Faculty

Feyi Olubodun is one of the leading authorities on understanding the African marketplace. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Open Squares Africa, a marketing strategy consulting firm focused on advising multi-nationals and indigenous businesses on how to win in the African marketplace.

He is the author of the seminal book “The Villager: How Africans Consume Brands”. The book sets out the only proprietary framework for understanding African consumer. A seasoned business leader, Feyi was previously the CEO of Insight Publicis, Nigeria's foremost, and arguably, West Africa’s largest marketing communications firm.

Olubodun is a Global Executive MBA alumnus of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, alumnus of Lagos Business School, and a BSc Psychology graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). An inspiring speaker, facilitator and teacher, he is considered a leading authority on the African Consumer.

Qualifications
- MBA
- BSc in Psychology

Specialisation/s
- The African Marketplace
- The African Consumer
- Marketing Strategy

Dr. Sheykhetov is a business leader with a strong passion for cross-cultural studies. He has spent the past 18 years advising marketers of the leading local, regional and global brands in Sub Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, on how they can build sustainable businesses based on enduring consumer needs and market conditions. He has been based in Kenya since 2014, leading a team of researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa who undertake leading-edge qualitative research across Africa at Kantar, the world’s largest information and insights research firm.

He is a strategic and execution-driven leader with a proven track record of successfully turning around businesses. Sergey holds a BA in History (Novosibirsk State University, Russia), MA in History (Central European University, Hungary) and PhD in Economic History (University of California, USA).

Qualifications
- BA in History
- MA in History
- PhD in Economic History

Specialisation/s
- Cross-Cultural Studies
- Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Milton Nkosi is an award-winning journalist and media thought-leader. He joined the BBC in the late 80s just before the release of Nelson Mandela, covering all the township wars and the subsequent political negotiations, major stories across continent and interviewing all consequential African presidents and CEO’s until he retired in 2020 as Africa Bureau Analyst and Correspondent.

As founder and chairman of MMN International Consulting, he brings to bear a wealth of practical experience in media, communication and reputation management.

In a lauded 25-year career with the most watched and listened media global channel in Africa, the BBC, he has been based in the United Kingdom and in South Asia Bureaux Editor based in Delhi, India and South Africa as Africa Bureaux Chief.

He has covered major stories in Angola, the then Zaire which is present day DRC, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and many more others.

Nkosi has interviewed Walter Sisulu, Harry Belafonte, former US President Bill Clinton, Former UK Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, F.W. De Klerk, Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former President Jacob Zuma, President Thabo Mbeki, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Winnie Mandela and many other leaders.

He is a Trustee on the board of Warwick University’s Africa Project and has lectured at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism. He was instrumental in the publishing of the book “Soweto Inside Out” and wrote a chapter in the world acclaimed book “Something to Write Home About”.

In 2020 he went on a road trip with former BBC colleagues around South Africa giving talks about story-telling, investigative journalism, solutions journalism and deep listening at leading South African universities.

In 2017 Nkosi travelled to Dubai to interview Duduzane Zuma on allegations of State Capture. He is still the only journalist to have done so. His video went viral on social media and has over 1,2 million hits on Youtube.

Nkosi studied journalism at the BBC Academy's College of Journalism in London and management and leadership at Ashridge College in Hertfordshire.

Nkosi is married to Paediatric-Neurologist Dr. Dorcas Wilson and they are blessed with two children, Kgosietsile and Khanyisile. He’s happiest when seen through the lens of a proud father, husband and an ordinary township boy from Orlando West, Soweto, who supports Orlando Pirates.

Qualifications
- Journalism
- Management and Leadership

Specialisation/s
- Media, Communication and Reputation Management

Dr Mbele helps organisations and leaders to solve complex business-related problems and achieve synergy by aligning organisational strategies with culture, structure, processes, and human and financial resources.

