Africa Leadership Initiative/South Africa: Class V

Mahesh Cooper

Mahesh Cooper is a director at the investment management company Allan Gray Limited. He heads up the Institutional Client Servicing in South Africa as well as overseeing the Orbis business unit. Orbis is the Allan Gray offshore partner. He is also a director of Allan Gray Botswana and Allan Gray Namibia. In addition, he is a trustee for the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and E2. Mahesh also has experience in asset and healthcare consulting. Mahesh completed his bachelor's in business science degree at the University of Cape Town and is a fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa as well as the Institute of Actuaries (UK). He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Zohra Ebrahim is chair of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority of South Africa. She also chairs the Social Housing Company, which was awarded the Govan Mbeki Award for Excellence in 2008. She previously chaired Organization Development Africa, a niche strategic management consultancy, and was director of the Johannesburg Housing Company, the New Housing Company, and Inframax. Zohra also headed the Consultative Business Movement in the Western Cape before it became the Natioanl Business Initiative. She was elected the first black female president of the South Africa Institute of People Management. She serves on the board of Edcon, Development Africa Group, and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, of which she is the deputy chair, as well as the Central Advisory Forum, which she chaired. She has received the Lebone Women Achievers Award and was named a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and a Fellow by the Institute for People Management. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Malik Fal is managing director at Endeavor. He was previously the business operations director at Microsoft South Africa, where he also led business marketing and operations for West, East, and Central Africa. Before Microsoft, he was vice president for Africa at the OTF Group, a consultancy firm. He also spent six years at PepsiCo. He is particularly experienced in business strategy for firms in developing countries, and the practical roles government, private sector institutions, and individuals must play to find focused and sustainable solutions in the development process. Malik is passionate about the need to reduce the wealth gap between rich and poor nations and has been involved in a variety of competitive initiatives in emerging markets around the world. He has led successful consulting engagements with the World Bank, the Bermuda tourism industry, and the Rwandan President. He holds a master's in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Sello Helepi is executive for corporate social transformation at Pretoria Portland Cement. He joined PPC in 2007 from a major gold mining company, where he held a number of management positions in human resources, training, communications and transformation. Sello is the founder and president of Abundant Life Global Ministries, a public benefit organization, and a member of Meropa Events Management & Services, where he volunteers time motivating the youth and does community upliftment activities. He graduated from Avondale College and the University of Newcastle in Australia. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Patrick Kabuya is a senior financial management specialist at the World Bank, South Africa office. His role involves partnering with and supporting African governments, regulators and accounting professional bodies, to enhance financial reporting and accountability; key ingredients for accelerating economic growth and reducing poverty. Patrick served in a similar role at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), as the project director for the public sector and Africa from 2003 until 2008. Prior to SAICA, he was an auditor at Ernst & Young. Patrick is a professional accountant who holds a masters degree in international accounting from University of Johannesburg, a bachelor of commerce degree in accounting from University of Nairobi, and a professional qualification from Association of Certified Chartered Accountant. He is a certified public accountant of Kenya. In 2008, he completed the NEPAD Business Foundation African Leadership Program at Wits University Business School. Patrick serves as chairman of a school governing body as an executive member of the Gauteng Governing Body Foundation that empowers school governors. He is also a member of the Cricket South Africa Audit Committee and chairman of NEPAD Business Foundation Audit Committee. Patrick is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Jullian Khala is sales and marketing manager at Telkom Mobile. She was previously executive head for community based services at Cell C (Pty) Ltd and associate director of the School of Chemistry at the North West Technikon, now Tshwane University of Technology. She has over 20 years of experience in tertiary education and training and corporate, small and medium enterprise, and community development organizations. Jullian holds a national diploma in analytical chemistry from Technikon North West, now Tshwane University of Technology; a higher diploma in chemistry from Technikon Pretoria, now Tshwane University of Technology; and an MBA from Demontfort University. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Jacob Lief is founder and president of the Ubuntu Education Fund. Seeking to transform the lives of the children of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Ubuntu created an integrated system of medical, health, educational, and social interventions that would ensure that a child who was either orphaned or vulnerable could, after several years, succeed in the worlds of education and employment. Ubuntu provides orphaned and vulnerable children with life-saving HIV support services and essential educational resources. The organization was started in a broom closet with a raffle on a university campus and today has over 80 full time staff in South Africa and fundraising offices in London and New York. In 2006 and 2008, Ubuntu was recognized by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship as one of South Africa's top NGOs. Ubuntu has also been highlighted by the Clinton Global Initiative on numerous occasions as an organization effecting lasting change in South Africa. In 2010, Jacob was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Michael Mabuyakhulu is a member of the Executive Council on Economic Development in the South African Provincial Legislature. Until 1999, he was Convener of the African National Congress Caucus within the Economic Development and Tourism Portfolio Committee. Before joining the legislature in 1994, he was the regional secretary of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) for northern KwaZulu-Natal. Mike began his career in 1982 as a production manager for Mintex, where he was elected president of the engineering sector of the Metal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa. Throughout the 1980s, he facilitated political negotiations between the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party. Mike holds a degree in management and a postgraduate diploma in business administration from the University of Wales. He also completed an advanced business program through the Durban University of Technology. He is currently pursuing his masters in business administration. