ARTICLES ON Alumni profiles
UCT GSB Alumni Reunion Weekend 2024: The Re-Dream Machine
From a personal photograph that Dr Duggan took of a volatile gas tanker on the most dangerous but economically significant road in Africa to some thought-provoking predictions from futurist Anton Musgrave – the 2024 UCT Graduate School of Business Alumni Reunion Weekend delivered a dose of intellectual and emotional stimulation for a group of alumni who reconnected, shared ideas, and raised funds for the next generation of changemakers.
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Learning and Leading: Adele's journey through the PGDip in Management Practice
Adele De Vos-Porthen’s journey with the UCT GSB’s Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice (PGDip MP) is a testament to the power of determination and the value of higher education. Navigating the recognition of prior learning (RPL) process, she turned potential barriers into stepping stones, embracing every learning opportunity with enthusiasm and dedication. Emerging with newfound skills, insights, and confidence, Adele not only reshaped her own personal and professional trajectory but also delivered immediate and tangible benefits to her employer.
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The Development Activist
From humble beginnings to pioneering public leadership – Pati Kgomo's journey in development finance started with various positions in local government, progressed to position with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, and was honed by a Master’s in Commerce specialising in Development Finance at the UCT Graduate School of Business. Her remarkable achievements are a testament to the power of altruism, education, and a passion for sustainable development.
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The UCT GSB EMBA: a personal metamorphosis
Satish Antony [EMBA 2022] shares his deeply personal journey of growth and professional development through UCT GSB's Executive MBA programme, highlighting how the programme broadened his horizons, challenged his assumptions, and proved the importance of self-awareness for effective leadership.
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How an Inclusive MBA in Cape Town inspired Tsitsi Hatendi-Mtika (MBA 2014) to Change the Finance Industry
Tsitsi Hatendi-Matika chose the MBA at the UCT GSB to help her broaden her career horizons in finance. Now it’s helping her change the industry for the better.
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UCT GSB Highlights in 2023
This year has been an exceptional year for the UCT GSB. This article highlights some of the moments that were greatly celebrated.
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REFLECTIONS ON ARW 2023: 20-22 October
“The highlight for me at the reunion was being back in a lecture theatre with some of my classmates. Nostalgia for 2010 - definitely - but also great to learn new things.” Kate Wardle (MBA 2010) reports back on the ARW.
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The UCT GSB Case Writing Centre pioneers open-source, multimedia cases alongside its traditional collection
In its sixth year of creating excellent cases for the business school classroom, the Case Writing Centre has now spread its wings to add an innovative approach to cases. By Claire Barnado
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2023 GSB THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE
On Sunday, 22 October, the traditional Three Peaks Challenge took place with long-time champion Alumni, Peter Major (MBA1984) taking part, each year, since his time as a student at the GSB.
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Learning Agility in Knowledge Workers: Leveraging Adaptability to Reach Success
This article explores what agility means and the critical role it plays in driving the success of knowledge workers
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Stemming the Talent Exodus and Securing SA's Future Pipeline
Excerpt from "Stemming the Talent Exodus and Securing SA's Future Pipeline" event and key take-aways from the UCT GSB Alumni Department.
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Future-Proofing Your Skills: Adapting for Tomorrow's Challenges Today
In honour of Women's Day, the UCT GSB hosted a panel discussion on campus the UCT GSB hosted a panel discussion, on campus, featuring alumni and guests to discuss how best to future-proof your skills.
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Farayi Kambarani at the UCT GSB ARW2023
Farayi Kambarami is a Supply Chain Planning, Data and Analytics professional with over 25 years of experience in various roles within these fields.
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The UCT GSB Alumni Chapter Lead for Zimbabwe - Simba Mswaka
Having grown up in Zimbabwe and Botswana, before studying my two degrees in South Africa, I know how important it is to work across cultures.
