Africa Leadership Initiative/South Africa: Class III: Seriti Class

Lungile Bhengu

Dr. Lungile N. Bhengu-Baloyi is a director at M&M Development and Social Justice Advocates, where her work includes policy analyses, poverty alleviation and development facilitation, and public health and nutrition. An academic and entrepreneur, Lungile is instrumental in developing and strengthening rural women's' poverty alleviation, health, nutrition, and micro business enterprises. This she achieves by linking emergency farmers projects with commercial farmers and sewing enterprises with big clothing companies. In order to further advance the course of rural development, she co-founded and became the first chair of the FMBOKO-DO community radio station. She was a finalist for the 2006 Shoprite Checkers/SABC2 Woman of the Year award in the social welfare category. She has served in the following statutory bodies: The Provincial Tender Board, National Agricultural Marketing Council, Statistics South Africa, and the Health Professional Council. She was deputy chair for the Maize Trust, chairperson of the AFSA Foundation, and director of the Economic Society of South Africa. She has documented and presented papers on her work experience at international and local congresses and conferences. She has a BS in diatetics, a diploma in adult education, an LLM in public health law and human rights, and a PhD in administration. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

William Davis

William Davis is founder and director of Sporting Opportunities, a national organisation that uses sport as a catalyst to inspire values-based leadership amid young people of South Africa assisting in the process of galvanising the population toward positive change and development. Sporting Opportunities brings young people together from different backgrounds, to share their sporting abilities and to learn from one another, building bridges between people on a community level and breaking down barriers and negative stereotypes. Having played and captained provincial cricket teams at every age group level, William later transferred his passion for playing and leading teams into coaching. He qualified as a UCBSA cricket coach and completed the National Sports Council (NSC) Sports Leader programme. Having found his niche, he launched an indoor cricket school in the Eastern Cape. He was also an active member of the team involved in the start-up of the International Cricket Academy based at the University of Port Elizabeth. He is a graduate of the University of Port Elizabeth, now the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Ismail Dockrat

Ismail Dockrat is CEO of Denel Aviation. He was previously CEO of Wesgro, the official Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for the Western Cape Province, between 2003 and 2006, where he was awarded South Africa's Boss of the Year in 2005. Prior to Wesgro, he served as the chief operating officer of Trade and Investment South Africa and worked at Armscor in the aerospace division. He began his career at the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research. Ismail holds a national diploma in electronics engineering and completed his MBA at the University of Cape Town, with a period spent at Cambridge University under the Sainsbury Management Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Roland Egger