A managing partner at Knowledge Anchors Group (KAG), he blends a wealth of experience in strategy consulting, academia and the public sector having held various leadership roles at Dual Point Holdings Pty, Wits Business School, Regenesys Management where he headed the Centre for Local Government as head of the National Development Agency (NDA) in Mpumalanga and Jet Education Services and Workplace Innovation (Pty), Ltd. Since 2017, Mbele has been one of the judges on Integrated Reporting (IR) awards co-hosted by PwC, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA).

Mbele anchors a thought leadership radio show called “Beyond Governance with Dr Mbele” on ChaiFM and has hosted numerous high-level interviews with captains of industry, legislators and senior government official on numerous leadership and management issues facing the country.

He holds Bachelor of Art (BA) in Political Studies, African Political Studies, History and Sociology, Posts Graduate Diploma in Management, Master’s degree in Management and a PhD in Corporate Governance from School of Governance from Wits University. He has published widely on governance, leadership and management. He also wrote a chapter in book on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) published by the Human Science Research Council (HSRC).

Over the past 15 years, Mbele has delivered keynotes in numerous national and international conferences on corporate governance.

Qualifications
- BA in Political Studies, African Political Studies, History and Sociology
- Post Graduate Diploma in Management
- Masters in Management
- PhD in Corporate Governance

Specialisation/s
- Governance
- Ethical Leadership

Dr. Puleng Makhoalibe is recognized as a global thought leader and practitioner in creativity, design thinking and innovation. She has over twenty years of experience working in the private sector, government and in higher educational institutions.

She established and lead the center of Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) at Henley Business School between 2015 and 2020. She co-founded the Alchemy Inspiration and Upside Global to help global organizations across diverse fields accelerate innovation.

Makhoalibe launched the first virtual creativity conference - World Creativity and Innovation Day, in 2020, which attracted participation from 41 countries.

In 2016, she received an Africa Social Innovation Leadership Award and in 2019 received an award to be part of the Women Leaders of the World and became a lead for the cohort. She is a member of the Women leaders of the World Council.

Makhoalibe holds a BSc in Computer Science and Statistics, an MBA and a PhD in Business Management and is an alumnus at Singularity University (Executive Programme on exponential technologies).

She is a passionate speaker, published author, facilitator, and an innovation and design thinking advisor.

Qualifications
- BSc in Computer Science and Statistics
- MBA
- PhD in Business Management

Specialisation/s
- Creativity, Design Thinking and Innovation

Awards/Recognition
- Excellence in Creativity Award (2014)
- Africa Social Innovation Leadership Award (2016)
- Women Leaders of the World (2019)

Dave Holland is a strategic brand thinker, narrator and designer, with over 20 years’ international branding and design experience. With a skill set covering brand narrative, positioning, design expression and identity guardianship, his strengths lie in broad-view conceptual approach to branding, writing and also hands-on-design.

Holland has worked across Africa, the US and Asia, with project experience covering financial services, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, city branding and sports. He has designed and led the creative direction for numerous standout institutions’s branding, notably UBA’s merger with Standard Trust, WEMA Bank, Skye Bank, Diamond Bank - all in Nigeria. Other African exprience includes Standard Bank in South Africa, BPR Atlas Mara in Rwanda, EFG-Hermes in Egypt, Indonesia's shariah Bank Muamalat, and the Rogers Group in Mauritius.

He is adept and experienced in C-suite relationships and holding brand conversations at the most senior and core organisational levels. Dave trained in design and holds a Master of Arts in Digital Media Management from Teesside University where he researched the depth of the social web today in uncovering audience needs. Dave is currently based in Singapore where he leverages its geographic platform to connect with similarly global-minded businesses. Dave co-founded and leads BBH Singapore's BLACK SHEEP DESIGN product vertical - an intrapreneurial strategic design practice within BBH Communications.

