CREATIVE & COMMERCIAL ADVISOR
About Adam
Understanding Begins With Curiosity
Leaping into a new year, Cape Town
Experience & Perspective
I’m Adam Kossowski, a Creative & Commercial Advisor based in Cape Town, working with clients locally and internationally. I help people explain what makes their work valuable, explore business opportunities and build relationships with customers and partners.
Some people come to me because their story or website no longer reflects what they do. Others want to develop a business opportunity or need someone they trust to act on their behalf. We begin by talking about the situation and where my experience could be useful.
Before focusing on independent advisory work, I spent 19 years as CEO of an international language-services business. Earlier consultancy and commercial representation took me into different industries and places, working with people whose circumstances and priorities were often quite different.
Photography and writing have been part of my life throughout. They encourage me to look carefully, ask questions and pay attention to details I might otherwise miss. That curiosity is also part of how I work with clients.
I try to look at the world with patience.
From Strategy to Practice
For 19 years, I led Way With Words as it grew from a small business into an international language-services company. We expanded into new markets, moved services and contracting online, and introduced speech data collection alongside transcription. Much of my work involved deciding where to invest, how to respond to change and which relationships could help the business grow.
Before that, I ran APK Consultancy, working on international business connections, skills sharing and management education. Through its website service, APKWeB, I also helped clients in Switzerland, Asia, the UK and elsewhere develop their websites and explain their work more clearly.
As Commercial Representative for St Helena Island, I presented investment opportunities, arranged meetings and represented the island at events. I also supported media, public relations and recruitment activities. Understanding the island and its priorities was essential to speaking about it accurately and representing its interests.
In 2026, I stepped down from my full-time CEO role to concentrate on independent creative and commercial work. I now bring these experiences together in assignments where I can help someone understand their options, communicate their value or take an opportunity forward.
How I Approach My Work
Perspective
I listen to how you see your work and ask questions about what I don’t yet understand. Looking at the same situation from another person’s point of view often reveals something we hadn’t considered.
Clarity
I like to work through complicated questions in plain language. Together, we identify what matters, what remains uncertain and what needs to happen next, so you can make decisions with a clearer understanding.
Character
I’m interested in what makes your work your own: the people, experiences and choices behind it. How you describe and present it should reflect those details and give others an honest sense of who you are.
A Creative Inheritance
My father, Andres (Andrzej) Kossowski, known as Andre, had a lasting influence on how I see the world. Born near Warsaw in 1929, his life brought together technical work, exploration and art.
In Venezuela, he and his brother Mariano co-founded Mariano & Co., the independent television production company from which Promar Television later grew. He also worked in photogrammetry and aerial mapping, helping to map remote regions and support urban planning.
Alongside that work, he drew, painted, photographed and travelled. His curiosity took him from Venezuela to the landscapes of Namibia, and his creative interests were part of everyday life.
I recognise something of his curiosity in my own photography and writing. His influence also comes through in how I approach other people’s work: taking time to look, asking questions and trying to understand what might not be immediately obvious.
ABOUT ANDRES KOSSOWSKIIn Their Words
St Helena’s investment-promotion programme in South Africa was well attended and generated plenty of interest thanks to our excellent Commercial Representative in South Africa, Adam Kossowski.
MARK CAPES, Governor of St Helena, St Helena Government, 2013
Adam, the beautiful narration of the scene and your personal experience gives additional meaning. Your photos are magnificent. I cannot imagine more incisive and haunting portraits of wild animals than you produce.
BULENT ATALAY (United States)
You paint a glorious picture of your precious Africa through a wondrous use of lyrical prose. You have a very moving gift of language, Adam. Let it flourish and thank you for sharing it with us all.
SHELAGH CAMERON (Scotland)
Photography & Creative Practice
Photography and writing are personal interests I have pursued for many years. I photograph wildlife, birds, coastlines and places, often writing about what I observed and the circumstances around an image.
I’m drawn to the beauty of these subjects, but also to their rawness and the challenges they face. Sometimes a photograph leads me to learn more about an animal’s behaviour, the history of a place or the everyday lives of the people there.
You can explore the collections below and enquire about prints or image licensing. I also take on selected photographic assignments. Some of my published photographs and commissioned work appear here.
PublicationKruger Speaks / 2026
A selection of my wildlife photographs appears in Kruger Speaks, published by Struik Nature.
PublicationImagine / 2024
My photograph Pitter Patter featured in Imagine, a magazine covering art, painting and photography.
CalendarBirds of Southern Africa / 2024
My photograph Ruby Refined featured in the 2024 edition of the Birds of Southern Africa calendar.
FeatureGetaway / 2024
My photograph BR115 Night featured in Getaway, bringing my travel photography to its readers.
Front Cover FeatureDaily Star / 2023
My wildlife photograph A Nose for Fine Dining appeared on the front page of the Daily Star.
Selected AssignmentArniston Hotel / 2026
Commissioned photography exploring the Arniston Hotel, its coastal setting and the surrounding village.
Begin With a Conversation
If something here connects with what you’re working on, I’d be glad to hear from you. Tell me a little about your situation and what you have in mind. We can talk it through and see where my experience might be useful.