ROSHINI MAHARAJ

Private Client Portfolio Manager: Clucas Gray Investment Management

Roshini Maharaj is a CA(SA) working in the financial services industry, specifically with a Wealth and Investment Management focus. Her current role is at Clucas Gray Investment Management where Roshini is a private client Portfolio Manager.

Roshini is an alumni of KPMG and worked in the wealth and investment management divisions of several large South African Banks. Roshini served on numerous SAICA Committees including being a Past President of the Eastern Region, Deputy Chairman of the SAICA Board and a Director of The Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund (TEUF).

FREEMAN NOMVALO

Chief Executive Officer: SAICA

Freeman Nomvalo is the Chief Executive Officer of SAICA and has over 25 years’ work experience, 17 of which were at a senior level in the public and private sectors, he was the first African and longest-serving Accountant-General of a democratic South Africa. During this time, he served on multiple public sector boards. He led the team that drafted and presented the Audit Profession Act 2005 and worked with 18 Caribbean countries at the request of the Commonwealth Secretariat to develop their country governance framework.

Freeman is non-executive director of various companies. He was the CEO of the State Information Technology Agency. Freeman assisted Judge Christopher R Nicholson in the committee on the ministerial probe into the financial affairs of Cricket South Africa. He recently served on the Ntsebeza Inquiry into certain SAICA members employed by KPMG South Africa during various engagements with public and/or private entities. He was appointed CEO in February 2019.

VINCENT MOTHOLO

Non-Executive Chairman: SAICA

Vincent Motholo is a CA(SA) and Non-Executive Chairman of SAICA. He leverages professional exposure, career progression, and knowledge building gained over a 15-year professional career, marked by substantial development and success.

Vincent is the Executive Director Finance of the University of Cape Town (UCT). Prior to joining UCT he was a partner and director at SNG Grant Thornton.

Championing an innovation-friendly culture, with a parallel focus on developing talent and promoting professional growth, Vincent actively participates in the education of aspiring chartered accountants.

Vincent has served on numerous Board committees including SAICA’s Audit and Risk Committee as an independent non-Board member and as a Trustee at GetSet Trust, addressing challenges faced by the youth in achieving career success.

AKASH SINGH

Chairman: SAICA Eastern Region

Akash Singh is a Chartered Accountant and has completed his MBA (in Strategic Planning). He is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Sigma International and Chairman of SAICA’s Eastern Region. Akash was appointed President of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) from April 2013 to May 2015.

Akash has also been a Board member of the South African Chambers of Commerce (SACCI) and previously led the collective Chambers movement in Kwa-Zulu Natal (as the President at the Kwa Zulu Natal Business Chambers Council).  He has been a City Planning Commissioner for eThekwini Municipality (2014-2018). Akash has extensive experience in enterprise development, business incubation, innovation, business strategy, mentoring, coupled with strong commercial skills, particularly with regard to business turnarounds and capital restructuring.

ZAMA KHANYILE

Divisional Executive: Venture Capital & Corporate Finance

Zama Khanyile is a CA(SA) and Divisional Executive: Venture Capital & Corporate Finance with over 16 years’ experience in development finance, corporate finance, private equity and external audit. In her current role at Venture Capital & Corporate Finance she oversees the operations of two investment units: Strategic Project Fund which focuses on early-stage project development; and uMnotho Fund which provides new venture, expansion and acquisition Finance. She also oversees the NEF’s Women Empowerment Fund.

She has multi-sector experience having concluded deals in manufacturing, agro-processing, transportation, property, financial services, tourism, TMT, franchising, retail, and construction.

ANNABEL BISHOP

Chief Economist: Investec Bank Limited South Africa

Annabel Bishop joined Investec in 2001 and is the Chief Economist. She has worked in the macroeconomic, econometric, risk, financial markets, political risk, public finance and regulatory, among other, fields for around 25 years. Annabel is the holder of the Sake/Beeld Economist of the Year award for 2010 and has won numerous monthly Reuters Econometer awards and various Focus Economics (Economic Forecasts from the World’s Leading Economists) categories for correctly forecasting a range of economic variables. She has authored a wide range of in-house and external articles, published both abroad and in South Africa. She has also guest lectured at Gibbs, the University of Pretoria, Wits, UJ and other academic institutions, and has presented at various national and international conferences. Author of the “Financial Services sector and its support to the economy“ section in the Better Choices Ensuring SA’s Future.

