Speakers

Dr. Adriaan Davidse spent the last 27 years working with senior executives on issues related to innovation, growth and sustaining value creation for all stakeholders. Adriaan is a Director in the Toronto office of Monitor Deloitte. He specializes in the area of corporate & business strategy and how to turn uncertainty and strategic risk into a competitive advantage. He also focuses extensively on innovation as a way to create and recreate profitable growth repeatedly. He has helped companies better understand the potential threats and significant opportunities offered by “exponential technologies” that are likely to have a dramatic impact on all businesses and society over the next decade. Digitization of information has become an accelerator of business transformation. Adriaan has been helping clients assess the value of information in the context of their environments and future uncertainties for over two decades. He is one of Deloitte’s thought leaders in economic performance measurement. This allows him to help his clients better understand the explicit causal relationships between strategy, performance and sustained value creation for all stakeholders over short and long time horizons. The depth, breadth, and speed of information that digitization enables, combined with the appropriate performance/value frameworks he has developed, allow organizations to simplify performance management profoundly.

Adriaan has specialized extensively in the development and execution of energy strategy and management. It includes renewable energy integration and energy storage, and how integrative design system thinking, coupled with the digitization of information and digitalization of the entire business, can radically change the energy economics of organizations, to create sustainable value. With a deep background in science and business and experience working on many complex business challenges, he can often provide a different perspective on business opportunities. He has worked extensively with energy companies and large energy consumers, like mining and industries where energy can represent up to 40% of total economic cost, and options exist to make substantial and sustainable improvements across all business areas. He helps clients understand the uncertainty pervasive in energy markets and how to manage the strategic risk over the longer term and capture significant value through improved energy and information management over the short term.

Energy storage represents a market of growing importance. It will be critical to eventually support the transition to a 100% decarbonized electricity system and the decarbonization of the entire energy ecosystem. One needs a comprehensive understanding of all elements of the energy ecosystem to understand the role of storage in the energy transition. These elements include energy value chains, energy storage technologies, energy storage applications, energy market segments and growth potential, value creation and value capture options (including ‘stacking’), and business model and operating considerations. The competitive dynamics of energy markets won’t be determined only by supply-side and energy-centred assets. Intelligent distributed controls at the edge of the grid will allow flexible demand to contribute to the balancing of energy systems. These factors must be considered in evaluating the market opportunities and energy storage value creation potential. Adriaan has worked extensively with large renewable IPPs, and gas and electricity distribution companies in North America to develop a comprehensive framework for developing an energy storage strategy and evaluating market opportunities.

Adriaan has worked closely with leading mining companies to help them envision the future as an autonomous, digital, electrified, integrated ecosystem with zero harm, zero emissions, and zero waste and then develop roadmaps to work towards realizing that vision. He is using his work on the digital intelligent electricity grid that is required to enable an optimized, fully electrified mining operation, and also to help utilities and local distribution companies re-envision how the grid and other energy infrastructure can evolve to enable a more flexible, resilient and reliable ecosystem of centralized, decentralized and distributed energy resources. He focuses on what infrastructure investments to make, how regulations and pricing need to change and what new business models will be required to enable more consumer choice without negatively impacting the energy system stability. Adriaan supports companies with the commercialization of potentially disruptive innovations at the edge of the electric or gas grids where supply and demand interfaces could help accelerate the transition to a new, more dynamic and distributed energy ecosystem. Innovations include advanced intelligent power electronic devices, distributed computing platforms, blockchain-based smart contract applications, and a host of other end-use conversion technologies and power services that can be deployed at the grid edge as part of new regulated and non-regulated business models. Adriaan has worked with utilities to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding and evaluating the dynamic role of energy storage in future ecosystems. He has experience working with companies across the hydrogen value chain and has developed tools and frameworks to evaluate the optimal role of hydrogen in the energy transition.

Adriaan has led several projects with industrial companies on developing roadmaps toward full decarbonization. He has worked with a wide variety of clients in segments of industries that include Mining, Energy and Utilities, Oil and Gas, Hydrogen, Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Automotive, High Tech & Electronics, Aerospace & Defense and Pharmaceuticals, Biotech and Retail. He has worked in Asia, Europe, South Africa and extensively in North and South America and his clients include companies like Barrick Gold, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Dundee Precious Metals, Rio Tinto, Vale, Agnico Eagle,  Exxaro, Enbridge, OPG, ESKOM, Emera, Saint John Energy, Algonquin Power, Toronto Hydro, Manitoba Hydro, Shell, Xebec, Irving Oil, Johnson & Johnson,  Bombardier, LCBO, Tim Hortons, Kmart, and many others. Adriaan works with large and small private and public companies. He is an active participant, contributor and speaker at the Canadian Mining Innovation Council and regularly presents his work and ideas at conferences globally.