Qualifications
- MA in Digital Media Management (Teesside University)

Specialisation/s
- Creativity
- Digital Media

Professor Schreuder is considered to be the subject matter specialist in the field of customer experience measurement and management. He has over 25 years of experience and advises companies across multiple industries both locally and internationally. He founded the independent national benchmark for Customer Satisfaction, the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) in 2012.

He completed his Bachelor’s, Honours and Master’s degree in Marketing cum laude at the University of Pretoria (UP), and subsequently his doctoral studies at the University of Johannesburg. Schreuder held various academic positions up to Professor and Head of Department levels before he became a full-time practitioner in leading Consulta – a Customer Experience Advisory Consultancy - as Founder and CEO and CVO for 20 years until he sold it at the end of 2019.

Schreuder specializes in Customer Experience Measurement and Management, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Engagement, Customer Loyalty, Customer Service, Service Quality, CVP Design and Testing, Conjoint Analysis, Brand Fitness Analysis, Market Research Leadership.

Qualifications
- B Com
- B Com Honors
- M Com

Specialisation/s
- Customer Experience Measurement and Management
- Experience Management
- Research

Nnamdi Oranye is the author of Disrupting Africa: The Rise and Rise of African Innovation andTaking On Silicon Valley: How Africa’s Innovators will change its future. He has been named one of the 100 most influential people of African descent, an initiative by the United Nations.

His many travels and business experience across the continent have greatly contributed to his huge optimism for Africa and its bright future. He has explored how African Innovation truly has the potential to change the African narrative, as well as global and pan-African trends shaping the landscape in Africa. More recently he has begun to explore the overlap between Social Sciences, particularly Anthropology and the rise of African technology, arguing that we may have underestimated the value of African Innovation.

He features frequently as a presenter and chairperson across conferences internationally, contributes regularly to think-tanks on the subject of innovation, and has been named amongst the 100 most influential names in Africa's telecoms, media and ICT industry by the AfricaCom100 Research Board.

He is also the founder of the Disrupting Africa Encyclopedia, an online platform dedicated to identifying the 30 million Africans who can change the narrative and legacy of Africa.

He is a writer for CNBC Africa, focusing on the social and technological trends in African Innovation.

Specialisation/s
- Innovation

Thebe Ikalafeng is a trailblazing Hall of Fame global African branding authority and THE leading advocate for a brand-led African renaissance. He has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine, 100 Most Reputable Africans by Reputation International and 100 Most Influential Creative People of African Descent. Since being awarded a Marquette University American Marketing Association for marketing excellence upon graduation in 1992 in the United States of America, he has made a sustained, distinguished and consequential contribution to branding and in reframing the African narrative for over 30 years. He is the founder of The Brand Leadership Group, a multi-disciplinary advisory group at the intersection of strategy, creativity and intellectual property law; the founder of the independent non-profit Brand Africa movement for a brand-led African renaissance and ‘Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands’ initiative which is widely referenced as the definitive barometer of brands in Africa. A respected executive, he has served on diverse listed and unlisted boards for over 25 years, including Mercantile Bank Group (acquired by Capitec Bank in 2019) (15 years), South African Tourism (10 years), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) (10 years) and Foodcorp (3 years). He is a member of the Sol Plaatje University council, PSI board and WWF Nedbank Green Trust. He has received Lifetime Achievement awards by Financial Mail AdFocus and the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa; an EMY Africa Special Recognition Award in Ghana for driving a brand-led African agenda. He has been to every country in Africa and every continent in the world, and the Arctic in Greenland to Antarctica; trekked the rare silverback gorillas on the Virunga mountains in Rwanda and Uganda; summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Mt. Sinai (Egypt) and Mt. Elbrus (Russia), and jumped the 216m high Bloukrans Bridge bunjee in South Africa, among his many breath-taking adventures to over 120 destinations globally. He is the best-selling author of “The Traveller: Crossing Borders and Connecting Africa,” a reflection on his journey across Africa and the world, building brands and inspiring a better Africa. Born and raised in Kimberly, South Africa, he was educated in the USA, Italy and South Africa. He holds BSc Business Administration, MBA and LLM (Intellectual Property Law) degrees. In 2024 the University of Johannesburg and University of South Africa conferred him with honorary doctoral degrees, PhD (Honoris Causa), for exceptional contributions to branding in Africa. A consummate pan-African, “Thebe is Africa,” (TedxGhana) and ‘the foremost branding authority in Africa,’ (African Business).