Roland Egger is operations director of motor franchises for South Africa at Barloworld Motor. He was previously dealer principal and franchise director. Prior to Barloworld, he held various positions at Volkswagen South Africa, including national franchise operations manager, regional sales and after-sales manager, and dealer training and development manager. He holds a bachelor's degree with honors in commerce and matriculated from Christian Brothers College. Roland has participated in executive development programs both at VWSA and Barloworld. He was born in Pretoria. When not working, Roland enjoys many outdoor hobbies with his family. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Nicola Galombik is executive director of Yellowwoods, the investment holding company of several businesses in the financial services sector as well as in the restaurant and leisure sector. Nicola sits on the global Yellowwoods board and is the chief executive responsible for social dividends across the Yellowwoods investment portfolio. Prior to this, Nicola established and ran Converse, a management consulting business within the Resolve Group, focused on large scale organizational change in the public sector and parastatals. Nicola has many years of experience in media, communications, social development, change and transformation, as well as experience in business, and has always chosen to work at the intersection between the two. She established the internationally acclaimed South African Broadcasting Corporation education department, held leadership positions in several anti-apartheid cultural and educational organisations and was involved in developing ANC education policy on the use of communication for education and development. She also worked on broadcasting and telecommunications regulation and policy at the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Nicola was a Fulbright scholar and has an MA in media and cinema studies from New York University and completed a global executive development programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Bongi Kunene is a director and head of public sector banking at Standard Bank South Africa. She is responsible for the bank's portfolio comprising municipal finance; provincial government development finance; financing of national, provincial and municipal owned entities, and banking services for social sectors including education and health. Prior to joining Standard Bank, Bongi worked as an economist, development finance specialist, practitioner in economic regulation, civil servant, researcher, and policy maker in positions based in South Africa and the United States. She was part of the South African Presidential team that worked on a response to the global financial crisis response from 2008. In that role she provided support to the President's Economic Adviser on the G20. She is a member of the board of South African National Parks, chairing the Audit and Risk Committee. She holds an MSc (Development Economics) from London University, United Kingdom. She did her undergraduate studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Lulu Letlape is executive director at Sanlam. Prior to this she was executive director for corporate affairs at Mercedes Benz South Africa. She holds a higher diploma in education and a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Natal (Durban). She also has an MA in public and development management from Witwatersrand University. Lulu also completed a leadership development programme with IMD Business School in Switzerland. Lulu serves on the boards of Optimum Coal Ltd, Workforce Holdings Ltd and Passenger Rail Agency of SA (PRASA) as a non-executive director. Lulu enjoys spending time with family, playing golf, travelling and reading. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Charles Luyckx is a chartered accountant at the Capricorn Group. Previously, he was a founding director of Nando's UK, which has grown from a start-up to 250 units trading with 7500 employees. He was also jointly responsible for four public market transactions in the leisure sector of the London Stock Exchange over the past seven years. He is a co-founder of the leading education sector NGO in South Africa called FUEL (www.fuel.org.za ). Charles is a chartered accountant having studied bachelor of commerce and bachelor of accounting at Wits and articled with KPMG in Johannesburg. He holds Senior Protea Colours for show jumping and is married with two beautiful children. His life purpose is to make a meaningful and permanent contribution to the lives of the people of Southern Africa. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Mondli Makhanya is the editor of the Sunday Times. He returned to the Sunday Times, where he had been a deputy managing editor for politics and policy, after a stint as editor of the Mail and Guardian. He is a regular commentator on BBC, SA FM, Radio 702 and television current affairs programmes. He started his career in journalism at the Weekly Mail in 1990 and was the paper's Cape Town bureau chief and a business writer. Mondli also spent an internship at Newsweek in New York. In addition, he was a political writer and deputy news editor of the Star, and associate editor of Sunday World. Mondli is on the national council of the SA National Editors' Forum. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Desireé Markgraaff is an executive producer and managing director at The Bomb Shelter Productions. From 1985 to 1992, Desireé worked as a line producer on numerous international feature co-productions, including Athol Fugard's The Road to Mecca, starring Kathy Bates. In 1993, disillusioned with the creative standard of South African feature films, Desireé decided to concentrate on other genres, producing many local television series and commercials. Desireé has won US International Film and Television, Avanti, Loerie, IPM and Artes Awards. In 1997, her multi-award winning television campaign, I'm Addicted to Life, was the only South African project invited to the United Nations media conference on drugs. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Bridgette Modise is CEO of Kutira Capital. Previously, she was a partner at accounting and advisory firm KPMG. After completing her articles with KPMG in 1995, she joined ABSA as a financial accountant and later joined the black accounting firm KMMT. She returned to KPMG when KMMT merged with KPMG in 2002. Bridgette is a chartered accountant and a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. She is a member of the Association for Advancement of Black Accountants (ABASA), the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), and the African Women Chartered Accountants Forum (AWCA). Her hobbies include travelling, gym, golf and reading. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Neo Muyanga is a composer and musician. He was born in Soweto into a long line of traditional composers and makers of the Timbila, a Mozambican tuned wood percussion instrument. He studied the Italian madrigal tradition with choral maestro Piero Poclen, in Trieste, Italy. In the mid 90's he co-founded the acoustic guitar duo, BLK Sonshine with Masauko Chipembere, garnering critical acclaim throughout Southern Africa and internationally. Neo writes, plays, and composes for chorus, chamber, and large ensembles. Most recently his "Memory of how it feels" was performed at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. He has also composed music for and toured with Britain's prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company, and South Africa's celebrated Handspring Puppet Company and served as artist-in-residence at the University of Cape Town School of Drama. He continues to tour widely as a solo performer and as a member of BLK Sonshine. Neo also curates the Pan African Space Station online. