratic state and the promise it held, was a personal dream and vision of building an independent, sustainable and profitable black-owned, managed, and operated enterprise.
It was also a dream driven by the need to contribute to economic redress and transformation, by carving a meaningful role and participation for black people in non-traditional first-world sectors of our economy, such as the marketing communication, branding, and advertising industries.
O’BRIAN was incorporated as a public company in South Africa on March 7, 1997. The Company was founded as a joint venture between Brian Nielsson, a Danish national, and Mxolisi Evan Tyawa, a South African marketer.
O'BRIAN is a specialist project management outfit, which offers brand strategy, creative development, and implementation via a network of preferred suppliers and partners.
The Founding years
1997- 2003
• O’BRIAN opens for business.
• Secured first long-term contract in September 1997 (Soul City Institute for Health and Development)
The Growth years
2004 – 2010
• Consolidated our presence in the public sector and made significant inroads into the private sector
• Opened the Durban office in July 2007.
• Expanded across the border, starting a partner office in Gaborone, Botswana in 2009.
• Recorded the best financial performance ever for the group at R43,7m for the year ending 2010.
The Lean Years
2020 - 2025
• The world credit crunch leads to the contraction of the Industry, wiping out several years of growth and gains.
• The private sector pulled back from supporting and giving business to black-owned agencies, leading to staff retrenchments, downscaling and re-structuring of operations.