Qualifications
- BSc
- MBA
- LLM
- CM (SA)

Specialization/s
- Brand Strategy
- Intellectual Property

Onkgopotse JJ Tabane is a Professor of Communications at the UNISA School of Business Leadership, Adjunct Professor of Media studies at the University of Botswana and Adjunct Faculty at ABLA (Africa Brand Leadership Academy). He is the Editor of Leadership and BBQ Magazines and anchor of the award-winning “Power to Truth with Professor JJ Tabane” at eNCA TV in South Africa.

Since starting his career in 1989 when at only 25 became a ministerial spokesperson of the then Department of Constitutional Development and in 2002 being selected the inaugural joint winner of the Government Communicator of the year; he’s held roles as Communications Advisor for several inter alia, for the Chamber of Mines, the African Development Bank for the APRM (AU’s governance advisory body) representing 40 countries; Vice President of Communications for the South African Airways in 2006; consultant to Brand South Africa and Water Research Commission; convenor of the National Communications Task Team; First Chief Information Officer of the Congress of the People ( COPE); CEO of an investor relations company Graphicor Pty Ltd, a subsidy of a JSE listed ADCORP.

He has served or serves on the boards of the multi-billion JSE listed company Altron, Powertech and UWC Foundation; Chairperson of the UWC Media Society, Chair of Finance at UWC and Transformation at North- West University; and as council member of the North-West University and the UWC. He holds a BA degree from University of Limpopo, a BPROC degree from University of the Western Cape (UWC), a Master’s degree in Political Economy from Nelson Mandela University (NMMU) and PhD in Media Studies from Wits University, and completed leadership programmes at Wits University’s Wits Business School and UCT Business School.

A thought leader and sought after speaker, he is author of “Lets Talk Frankly: Letters to Influential South Africans on the state of our nation” ( Pan MacMillan) and a biography of Major Madisa Mfeka “ Yes I am a pilot” ( Seriti sa Sechaba publishers); has penned more than 300 opinion pieces since 2006 for the City Press Newspaper, Huffington Post, The Mail and Guardian, Daily Maverick, The Star and the Sunday Times, and hosted Frank Dialogue on Ubuntu Radio; Power Perspective on Power 987; Frankly Speaking on SABC 3; “Your View” on Newzroom Afrika and “Power to Truth” on eNCA; and is the editor of Leadership Magazine. He delivers sessional lectures in African Media Studies Honours Class; Media and Politics.

Specialisation/s
- Crisis and Conflict Communications
- Effective Media Relationships

James Woods is an award-winning African achiever with significant experience dealing with governance issues, reputation management, strategic media, and communications. He has served in the Malawian diplomatic corp.

He has served as a communications advisor to two African governments; worked in the diplomatic field; The Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Navigate Response and has consulted for numerous international entities such as Ras Al Khaimah Gas and Surestream Petroleum.

He has placed a number of clients in leading global media, developed their branding, cultivated a strong business and leadership portfolio and handled issues around reputation management, media, communications, and brand-awareness.

James is a Founder and Co-Founder of numerous businesses with operations in the United Kingdom; The Balkans and Malawi focussing on providing tailor-made services to corporations, individuals and governments on complex issues which are usually at the nexus of the political, business, and media worlds.

As an avid lover of sports he serves as a Director and Southern Africa Partner at Rainbow Sports Investments, a sports company that identifies, develops and manages talented African athletes to ensure they reach the elite level of sport. He is also a FIFA registered football intermediary with the Football Association of Malawi.