Africa Sustainability Lead, Deloitte, South Africa

Ashleigh is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Deloitte Africa responsible for our firms sustainability strategy. This incorporates all of our firms initiatives under ESG including WorldClass, our program to impact 14 million lives in Africa, WorldClimate, our journey towards our science-based net zero goals as well as regulation and public policy in our role as a positive contributor to society and governance in the countries and communities we operate in.

Co-Founder, Reath, UK

Claire is co-founder and CEO of UK-based startup, Reath, a circular economy technology company dedicated to scaling reusable packaging systems through data. Claire co-authored the Open Data Standard, reuse.id, the first Open Data Standard for reusable packaging, driven by the belief that a system of Open Data would help unlock scalable growth of reuse. She leads the team at Reath, powering reuse systems for clients such as Marks & Spencers, Unilever and Google. 

Acting Deputy Director: Research and Policy Development, City of Johannesburg Municipality

Mr Ernest Mutenda is Specialist for Municipal Entities Performance Reporting within the Group Governance department in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, also currently an acting Deputy-Director of Research and Policy Development within the Shareholder Services Unit within the department. He is also a Co-founder and Director of Blue. Green. Sustainability Services company.

He holds a B-Tech in Management Services and a Masters degree in Operations Management from the University of Johannesburg. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Operations Management from the same university, with a focus on developing an “Integrated framework for green public procurement” in South Africa. In addition to his academic qualifications, Mr. Mutenda has completed several professional development programs, including the Senior Leadership Development Program at the Wits School of Business and a Post Graduate Professional Certificate of Competence in Monitoring and Evaluation from the Wits School of Governance. He is an accredited Assessor and Skills development Facilitator.

Mr. Mutenda is an Associate Member of Industrial, Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) and a member of the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA). He has also published a peer-reviewed research paper titled “Factors that affect Implementation of Green Public Procurement in Local Government: A case study in the City of Johannesburg Municipality,” which was presented at the 1st IEOM African International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management in Pretoria/Johannesburg in 2018.

Mr. Mutenda is passionate about the topic of Green Public Procurement. His research and expertise in this area have focused on developing a framework and training material for green public procurement designed for public procurement officials, which has important implications for promoting sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of public procurement practices.

Fanny Mabotja is an accomplished Food Technologist with a wealth of experience in Product Development, Product Re-engineering, and Manufacturing Support. With a strong background in the food industry, Fanny has played a pivotal role in conceptualizing and launching new products, working closely with cross functional teams such as marketing and procurement departments. Her expertise also extends to regulatory compliance and nutritional assessments, making her a well-rounded professional in the field.

Fanny’s keen understanding of manufacturing processes, combined with her technical expertise, has enabled her to streamline operations and enhance productivity. Fanny boasts an impressive professional background spanning over 17 years in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, having worked with renowned companies such as Nestlé, Danone, and Tiger Brands. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Johannesburg, specialized in BTech and Mtech Food Technology.

Gareth has been part of the Deloitte family for more than 7 years, but has also spent time in industry developing new businesses and sparking innovation.

Gareth has operated in several professional environments, ranging from multiple start-up companies, to senior corporate leadership and professional services. Despite the variety of sectors and roles that Gareth has occupied, the golden thread throughout his career has been innovation and technology commercialisation.

Gareth leads the climate and sustainability practice for Deloitte consulting in Africa, with a particular focus on the energy transition, decarbonisation and social impact innovation. Gareth also heads the digital transformation offering within Strategy & Innovation for the African member firm.

Green Economy, Impact Accelerator, Sustainability Strategist, TOMA-Now | Tomorrow Matters Now, South Africa

Green Economy leader bringing a global perspective to the development of solutions for companies doing business in Africa. Jaisheila is passionate about empowering others to develop economic models for sustainability and inspiring change in the way we do business. She is a fervent believer in building practical and comprehensive solutions that unlock green business value with long term benefit and impacts.

Jaisheila is the Founder and CEO of TOMA-Now | Tomorrow Matters Now, value chain specialists leading the green economy in Cape Town, South Africa. Their client base is spread across Africa, Asia and Europe, focussing on global collaboration and input towards a sustainable future for all.