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Dr. Percy Mahlathi is deputy director general for human resources at the Department of Health of South Africa. He was previously CEO of the South African Medical Association, whose formation he spearheaded. Prior to that, he was in private practice in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. He worked at McCords and King Edwards Hospitals in Durban. Percy is currently a member of the Health Worker Migration Global Policy Advisory Council of the World Health Organization and of its Core Expert Group on Health Worker Retention in Remote and Rural Areas. Previously, he chaired the Ethics Institute of South Africa and was a member of the Council of the Medical University of Southern Africa and of the Socio-Medical Affairs Committee of the World Medical Association. Percy received his bachelor's of medicine and bachelor's of surgery from the University of Natal Medical School, now the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, and his master's of philosophy from the University in Stellenbosch. He has a certificate in advanced management from the Manchester Business School. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Nhlanhla Mjoli-Mncube is CEO of Mjoli Development Company (Pty) Ltd. Previously, she ran Eziko Investments. She has worked as the economic adviser to deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; executive director at a subsidiary of Murray and Roberts; survey research supervisor at Washington State University; and chairman of the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency, the Rural Housing Loan Fund, Women for Housing, and the Open Society Institute of South Africa. She is executive president of Alpha Women's Network, which links women to economic opportunities, training, finance, mentoring, and coaching. She is a past winner of the Businesswoman of the Year Award, Top Woman of the 90s, Finance Woman of the Year, and the Black Businesswoman of the Year Award. She holds a BA from the University of Fort Hare, an MS in urban and regional planning from the University of Cape Town, and a certificate in technology management from Warwick University. She has a certificate in senior executive management from Harvard and is a SPURS (Special Program in Urban and Regional Studies) Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe is CEO of Kutana Investment Group. She was most recently CEO of Hewlett-Packard South Africa. Previously, she was CEO of Alcatel South Africa, divisional managing director at Siemens, and marketing director at Lucent as well as holding senior executive positions at Telkom. She is a director at Knorr Bremse SA (Pty) Limited, Absa Group Limited, and Paracon Holdings Limited. In 2005, she won the ICT Achiever of the Year Award, the Top ICT Businesswoman in Africa Award, and ICT Personality of the Year. She is the recipient of the Businesswomen's Association Businesswoman of the Year Award in the Corporate Category. Thoko holds a BS from the University of Swaziland and an MS in medical chemistry from Loughborough University of Technology. She has completed a senior executive program at Harvard and a managing corporate resources program from the Institute of Development Management of Swaziland and holds a diploma in teaching. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Nkikia Moshesh is a partner at the law firm Webber Wentzel, where she specializes in mergers and acquisitions. She has advised on a number of transactions involving foreign direct investments into South Africa, as well as investment by South African companies, with a particular focus on investments in and out of Francophone countries. She previously worked as in-house counsel at Absa Ban, focusing on banking privatization transactions, structured trade, commodity finance, and infrastructure finance transactions. She is also a lecturer at the Black Lawyers' Association. She read law at the University of Cape Town and received an LLM from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, where she was the recipient of a Mandela Fund Scholarship. She is a governor of the Heritage Foundation of St. Andrew's School for Girls. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Nick Motsatse is CEO of the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO). He was previously an executive and director in charge of marketing and related aspects of the business. Nick was elected as one of the two vice chairs of the board of directors of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) in June 2007. He also chairs the Business Intelligence Group (BIG), a committee of the Board of CISAC established to gather, process and disseminate intelligence regarding future trends in the copyright and related industries. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of CISAC Africa Committee. Nick is the immediate past chairman of the National Arts Council (NAC) in South Africa and has been involved in pioneering a number of music industry initiatives in South Africa. He holds a degree in theology from the University of Fort Hare. Married with four daughters, Nick spends his leisure time around his children, encouraging and supporting them in developing their talents to their fullest potential. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Trevor Ncube is the executive deputy chairman of the Mail & Guardian Media Group. He is also the founder, owner, and executive chairman of the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard. He previously worked at the Financial Gazette in Zimbabwe, where he was executive editor and assistant editor. He received the Zimbabwean Editor of the Year Award in 1994. Trevor has been president of Print Media South Africa, chair of the Newspaper Association of South Africa, chair of the board of the Southern Africa Regional Poverty Network, and chair of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. He also served on the international board of the World Association of Newspapers. He has a BA with honors in economic history from the University of Zimbabwe and completed the advanced management and leadership program at the Said Business School of the University of Oxford. He was a 2006 Print Media South Africa Fellow and was awarded the International Publishers Association Freedom Prize in 2007. He is married to Nyaradzo, and they have a son, Keith, and a daughter, Maya. He loves reading, is a keen golfer and loves traveling. Trevor is a devout Christian. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Loyiso Ndlovu is group executive manager at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. She was previously the head of human capital and technology and regional manager for the Western and Northern Cape there. She ran her own management consulting firm, UnAfriSol in partnership with another IT company. She has lived in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Swaziland and is a trustee of the PEACE Foundation, an NGO focusing on sustainable rural economic development models. Loyiso is also on the board of the Institute of Bankers on behalf of the Development Finance Institutions. She lectures part-time on business strategy, supervises MBA research students, and is a council member of Conservation International South Africa. Loyiso trained as a software developer at the University of Birmingham, from which she graduated with a BS in industrial information technology. She holds an MBA from the University of South Africa. Loyiso has two small children. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Sindiswe Zandile Nyandu is a corporate executive at the Edcon Group. She was previously the managing director of Consulex, a Management Consultancy specialising in Multi-Disciplinary Project Management and Development Facilitation. A British Chevening Scholar, Sindiswe was the director-general of the KwaZulu Natal Province Department of Human Settlements, a position she held from 2005 until 2010. Armed with a legal background and a master of science degree in organisational change and development from the University of Manchester, UK, Sindisiwe is a specialist in change management and drganisational development. Her international experience includes leading certain South African fact finding delegations and missions to countries such as Italy, UAE, Kenya, Canada, Cuba, and China to mention but a few. Sindiswe has served on many boards including serving as the chairperson of the KwaZulu Natal Liquor Board. A TALP Award recipient, Sindiswe is the stakeholder relations manager for the Beyond Women's Network, a co-operative of women with the objective of being pioneers in creating a platform in KwaZulu Natal for women to harness their potential and strengthen women's participation in the economy through relevant, suitable and appropriate partnerships. Sindiswe's passion is in development, particularly the provision of shelter for the homeless. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Zandile Nzalo is the founder and managing director of Zanenza Communications, an agency specializing in public relations, event management and stakeholder relationship management. With over 20 years experience in media, Zandile has worked as producer and presenter for several broadcasters including, SABC Radio & TV, Radio Bop, Bop TV, 702 Talk Radio and Mnet. In business, her portfolios have included general manager for Channel O DStv, media director of loveLife, CEO of the Association for Communications & Advertising and Acting, and CEO of Indalo Yethu Trust. Zandile recently launched Find Yo Fayah (FYF) a motivational campaign aimed at accelerating youth participation in socio-economic development. She was named Top Emerging Female Entrepreneur and one of the Top Women in Business & Government Awards in 2004. Zandile serves on the Council for the University of Johannesburg, Gauteng Film Commission, Bokamoso Investment Trust, and Indalo Yethu Trust amongst others. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Michelle Odayan is executive director of Indiba-Africa Development Alliance. She co-founded the Indiba-Africa Group and ODM Consult, two human rights and management consulting firms. She is an arbitrator and mediator with the South African Local Government Bargaining. Council (SALGBC) and the Motor Industry Bargaining Council and is actively involved in a variety of professional associations. She has held formal positions with ACCORD, Olive OD&T, Business against Crime, and Agenda Feminist Media. Between 2000 and 2004 she was seconded from BAC to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to lead the court management restructuring process within the lower courts. She served on the Presidents Working Group on Women between 2005 and 2007 and continues to provide advisory support to a number of public and civil society boards. Michelle holds BA LLB degrees from the University of Natal. She lives in Durban with Anil Naidoo and their daughter Antara. Michelle is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Jabulani Sipho Sikhakhane is spokesperson for the South African National Treasury. He was previously editor in chief of Destiny Man, a men's magazine focusing on business and lifestyle. He has worked for the Financial Mail, Finance Week, Business Day, and Business Report. He is currently a political, economic, and business columnist for Business Day. Jabulani's career highlights include breaking the story for the Financial Mail about plans by South African Breweries (now SABMiller) to move its head office and primary listing from Johannesburg to London. He has written extensively on black economic empowerment (BEE), corporate governance, and other South African corporate developments. He has participated in the Insead Business Journalists Seminar and the United States-South Africa Leadership Exchange Program held by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Graves School of Morgan State University. Jabulani was a member of the Black Economic Empowerment Commission. He has won the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Award in the business category, the Foreign Correspondents' Association of Southern Africa's Journalist of the Year Award, and the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals Journalist Award. He was awarded Harvard University's Nieman Fellowship in 2001. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.