Qualifications
- Bachelor Degree with Honours in Politics, Philosophy and History
- Master of Science in Social Policy and Development, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE
- Executive Leadership Programme, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
- Certificate in Global Diplomacy, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) joint programme with the University of London
- Executive Certificate in Shipping Economics, Investment and Finance, CASS Business School and Baltic Exchange
- Certificate in Job Creation for African Youth, Ashoka Changemakers
- Diplomatic Training, Clingendael Institute in The Netherlands

Specialization/s
- International Relations

Recognitions
- African Achiever, 2015
- Young African Leader, 2015
- Malawian Achiever, 2016

Dr. Keith Dinnie is considered one of the world’s leading authority on place branding for cities, regions and nations. He is the author of the first textbook on nation branding, Nation Branding – Concepts, Issues, Practice (Routledge, 2007) and the editor of City Branding – Theory and Cases (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). His books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian. His research focuses on the application of strategic brand management techniques within the domains of tourism promotion, export promotion, inward investment attraction, and public diplomacy. His research covers the branding of cities and regions as well as nations. He has published in several international journals, including International Marketing Review and Journal of Brand Management. He has delivered keynote speeches, workshops, seminars and conference presentations across the world. He has advised the United Kingdom Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra); the Korean Presidential Council on Nation Branding, the Dundee Brand Group responsible for the branding of Dundee city and region, Rustenburg City Council in South Africa and numerous other nations and cities globally. He is the founder of Brand Horizons and Head of Management and Marketing, University of Dundee School of Business, Dundee, United Kingdom. Dinnie earned a PhD, Division of Marketing, Caledonian Business School, Glasgow Caledonian University (2006) for his dissertation on ‘Conceptualising Nation Branding: A Qualitative Inquiry into an Under-Theorised Domain in Marketing,’ an MSc Marketing from, University of Strathclyde (1997) and a BA Honours French with German (Summa cum laude), Department of French, University of Edinburgh. Awarded 7 July 1987.

Qualifications
- PhD in Marketing
- MSc in Marketing
- BA Honours French with German

Specialization/s
- Place Brand Management for cities, regions, countries and other localities

Prof. Lyal White established the research and advisory practice Contextual Intelligence in August 2020. Prior to this, he was the founding Director of the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, where he is a Senior Research associate and visiting faculty. The focus of the JBS under his leadership was on growing and scaling new business in Africa, committed to an innovative approach to learning that revisits the purpose of business that is both contextually relevant and sustainable.

His areas of interest and expertise cover a broad range of interdisciplinary fields, with a particular focus on comparative political economy and strategy in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He is widely published in news media, academic journals and books, and a regular commentator on radio, television and social media.

Having worked in a range of sectors covering themes from investment strategy, competitiveness, leadership and culture in new and complex markets to reform, growth and development in various geographies around the world, he has developed a keen interest in measuring and understanding the complexity and opportunity around context, and how this relates to a global mindset. How countries, firms and individuals improve their competitive performance balanced with purpose and impact is key. To this end, Prof. White has undertaken various studies and developed indices around institutions, metrics of performance and economic progress.

Prof. White has vast experience in ‘on-the-ground’ research and advisory in new markets – especially in Africa and Latin America. To this end, he has championed a diversity of initiatives and publications, and worked with a wide range of partners in various countries seeking fresh opportunities, always deeply conscious of impact on the social, cultural and political domain.

Prof. White has lived and worked in South Africa, Rwanda, Argentina, Colombia, Morocco and the US. He is a Research Associate at the Brenthurst Foundation and a board member and faculty on the Global Leadership Programme with the Conscious Leadership Institute, the Chair of the Eye Gym advisory board, and was elected to the board of the Association of African Business Schools (AABS) in June 2019.