Jaisheila obtained a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cape Town. From the beginning, she has leveraged her research and innovation capabilities to develop practical, industry relevant solutions. She has a career spanning nearly two decades in large corporates in the automotive, chemicals and construction industries. She has worked in several countries including South
Africa, Germany and Hong Kong.

RECENT RECOGNITION
• Gender Mainstreaming Awards Positive Role Model 2020: Dr. Jaisheila Rajput (Western Cape)
• Climate Change category for the Enviropaedia and Eco-Logic Awards 2019.
• Green Economy Enviropaedia and Eco-Logic Awards 2018, in recognition for work on Developing the Biomass Value Chain from harvested alien vegetation.
• Business Women’s Association Regional Business Achiever Award finalist 2017.
• Inspiring Fifty South Africa nominee recognising Women in Tech playing a leading role 2017.
• Green economy flagship organisation 2015. Recognised by 110% Green, a Western Cape South African Government initiative.

Divisional Executive for the FSCA Corporate Services, Jabulane was with Deloitte’s human capital corporation before joining the FSB in 2004 as the Head of Human Resources (HR). Started his career as a Change Management consultant and later appointed as Deloitte HCC lead person in the Pretoria office responsible for business development. Since joining the regulator on 1 April 2004, he has been responsible for leading and supporting the growth and transformation of the organisation, in particular its transition into a dedicated conduct regulator. In his new executive role Mr Hlalethoa is responsible for the HR, Communications, and Facilities functions.

Besides his day-to-day work, Jabulane is involved in philanthropic work around
Gauteng focusing on Sports Development and empowering up and coming youth to
build skills in Sports Event Management.

He holds an MCom degree in Business Management and Postgraduate Diploma in
Labour Law (Both from the University of Johannesburg); BA; BA Hons; Post Graduate
Diploma in Public & Developmental Management (all three from Wits) He has also completed the Global Executive Development Programme (GIBS), and has held several Board and committee positions, including the Seda Limpopo Jewellery Incubator and the National Scouts Council.

Jason Daniel Baker CA (SA) is a Chartered Accountant who has devoted his career to sustainable development in Africa. After completing his articles with EY, he became passionate about finding ways to address development in Africa and identify his role in contributing. Currently, Jason serves as the Group Social Development Manager for Illovo Sugar Africa, where he is responsible for driving social development initiatives across the group. Additionally, he is the founder of the Thriving Community Platform, a private sector-led multi-stakeholder platform focused on fostering sustainable and inclusive development in communities in Africa that are dependent on specific industries.

Regional Director, Ecovadis, London

Lazar has over 15 years of international experience in sustainability and responsible procurement with a focus on business development across all major industry sectors including: financial services, telecoms and manufacturing. He gained his expertise during his time at CEB (now Gartner), the Carbon Trust and Sphera. Lazar has been spearheading the development of EcoVadis in the UK and Northern Europe for the past 5 years — supporting public and private sector organisations to achieve their sustainability objectives. Lazar holds an MSc in European Politics & Governance from the London School of Economics and is fluent in English, French and is a native Bulgarian speaker.

Laren Perumal has spent 17yrs at Sasol as a Reliability Engineer and Supply Chain Enablement Manager. The past 8years with De Beers Group as Senior Manager Performance and Risk he has been responsible for business intelligence, Governance and Business Integrity and the implementation of Supply Chain Digitalization roadmap of De Beers Group Supply Chain. He was the Project Programme Manager for the successfully implemented SAP Ariba modules and S4Hana implementation for De Beers SA, UK and Canada. He is currently also the SC Sustainability Lead for the De Beers Scope 3, Inclusive Procurement and Contractor Performance Management programmes.

Head Accelerated Organisational Sustainability, Unitrans, South Africa

Liesl De Wet is an experienced climate reality leader and sustainability thinker with particular experience in the logistics sector in South Africa. 

She holds two degrees from the University of Johannesburg, a BCom Communications and BA Hons in Marketing Communications and various qualifications in the field of environment-friendly and sustainable business practice.

She is also a trained climate reality leader through the AL Gore climate reality leadership programme and is the chairperson of the Road Freight Association’s green transport working group. Liesl is also a champion of the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards, whose main vision is to celebrate and reward supply chain excellence throughout Africa through fostering and promoting globally competitive supply chains.

