Fulcrum’s account executive by day, Music mogul by night

At CN&CO we like to work with different brands-it’s what makes our relationships so great. We are able to cross-link partners from different fields of business together.

One of our longstanding clients, Fulcrum, has someone working for them that has also been able to cross-link his passions. Emmanuel Thetsane has been an Account Executive at Fulcrum Premium Finance for the past eight years. He deals with the Insurer, UMA and Broker markets. But this is Emmanuel from 8am to 5pm only.

When he leaves his desk at the Fulcrum office in Bryanston, he makes his way home to his high-school sweetheart and son. A devoted family man, he spends evenings with his family, and only once they have settled down for the night, Manzo plays around with his music, creating sounds he hopes to bring to the club where he is resident DJ on Friday and Saturday nights.

A DJ, club-owner, record label owner and music producer, DJ Manzo, as he is known in the industry, has formed quite the music empire. But it hasn’t always been this way.

Manzo, as his family calls him (and the name has stuck), used to sit with his double tape deck as a teenager, and record Metro FM, YFM and Jozi FM. From there he would play around with the music and even play these “tracks”
at parties with his friends. His passion for music grew throughout his teenage years but it was only while interning at Lombard Insurance that he met Andi Boi, an established DJ in his own right and the face of Soul Candi music label. Andi took Manzo under his wing. Let him use his laptop to learn how to mix, and gave him guidance on what to do and who to feature in his music.

They toured Botswana together, as well as Angola and Lesotho, where Andi would sing while Manzo DJ-ed. His talent continued to develop on these tours and under the continued guidance from Andi.

Andi’s suggestion of a vocalist is what led to the partnership between DJ Manzo and Trecia INDODA.

But not everything revolves around his music. His finance career has also been one from humble beginnings. He studied at UJ after high school, then became a security guard- but quickly realised this wasn’t for him. He landed an internship at the then Etana Insurance company, from where he was placed with Lombard insurance to do his work experience. This was where he met Delarey van Dyk, who offered him a permanent position, and together they started at the (then newly established) Fulcrum Group.

2019 has been a busy year for DJ Manzo, so far. He has collaborated with Tone from the USA, an R&B singer, and feels that the every year a different sound is created and he therefore needs to work with different musicians to keep up to date with latest trends. He has also collaborated with Sophie Smith from the UK. A quick but effective story, showcasing the power of social media – Manzo saw her on Instagram, sent her a message asking if she would like to work together. And she said yes. Manzo says from working with Sophie that there is a big love for “Afro-beats” in the UK market and he plans on capitalising on this.