STEPHEN KOSEFF

Former CEO of The Investec Group

Stephen Koseff is the former chief executive officer of the Investec Group. Dual listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Stephen was with Investec for 39 years in various capacities and CEO from 1996 to 2018. In 2017, Stephen was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Commerce Degree by the University of the Witwatersrand. He is a former non-executive director the South African Banking Association, a former board member of Business Leadership South Africa, former non-executive director and chairman of the South African Banking Association, a former director of the JSE Limited, a former member of the Financial Markets Advisory Board, and former chairman of the Independent Bankers Association.

Stephen is chairman of BidCorp Limited, Bud Group (Pty) Ltd, IEP Group (Pty) Ltd, Innovation Africa SA NPC, ArrowPoint Capital, co-chair of Youth Employment Service (YES) and a non-executive director of Investec Limited, Investec PLC, and Irongate Funds Management Limited (Australia) EDT Trust INL Investments (PTY) Ltd and Bravo Transport Holdings Ltd.

PROF BONANG MOHALE

President of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA)

Prof Bonang Mohale is the President of BUSA, Chancellor of the University of the Free State, Professor of Practice in the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) College of Business and Economics and Chairman of The Bidvest Group Limited, SBV Services and ArcelorMittal! He is a member of the Community of Chairpersons (CoC) of the World Economic Forum and author of best-selling books.

He is a highly respected South African businessman, who is known as much for his patriotism and his active role in seeking to advance the country’s interests. He is the past president of the BMF and Author of best-selling books. Bonang was the Chief Executive Officer of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) until 30 June 2019. Prior to joining BLSA, Bonang ended a distinguished term as Vice President, Upstream and Chairman of Shell Oil Products Africa (SOPAF) on the 30 June 2017. Bonang, who originally studied to be a medical doctor, has had a distinguished career at the helm and in leadership roles of several major South African and multinational companies.

ROBBIE BROZIN

Co-founder: Nando’s

Robbie Brozin is the co-founder of one of South Africa’s most loved and successful exports, Nando’s. He may have been born in a small town, Middelburg, but there’s nothing middle-of-the-road about him. Robbie’s love affair with Portuguese-style PERi-PERi chicken first started when friend and fellow founder, Fernando Duarte introduced him to Chickenland, a humble Portuguese café in the south of Johannesburg. This is where the brand of Nando’s first ignited and after just 35 years, continues to play with fire with over 1300 restaurants, over 30 000 Nandocas, across 23 countries around the world.

The success of the Nando’s brand can be found within one of its founding values, “it’s the people that make the chicken”. A personal philosophy which Robbie instilled within the business from day 1. This idea of developing and progressing the African human spirit has since lead Robbie to a number of ventures outside of the world of chicken, where he now spends majority of his time. Some of these include:

• The Nando’s Art Initiative
• Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator
• Goodbye Malaria
• Constitution Hill Trust

BRONWYN WILLIAMS

Futurist, Economist and Business Trends Analyst

Bronwyn Williams is a Futurist, Economist and Business Trends Analyst. Bronwyn’s particular areas of expertise include fintech trends, alternative economic models, and sustainable future design. She is also a partner at Flux Trends, which takes the unique view of “trends as business strategy”.

Bronwyn has over a decade’s experience in strategic management, trend research and foresight; consulting to clients in the public and private sector across the African continent. Her educational credentials include tertiary qualifications in Marketing Management (University of Johannesburg), Economics (University of London), Foresight (University of Manchester), and Future Studies (University of Stellenbosch). She is currently completing a Masters in Applied Economics from the University of Bath.

PROF KURT SARTORIUS

Senior professor in the School of Accountancy at the University of the Witwatersrand

Prior to 1996, Kurt was a professional adventurer and led anthropological and archaeological expeditions to Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Suriname, Colombia, and French Guinea. In 1994/95, he initiated a rainforest reforestation project in Rondonia, Brazil with the help of Anglo American, Brascan and a Brazilian company called CESBRA. The project was jointly managed by agroforestry personnel from the National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA) and himself with teams of volunteers. In 1996, Kurt became a full time academic at Wits University starting as a Senior Tutor. He then progressed to Full Professor in 2013. His main area of undergraduate teaching involves Management Accounting and postgraduate teaching in MCOM program focus on research methods. He is also a NRF accredited scientist in the field of health sciences. In July this year, at the age of 73, he completed a 1100km canoe journey on the Rio Madeira in the Amazon together with his son Benn and Wayne van Zijlalong. The aim of the journey was to raise awareness about the business relevance of climate change among corporates and raise funding for high impact research and reforestation initiatives.