Prof. White was previously at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at the University of Pretoria, and has taught at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, Science Po – Bordeaux, France, and the Kelly School of Business - Indiana University. He lectures regularly at CEDEP in Fontainebleau, France, Strathmore Business School in Kenya, and was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at UC Berkeley in the US.

Lyal is committed to purpose-driven business with a deep cultural understanding and impact. The right measures of performance are key. He is of the firm belief that strong institutions and connectedness builds community, and this will harness long-term prosperity for people and organisations across the globe.

Qualifications
- PhD in Political Economy

Specialization/s
- Comparative Political Economy and Strategy in Africa

Kwame Senou is one of the leading marketing and communications professional, building brands in Francophone Africa. He is the Founder and Managing Director at Opinion & Public, a PR firm based in Côte d’Ivoire.

Former journalist, he was COO and Board Director of HMG, the affiliate of Omnicom Media Group in Francophone Africa. He has worked with multinationals such as Facebook, Unilever, MTN, Brown Forman, Moov Africa and has also advised European Union and the Government of Benin Republic.

He holds Business and Private Law master’s degree and takes continuous learning seriously will attendance to program at Harvard Business School and The Wharton School. Kwame Senou is a member of many professionals’ organizations, including International Advertising Association (IAA), Public Relations and Communication Association (PRCA) and the African Public Relations Association (APRA) where he also serves as an Advisory Council member representing West Africa Region.

Qualifications
- Masters of Law, Universite d’Abomey-Calavi
- Post Graduate in Business Law, Universite d’Abomey-Calavi
- BSc, College Catholique Père Aupiais
- Creating and Implementing Strategy for Competitive Advantage, Wharton School of Busines
- Leading Professional Service Firms, Harvard Business School

Specialization/s
- Marketing and Communications
- Public Relations

Koffi Kouakou is the former director of the Unilever Mandela Rhodes Academy for Communications and Marketing Academy (UMRA) at Wits University, a funded initiative by the Unilever Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Rhodes Foundation, where he lectured in strategic government communications and scenario planning. He also lectures in media sociology studies, government communications and media crisis management at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) in Johannesburg. He is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Africa China Studies at the University of Johannesburg and an adjunct faculty at the Africa Brand Leadership Academy in Johannesburg.

He is a director with the South Africa Node of the Millennium Programme, a network of affiliate of the Millennium Programme in Washington, D.C. that deals with foresight-based activities and produces the authoritative annual publication “State of the Future”.

He is also the managing director of Stratnum Futures, a scenario planning, futures, strategy consulting and advisory firm. He is an alumnus of the Oxford University Said Business School Scenarios Programme and the Global Business Network Developing and Using Scenarios (DUS). He was the co-ordinator of the Program on Environment Information Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa with the World Bank in Washington, D.C. where he led the programme on environmental information systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He has co-authored a book titled AfricaDotEdu: IT Opportunities and Higher Education in Africa, 2003, and a published think piece titled “AFREEDOMIA: The Futures of African Freedoms”.

Kouakou holds Master of Science (Information and Communication Sciences) and Master of Arts (Natural Resources and Environment) degrees from Ball State University, Maîtrise C2. (Géographie – Gestion de l’Environnement) from the Université Nationale de Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Certificat en Communication (Département d’Anglais) Université Nationale de Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He is fluent in English and French, and learning Mandarin.

Qualifications
- Master of Science (Information and Communication Sciences)
- Master of Arts (Natural Resources and Environment)
- Maîtrise C2. (Géographie – Gestion de l’Environnement)
- Certificat en Communication (Département d’Anglais)

Specialization/s
- Communication Strategy and Scenario Planning

Dr du Plessis is well known in the environmental sector.

He has successfully headed WWF South Africa as CEO since 2007. He also serves both globally and continentally on several WWF network committees and working groups.

Through a varied and diverse career path, he has been part of several services and boards including the WWF Nedbank Green Trust, the Leslie Hill Succulent Karoo Trust, the National Parks Trust of South Africa, the Table Mountain Fund and the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria. He also chairs the Academic Advisory Board of the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Studies.