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Lighting the way
I worked in senior project roles at Eskom for over a decade and during this time, I was nominated to represent Eskom in the Association of Municipal Electricity Utility – Women in Electricity and joined the AMEU executive council.
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Thapelo Tsheole
Thapelo Tsheole (MBA PT 2013/14), the CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange shares his key takeaways from the UCT GSB MBA programme and offers his advice to recent graduates.
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Interview with Thapelo Tsheole – CEO, Botswana Stock Exchange
Thapelo Tsheole (Modular MBA 2013/14), the CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange, recently took time out of his attendance at the African Mining Indaba to address our current Modular MBA class about Botswana's economy.
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Connecting the dots
As the Principal Lead Planning for Technology Minerals Australia Operations at Australian international resources company BHP, Koziba Kombani's job involves strategy execution, five-year planning, and portfolio performance. Born and raised in Botswana, she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Bath, UK, before completing her MBA at UCT GSB. Currently based in Perth, Australia, she shares some thoughts on how to achieve the maximum ROI for your career.
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Building businesses in uncertainty
Resilience is a key leadership trait required when launching a new business. We interviewed Tariq Sheikh (MBA FT 2014) who harnessed his learnings to launch Postpay, a leading Buy Now Pay Later business in the Middle East.
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Helping African leaders stand out and stand tall
When Kurt De Bique went to university 20 years ago, he thought he wanted to be a lawyer. But a powerful interest in people and what drives them led to a career switch to HR, which has seen him make a major contribution in the boardroom – rather than courtroom.
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The UCT GSB put me on the career trajectory I’d been aspiring to
As Chief Research Officer for the Global Impact Investing Network, Dean Hand serves on the senior management team of a globally recognised and respected champion of impact investment, and is actively finding ways to steer more capital to life-changing projects around the globe.
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Be intentional in your career choices
Qasim Abrahams credits the networks and experience gained as a result of completing his MBA at the UCT GSB, with his career journey to his current role. Here he shares advice for recent graduates, explaining that it all starts with a plan, consistency, and the knowledge that failure is an important part of success.
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In search of purpose
With people quitting their jobs in greater numbers than ever, professional executive, team and board coach George Koshy shares from his own journey of ‘purpose finding’– and how he is empowering individuals, teams and organisations to find their purpose.
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Servant leadership may be the key to talent retention post COVID
Nike strategy director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Aidan Kearney, believes servant leadership has so much to offer the corporate world, especially now as an increasing number of employees think of leaving their jobs in response to the stresses of the COVID-19 workplace.
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Crisis ushers in new type of leadership – this time it must stick
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested leadership in ways that few crises have. How do we learn from it, adapt and evolve as leaders?
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Activists in the Boardroom holistic governance in an age of corporate malfeasance
Given the recent spate of corporate misconduct (think Steinhoff, EOH, the Guptas and various State-Owned Entities), more Boardroom activism is required to ensure accountability and prevent future scandals. Board directors should start by cultivating higher levels of self-awareness.
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How to build a thumb-stopping professional brand, without attending a single networking event, or cocktail party
LinkedIn, like many other social media platforms, experienced a boom over the pandemic. But it remains the ultimate platform for creating a professional brand that gets you noticed and hired, both locally and internationally.
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Applied with lots of elbow grease, the MBA continues to open doors
Joy-Mare de Wet was a qualified geneticist working in sales at a pharma company when she started her MBA at the UCT Graduate School of Business. There she found a new passion for the tech industry and has since landed her dream job at LinkedIn. De Wet shares her top five tips for what it takes, as an MBA graduate, to manage such a pivot.
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MBA alumnus puts lockdown to good use
Steven van Rheede was part of the 2020 MBA class that, three months into the programme, quickly had to shift their studies online; it bore some unforeseen benefits, he says.
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Combining passion with purpose to improve science education for all
Bathabile Mpofu is passionate about empowering young people to become scientists, and with her business, Nkazimulo Applied Sciences, she aims to demonstrate to high school learners the beauty of science in an exciting, hands-on way.