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Vuyani Ngalwana is a barrister at the firm Fountain Chambers. He was previously pension fund adjudicator for the government of South Africa, and before that he was deputy director of the Asset Forfeiture United. As a member of the Cape Bar Council, he was treasurer for a year, a founding member of Advocates for Transformation, a member of the Pension Lawyers Association, and chairman of the Special Board for Hearing Income Tax Appeals. He holds a bachelor of arts, a bachelor of laws, a postgraduate diploma in tax law, and a master of laws in income tax, all at the University of Cape Town. He schooled at various Gugulethu schools from Xolani Lower Primary to Intshinga Higher Primary and then Langa High School before crossing the railway line in 1985 to Rondebosch. He grew up in Gugulethu, Cape Town. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Hilary Perkins is a bluegrass and country singer. After 25 years of political organizing and non-profit administration and fundraising, she found her calling as a full-time performer, songwriter and recording artist. She performs in her grandmother's name (Nell Robinson). Her debut album Nell Robinson in Loango charted in Americana and Bluegrass music and she has appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, at the Strawberry Music Festival, Kate Wolf Folk Festival and many other fine venues for roots music. Her second album On the Brooklyn Road will be released July 2011. You can listen to her music and find current news at www.nellrobinsonmusic.com. Her husband Skip Battle has been her inspiration. She has a daughter, Cass, and two step-children, Dan and Emily. She lives in Berkeley, CA. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Felicia Roman is general manager of the Golden Valley Casino and Hotel as well as a director and shareholder of a human resource and organizational development consultancy. She is also a non-executive director of Direng Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Creda Communications (Pty) Ltd, and Mosaic Training Service and Healing Center for Women. Felicia joined KFM Radio (Pty) Ltd in May 2001 as general manager and became managing director. She spearheaded the growth and transformation of the station to being the market leader in the Western Cape and one of the 5 most profitable commercial radio stations in the country. In 2003 Felicia was voted one of the "10 most remarkable women in media." She has also been the head of the regional officer of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, the coordinator of the Provincial Development Council, the provincial director of the Natioanl Business Initiative, and the deputy CEO of Wesgro. Prior to the private sector, she taught geography at the University of Namibia. Felicia graduated from the University of Cape Town with a bachelor of arts and a postgraduate diploma in higher education. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Earl Sampson is the country director for TechnoServe South Africa. Technoserve works with entrepreneurial men and women in poor areas of the developing world to build businesses that create income, opportunity, and economic growth for their families, their communities, and their countries. He previously worked in Central America for two years and for Shell Oil locally and internationally. He was born in Athlone in the Western Cape and is committed to supporting change in a new South Africa. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Khumo Seopela Shongwe is director of human resources and transformation for Royal Bakofeng Holdings. She was previously vice president of human capital for South African operations at Lonmin PLC. She has also been head of transformation at De Beers Consolidated Mines, as well as a member of its executive committee; group human resources planning consultant at Anglo American Platinum Corporation; and various senior human resources roles with Transnet and Goldfields. She has more than ten years' experience in the South African mining industry and has workd in transformation, human resources consulting and strategic planning, black economic empowerment, and more. She graduated from Rhodes University with a degree in journalism and received a BS with honors in psychology and an MS in clinical psychology from the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). She continues to deliver limited clinical psychology services in her spare time. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Thina Siwendu is a founding partner and CEO of Siwendu & Partners Inc. and heads the firm's corporate commercial law department. Thina previously served as a representative of the National African Federal Chamber of Commerce in the interim council charged with the merger of NAFCOC Durban and the Durban Chamber of Commerce, as well as a board member of the Durban Investment Promotion Agency. Thina serves as a member of the KwaZulu Natal Law Society Special Complaints Committee. In 1996, Thina commenced practice in Durban. In 1995 she was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa. In 1993 she served Articles of Clerkship with the Johannesburg firm Cheadle Thompson & Hayson. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Cape Town and an LLB from the University of Natal. Her current board appointments include non-executive director of East Coast Radio and regional vice chairman of the South African Property Owner's Association. She is a member of the board of Thebe Investments Corportation, Ayavuna Women's Investments, and Kearsney College. Thina was awarded the Regional Business Achiever (Professional Services) for the year 2004/5 by the Businesswomen's Association sponsored by Nedbank. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Frederick Swaniker

Fred Swaniker is founder and CEO of African Leadership Academy, a world-class, pan-African secondary school. He founded Global Leadership Adventures, a youth leadership development program with sites in ten countries. Previously, he helped launch and directed Mount Pleasant English Medium School, one of the top-performing private elementary schools in Botswana. Fred was founding chief operating officer of Synexa Life Sciences, a biotechnology company in Cape Town. He was also a consultant for McKinsey and Company in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa. Fred was recognized by Echoing Green as one of 15 "best emerging social entrepreneurs in the world" in 2006. He was a 2009 TED Fellow. Fred holds an MBA from Stanford University, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar, and a BA magna cum laude in economics from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He is a Fellow of the third class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.