Before joining WWF, he was the director of the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at the University of Cape Town - one of just six national Centres of Excellence in South Africa. He has also served as the assistant director at the former Natal Parks Board and was a post-doctoral research associate at the University of California, Berkeley.

Du Plessis holds a BSc in Agriculture from Stellenbosch, an honours in Zoology from Pretoria, a PhD in Zoology from the University of Cape Town and an Executive MBA from the Graduate School of Business in Cape Town.

He has authored and co-authored over 50 scientific publications in the fields of conservation biology and behavioural ecology and published two books, earning the National Research Foundation’s first President’s Award in the animal sciences.

Specialization/s
- Responsible Business and Conservation

Janine Hills is the Founder and CEO of Janine Hills Authentic Leadership, as well as the Founder and joint CEO of Ignite Africa, an advisory business focusing on crisis and reputation management throughout Africa.

Janine’s extensive business knowledge, skills and intricate understanding of reputation management are the outcome of over 38 years of experience across various sectors of industry, including financial services, hospitality and telecoms.

Janine was a former head of group communications for First National Bank (FNB), and a founding member of the team that built FirstRand’s eBucks, an e-commerce initiative for FNB’s innovative eBucks programme. She was extensively involved in the formulation and implementation of the multi-brand strategy, internal communications and e-commerce initiatives of the financial services group.

Janine’s integrity in business relationships is the foundation upon which she launched a Reputation Management company in 2005. Janine grew the organisation into a leading pan-African business before selling it to staff in 2020 to embark on her new journey with Janine Hills Authentic Leadership.

She values any opportunity to share with clients the fruits of nearly four decades of business experience, particularly her understanding of the principles of sound reputation management and good corporate governance.

In her role as Founder and CEO of Janine Hills Authentic Leadership, Janine shares sharing the skills and knowledge she has acquired over the years with the best of South Africa’s executive leadership (C-suite) and boards.

Janine has delivered world-class advisory services to at least 50 JSE-listed companies. In addition, she has operated within at least 10 African countries, and advised many multi-national companies. She has also provided her services as a facilitator for the United Nations.

Most recently, Janine contributed a chapter on Effective Crisis Communication for the recently published e-book Managing Organisations During the COVID 19 Vortex.

Boards & Directorships
- Brand South Africa (2016 – 2019)
- International Women’s Forum South Africa (IWFSA) (2016 – March 2020) – Board position

Advisory Boards
- Merchelles Collective
- 2Care4Carers

Specialization/s
- Crisis Communication
- Reputation Management

Gina Din-Kariuki is a respected business woman, philanthropist and the Founder and Executive Chair of the Gina Din Group. A journalist by training, over the past 30 years she has been providing state of the art media and communication strategy to corporates, governments and NGOs in Africa and abroad through her Gina Din Communications Group (GDG), which was acquired earlier this year by the world’s No.1 PR company Edelman Group out of New York. GDG is the most awarded PR agency in the region with over 130 local and international awards. Gina remains an advisor to Edelman for Africa. Gina has built a reputation as a leading authority in the communications field in Africa. Gina serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Kenya Red Cross and runs her the Gina Din Foundation, established to empower youth and women with high potential by connecting them to global resources and mentors. She is passionate about creating a positive narrative for Africa and is an ardent champion for “Shaping African Conversations.” In 2015, Gina was named East Africa’s most outstanding business woman of the year by CNBC and named one of 2015’s most influential Africans by New African Magazine. In March 2016 Gina was appointed the UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund’s, honorary Ambassador. Her role is to support the Fund’s efforts to empower women and adolescent girls, with a focus on advancing their health and rights. Gina is the best-selling author ‘Daughter of Africa’ and founder of the ‘Daughter of African Initiative’ to champion the empowerment of girl-child and women across Africa.

Specialization/s
- Public Relations
- Reputation Management