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Tractors may not be sexy but they offer a real solution to Africa’s challenges
As COO at Hello Tractor, a novel mobile platform that connects farmers to tractors as well as agricultural equipment, expertise and financial services, MBA alumnus Folu Okunade is working to connect under resourced farmers in emerging economies to the information age.
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UCT GSB graduate is banking on his country’s future
MCom alumnus, Mutemwa Ushewokunze, has returned to Zimbabwe after 20 years abroad, to help take the country’s banking sector to the next tech level.
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Taking the road less travelled is a choice we make
MBA alumna Mouna Akefli is not one to conform. Passionate about building a more diverse, inclusive and connected continent, she is determined to shake things up and her role as marketing manager for Ericsson in West Africa and Morocco is giving her new opportunities to do so.
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Some old rules still apply in the new world
MBA graduates may feel that they have had to put their careers on hold as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has also given them an opportunity to recalibrate and make themselves more relevant to a changing world.
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Gearing oneself for a post-pandemic world
Do we ever stop needing to constantly reinvent ourselves? Evan Kagan, who completed his MBA at the UCT GSB in 2010, doesn't think so. But by trusting ourselves, working with our passions, learning and connecting with others, and following the latest industry trends, he believes we can all gear ourselves for the post-pandemic world.
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COVID-19: Impact investing’s inflection point
As South Africa marks the anniversary of its first lockdown we reflect on our journey toward a post-COVID economic recovery and how the systemic shift toward impact investing and other financial innovation may point the way to lasting change in the country.
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Successful women can have it all - but it doesn’t mean doing it all
MBA alumna Zaheera Soomar believes that women can have it all — a successful professional life and a happy family — but it takes plenty of organisational thinking, managerial expertise and making time to watch the odd reality cooking TV show, of course.
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Championing a made-in-Africa approach
He is passionate about the continent that birthed him, and so Sylvester Taku, who heads up the South African operations of the only smartphone manufacturer in Africa is keen to do his bit to promote development on the continent.
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UCT GSB graduate follows up hard-knocks MBA with an actual one
With no previous university qualifications, Alec Mutlane felt out of place at business school when he first got there, but he discovered that his life experiences —including starting and losing a tech start up — made him an ideal MBA candidate.
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A decade of inspiration from business school
Dr Kariema Price first came to the UCT GSB as a seasoned entrepreneur keen only to hone her business savvy; but that first encounter sparked a multitude of new interests and a decade-long association with the school that saw her graduate with a PhD in 2019.
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Transparency and integrity go a long way, especially in a crisis
It is Kirby Gordon’s job to convince people it is OK to fly again, one many challenges he’s had to tackle in the past few months, which have seen him draw on the skills he gained during his MBA a decade ago.
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Gender diversity in SA has a long way to go
Award-winning chartered accountant and UCT GSB EMBA alumna, Cheryl-Jane Kujenga is vocal about transformation and gender diversity in the workplace - and why we need more women at the top.
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The dearth of mentorship is a major fault line in SA education
UCT GSB PGDip alumnus, Bianca Rousseau, had a few more bumps in the road than most when trying to earn herself a professional qualification; but when she did, she came up with a formula for success that is founded on the principle of mentorship.
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Embracing the unknown can make you a better leader - Jerome Thomas (EMBA)
COVID-19 is giving leaders everywhere a crash course in living with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). Fortunately, says Jerome Thomas, he got a head start with his EMBA at the UCT GSB.
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Helping students bridge the digital divide in the time of COVID-19
Three MBA graduates from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) are spearheading a campaign by Cape Town Education Technology fundraising start-up Feenix, to raise R6.6 million to get laptops, food vouchers and connectivity to final year and graduate students during COVID-19 — ultimately ensuring these students make it into the South African workforce.