Liesl is a qualified professional business coach is currently the head of Accelerated Organisational Sustainability at Unitrans Supply Chain Solutions (Pty) Limited.   

Enterprise and Supplier Development Executive, South Africa

Litha Kutta is an Award winning Business Leader in the space of Enterprise and Supplier Development with over 15 experience at senior to executive level both in public and private sector. He has headed up and ran multiple award winning Enterprise and Supplier Development programmes for the like of Woolworths, EDCON, Western Cape Provincial Government, Telkom and currently he is a Director at Tiger Brands responsible for Enterprise and Supplier Development. Litha holds a Btech Degree in Public Management and Btech Degree in Business Administration all from CPUT, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Development Finance at Stellenbosch University.

Chief Executive Officer, Hotelstuff, South Africa

Lorraine Jenks is a global TEDx speaker. Climate, sustainability, circularity and ESG guide. A teacher by profession (University of the Witwatersrand), plus Montessori qualifications and two Procurement and Supply Chain Management Diplomas. Her activist career began in the 1970s when living in California, working with the Environmental Protection Agency.  Back home, 15 years as Procurement Manager for Africa’s largest hotel chain. Trained by US Vice President Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leader. Studied under the UN Eco-Labelling Project, the National Cleaner Production Programme, Green Building Council’s Interior Design, Green Leaf Carbon Auditors.  She consults, builds furnished “green” exhibition homes and hotels. 23 awards. Created two leading non-profit online directories 22 years ago, Hotelstuff and Greenstuff.co.za used by up to 33,000 a month.

Masego Mokitimi is a mining engineer who in the last 20 years has moved from being a diamond miner, working at De Beers’ then Finsch Mine in the Northern Cape, to being an Investment Banker and Corporate Financier, at RMB Asset Management and Standard Bank Corporate Finance team respectively, and finally ending his corporate career back at De Beers, as the Mineral Economist at Anglo American’s De Beers.

He started his journey as an entrepreneur 10 years ago, co-Founding Lucient Engineering and Construction, a maintenance engineering services provider, which providers maintenance services to OEMs and mines, assembling, repairing, commissioning and maintaining draglines, shovels, drill, trucks, among other earth moving equipment, and has branches in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, with expansion plans for Namibia and Angola. Lucient Engineering is housed under the Lucient Group, which has now acquired Machinery Contractors that produce and manufacture products that have reached all corners of Africa and gotten orders from continents like Europe, North America and Asia.

Molebogeng Matsebatlela is the Head of Supply Chain Management (SCM) at Siemens Pty Ltd. She is a capable and inspiring leader, driven by the desire to meet the expectations of her customers’ business goals.  Highly regarded for her abilities in negotiations and establishing trusting, enduring connections, Molebogeng has over 15 years of experience in SCM.

With a background in Industrial Engineering, Molebogeng brings a deep understanding of optimizing processes and streamlining operations to enhance efficiency and drive cost savings. She holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and is currently studying toward the MCIPS certification to stay at the forefront of industry best practices.

While dedicated to her professional responsibilities, Molebogeng also prioritizes maintaining a healthy work-life balance. She dedicates 35 minutes for herself once or twice a week by engaging in activities such as running and hiking, which helps her stay resilient and focused. She believes that these moments of personal rejuvenation enable her to bring her best self to the workplace and tackle challenges with clarity and energy.

Outside of work, Molebogeng is an avid reader and continuously seeks opportunities to expand her skills and knowledge. She believes in the power of continuous learning, ensuring that she remains adaptable and well-equipped to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of supply chain management.

Molebogeng is excited about the future of SCM and the role Siemens plays in driving innovation and sustainable solutions. She firmly believes in the power of collaboration, technology, and embracing industry advancements to shape a more efficient, resilient, and environmentally conscious supply chain ecosystem.

Head of Sustainability, Exxaro Resources

His extensive experience in the mining industry spans over four decades starting from Gold, Platinum, and now in coal. Upon joining the coal sector, he soon realized that coal was his final home, and that he never looked back, and this was after joining Sasol Mining, as a Mining Professional in Training in 1993. In 2002, he joined Eyesizwe Coal
to become the General Manager, after which was sent to Exxaro Headquarters following the merger between Kumba Resources and Eyesizwe Coal.
He is currently an Executive Head: Sustainability a position has held since 2010.
He holds a master’s degree in Business Leadership from University of South Africa, mining engineering Diploma from University of Johannesburg, and advanced management program from Wharton, United States.
He is also a registered certificated Professional Engineer with Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), and also been the President of South African Colliery Managers Association in 2012.

