Joe (Juanita) Stead holds a BA (FA) Honours degree in Visual Communication from the University of Pretoria. She started her career in graphic design, specializing in packaging and retail.
She joined Spur Corporation’s Marketing Department as a graphic designer in 1995 and was appointed as studio manager in 2000. In 2004, she was given the additional role of Creative Projects Manager for special projects and later took on the full functional roll of Creative Head, overseeing the creative for the group’s, then, seven brands (Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, John Dory’s, RocoMamas, The Hussar Grill, Casa Bella and Nikos). Over her extended tenure at Spur Corporation, Joe has been involved in various projects and internal departmental collaborations delivering successful outcomes across functions and brands. She currently leads the Creative Team as head of studio, delivering through-the-line creative solutions for the group’s brands.
In 2008, Spur Corporation initiated the group’s sustainability program and she was awarded the additional portfolio of managing this exciting new direction for the business. Her role introduced her to business sustainability and offered accelerated learning in the field of environmental best practice, reporting, risk and governance. She has been instrumental in building the group’s sustainability strategy, related key performance indicators and development of the Group’s sustainability programs, green operational reports and eco toolkit rollout to the franchisees.
She established the Green Feather Rewards in 2016 in recognition of the Franchisees’ eco achievements and environmental initiatives. She chairs the Environmental Sustainability Committee and serves as a specialist support to the Eco team and the group’s business divisions. The environmental sustainability committee plays a crucial role in guiding the organisation toward sustainability best practice, providing strategic planning and oversight, monitoring and reporting, eco training, project evaluation collaboration and advocacy.
Joe serves on the group’s Environmental, Social and Ethics Committee and is a Steercom member on the South African Plastic Pact, since founded in 2020. She was a finalist in BWA’s businesswoman of the year in 2016, completed the Cambridge, Institute for Sustainable leadership’s business Sustainability Management Certification in 2017 and qualified as a Chief Reinvention Practitioner (CRP) in 2023.