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Knowing the difference between managing and leading - Robin Kuriakose (MBA)
Knowing the difference between managing and leading
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From vet to visionary financial thinker - Susan de Witt (MBA)
MBA alumna Dr Susan de Witt is making a name for herself in an innovative area of impact investing, which has the radical potential of raising much-needed finance while also driving social and environmental benefits in Africa.
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Where some see problems, he sees solutions - Jitendra Mishra (MBA)
UCT GSB MBA alumnus, Jitendra Mishra, believes there is a bright future for mining in Africa. Despite challenges in the sector, he thinks more advanced technologies and processes will revitalise the industry.
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Unlocking the creative potential in Africans - Dr Puleng Makhoalibe (PhD)
Dr Puleng Makhoalibe is one of 20 women globally, selected to participate in the 2019 Women Leaders for the World (WLW) programme - and has been recognised as a global leader in the fields of creativity and innovation. Hers is an inspirational story that began at the UCT GSB.
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Positioning women as catalysts for innovation in Africa - Gloria Muhoro (MPhil)
Positioning women as catalysts for innovation in Africa
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High-tech and old-school: a winning combination for success - Chad Bartlett (PGDip)
Chad Bartlett, Director of Partnerships at tech company, Grove, describes his time at the UCT GSB, where he completed a PGDip, as a life-changing experience.
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Soft skills rule in the 'hard' world of finance - Kelly de Kock (MBA)
Kelly de Kock (MBA 2011) has forged a high-flying career in the financial services industry and her current role as Chief Operating Officer for Private Client Securities, Treasury, and Fiduciary Services at Old Mutual Wealth combines her love of solving technical challenges with a finely-tuned ability to manage people skilfully.
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Playing the long game - Stanley Vorsatz (MBA)
It was while doing his MBA that Stanley Vorsatz began to understand his strengths and weaknesses more clearly, a lesson worth the cost of admission itself. Now he’s putting that learning to good use in his own company.
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An angel for African businesswomen - Lelemba Phiri (MCom)
She has been a television presenter, a university lecturer, a public sector and corporate key executive as well as an author and recipient of prestigious awards like the Zambian Woman of the Year Award in 2015, but it is with her gender-lens angel investment fund, that Lelemba Phiri believes she can make the biggest impact on the continent she loves.
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A boring job? Maybe to some - Nellis Beyers (MBA)
Dr Nellis Beyers, Medical Services Manager for the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, is bringing business thinking to bear on healthcare systems, making sure that more lives are saved and more lifechanging operations can be performed on children in need.
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Selling the Cape Town lifestyle in China - Grant Horsfield (MBA)
UCT GSB alumnus Grant Horsfield has built a rapidly expanding business in China that aims to provide a better lived environment - both at work and at play — and deliver a more balanced, sustainable and enjoyable lifestyle.
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On being nimble and expanding your worldview: Q&A with Fortune Gamanya (EMBA)
Whether you’re an organisation facing down the Goliath of the 4th Industrial Revolution, a woman in the workplace or an MBA student embarking on a new trajectory, you need to be lean and agile and ready to engage, unapologetically, on your own terms, says the founder of Luminary Advisory & Consulting and EMBA alumna, Fortune Gamanya
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Q&A with Phathizwe Malinga (EMBA) on the Internet of Things
A digital future has the potential to improve the quality of life for all South Africans but requires that companies transform their business models to take advantage of it, says UCT GSB EMBA alumnus Phathizwe Malinga.
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Saving us from plastic soup - Richard Hardiman (MBA)
Self-proclaimed “accidental environmentalist” and GSB alumnus Richard Hardiman has built a drone, based on a science fiction character, that can clean the ocean. His tech start-up, Ranmarine, produces the WasteShark - the only thing standing between us and the garbage that is turning our oceans into plastic soup.
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When energy meets application: transforming the electricity market - Deon James (Modular MBA)
UCT GSB alumnus Deon James has been a force for change in the energy industry for more than twenty years. He describes his career trajectory since graduating from the part-time MBA programme in 1990.
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