DR IMTIAZ SOOLIMAN

Founder and Chairman: Gift of the Givers

Dr Imtiaz Sooliman qualified as a medical doctor in 1984. He commenced private practice in Pietermaritzburg in 1986, but chose to close his flourishing practice in mid-1994, choosing instead to focus his attention on Gift of the Givers Foundation, which he had founded in early August 1992.

His endeavour in this regard has seen Gift of the Givers Foundation emerge as one of the most respected humanitarian organisations in the world and is today the largest disaster response agency of African origin anywhere on the continent. Since 1992, Dr Sooliman has steered the organisation to many notable achievements and world firsts.

RIAZ HAFFEJEE

CEO: Metair

Riaz Haffejee served as the CEO of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa Proprietary Limited (“Sumitomo Dunlop”), a division of the Japanese listed company, Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited, where he held an Executive Officer position, as well as being the Chairman of its Middle Eastern subsidiary. Previously, Riaz was an Executive at Vodacom Business from 2008 – 2012 and he also occupied a number of senior managerial positions at BMW South Africa over the period 1996 – 2008. His responsibilities there included several positions in manufacturing at Plant Rosslyn and GM roles in Corporate and Government Sales and Customer Relationship Management in Head Office.

He serves as an Executive member of both the component industry body, NAACAM and the Durban Auto Cluster, as well as having served as a Director of the tyre industry body, SATMC. In addition to this Mr Haffejee is a Durban Chapter Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) member and holds an MBA in Customer Loyalty, a postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. He was appointed as the CEO of Metair with effect from 1 February 2021.

CYNTHIA STIMPEL

Executive Director: Whistleblower House

Cynthia has been the Director of The Whistleblower House since Feb 2022. Cynthia had a long career in Banking (33yrs), and the last 10 years was at SAA, in the capacity as Financial Risk Manager (8 years), and the last 2 years as the Group Treasurer. Highest qualification is an MBA. In 2019 she started a Support Group for Whistle Blowers in South Africa and is campaigning for the Rights and Plights for Whistle Blowers, through her company – Citizens of Conscience Foundation.

She is also a Motivational Speaker, speaking on her story as a Whistle Blower, and “making a difference where you are”. She is a Yoga Instructor for Adults and Children. She is a Board Member on four Boards. She volunteers at Accountability Now, Radio Veritas, and does community work. She bakes artisan baked bread, called “Granny’s Bread” and is the author of “Hijackers on Board”, recently published on the SAA saga. Director of The Whistleblower House, supporting whistleblowers. She received the Citation of Integrity Award from the Airline Pilots Association of South Africa (APLA-SA), for having stood up for the truth in the SAA transaction.

THABELA RHAPALA

MYDOUGH Managing Director, MYDOUCH

Thabelo’s passion for entrepreneurship started when she was young, fixing cars with her dad who was a mechanic and learning the ins and outs of selling, service delivery and managing employees. Fuelled by a desire to create impact, she started and co-founded her first business, a restaurant, when she was 19, as a young university student. She has since co-founded several businesses in the logistics, manufacturing, retail and security industries.

Thabelo went on to study an MBA with research on the impact of ESD on SMMEs in the country and how they can be supported. As senior manager at the AGSA, she headed the Enterprise and Supplier Development programme where she supported over 80 black audit firms who now enjoy an annual allocation of over R250 million in audit work on the AGSA’s annual R1 billion budget and has gone to win several industry awards.

Thabelo left the AGSA in June 2021 to join MyDough as its first MD. MyDough is an incubator and digital entrepreneurship academy that she grew from one employee to 20 full-time employees today. She currently supports over 2 000 businesses through their digital platform. She has also been instrumental in helping over 1 000 businesses to rebuild in the wake of the July unrests and KZN floods.

Thabelo understands very well that business is hard, and her goal is to become a partner to founders, supporting them where it matters most. These efforts have resulted in over 80% of businesses in their ecosystem survive the COVID-19 pandemic through their agile response strategy.