Executive Consultant, Barloworld, South Africa

Vovo is a seasoned social entrepreneur with over 20 years experience both in private and public sector some of her key achievement is the development of a social entrepreneurship fund, designed and implemented enterprise and supplier development strategies, corporate social investment policies, stakeholder engagement framework, she is passionate about sustainable economic development Vovo holds an MBA from GIBS (University of Pretoria), BA in Industrial Pyschology (UNISA), Post Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship (GIBS).

Philani has an eye and passion for growth and innovation, he has assisted a number of clients in multiple industries infuse innovative solutions in solving some of their pressing challenges.

He leads Deloitte’s Impact Innovation offering, which combines the understanding of ESG, Supply Chain, and Innovation to help clients stay ahead of the curve.

He was the co-founder and Managing Partner of a venture capital fund was the largest first-time fund of its nature in SA, and over the last 4 years has mentored, accelerated and invested in over 20 companies in the innovation ecosystem

Racuni Naidoo is a development specialist working in social and behavioural change (SBC) with specific experience in  strategy, design and implementation. He has a proven track record in the conceptualisation, design, management and execution of campaigns and projects, with teams of various sizes for; donor funders, all levels of government, civil society and the private sector. Racuni has designed public-private partnerships (PPPs) with specific focus on local government, and was also responsible for the establishment of a policy think-tank for Monash University (SA) to understand constitutional law for local government in South Africa. He was previously Director of Social Impact, at Matchboxology. His experience spreads from South Africa to the region through his time at the Capacity Building for Local Government unit of the United Nations (UNDESA) Director of Strategy.

Executive Management Representative, Siemens, South Africa

Stacey is a seasoned business leader with a passion for driving purpose-driven and technology-enabled transformation. With a distinguished background in banking (FNB) and education (Member of Council and President of Convocation at The University of the Witwatersrand; and Managing Director of early childhood education Edtech, Early is Best), Stacey currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of the Royal Bafokeng Institute (RBI), a renowned NPO committed to creating sustainable impact across 29 Bafokeng village communities, and beyond. With a strong focus on collaborative partnerships, Stacey joined RBI in pursuit of fulfilling the mandate of powering end-to-end education solutions, at scale, through investment in technology, and building strategic partnerships to achieve sustainable, commercialised opportunities.

Director Human Capital: Organisational Transformation, Deloitte, South Africa

Sthembiso is an experienced business advisor and has built many strong business relationships over many years. He works with his clients to harness culture and build competitive advantage through strategic focus, business connection and execution excellence. He has deep passion for organisation design and behavioural change management.

Sthembiso works with C-suite executives to navigate their challenges and help them better understand the impact of technological, social, and economic change. His work also involves helping business executives harness new capabilities such as leading through ambiguity, managing increasing complexity, being tech-savvy, managing changing customer and talent demographics, and handling organizational cultures. He uses his extensive organizational design experience to lead large scale corporate transitions across sectors and industries, with the primary focus on the Energy, Resources and Industrials sector. He has co-authored and published articles about  Future of Work in the Mining industry.

Sthembiso is currently a Director in the Human Capital practice at Deloitte Consulting focusing mainly on Organizational Transformation. He is a part-time lecturer at Wits University in the department of Economics and Human Sciences and is a visiting lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). He’s conducted research in marketing management, operating models and strategy analysis.

Sthembiso holds an MBA from the University of South Africa and an MSc in Strategic Marketing from Cardiff University, UK. He also holds other engineering qualifications and has completed Management and Leadership programmes at the University of South Africa.

Susanna has 20 years of experience setting up new functions and systems, digital transformation, and culture building to drive win-win outcomes by creating and motivating high-performing teams.

Her perspective as a Korean-born, US-educated, and globally experienced leader provides unique insights on diversity, inclusion, and the art of possible.

She has covered the source to pay value chain, including the development and implementation of sourcing strategies, operating models, organization structures, and policies for South African Breweries, Gold Fields, Telkom, and Massmart (now Walmart).

Currently, she looks after the Procurement Operations Centre for Massmart to solve for an efficient Source to Pay value chain by holistically combining people, process and technology. With a dedicated and talented cross-functional team, we are leveraging Lean and Six Sigma tools to drive continuous improvement by eradicating waste, simplifying, streamlining and automating.