Disa Mpande

CFO

Mrs. Ncedisa Mpande is a seasoned Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) with over 15 years of leadership experience across industries. Holding a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Cape Town and a Postgraduate Diploma from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, she is renowned for her strategic vision and commitment to skills development. Notable achievements include driving collaborations with institutions, which ensured the training of 6,000 solar technicians, clearing historical debt for 30,000 students, and providing NSFAS funding for 300 students from the “missing middle”. Mrs. Mpande’s innovative, result-driven approach has led to transformative partnerships and organisational turnaround strategies, enhancing brand image and driving growth.

Rachel Kolisi

Co-Founder of the Kolisi Foundation

Rachel Kolisi (née Smith), born in Grahamstown (Makhanda), Eastern Cape, is a South African philanthropist, wellness advocate, and former events manager best known as the ex-wife of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi. After matriculating from Victoria Girls’ High School in 2008, she studied events management at Stellenbosch Hotel School while working part-time to support herself. Initially working in marketing and events, Rachel later became a full-time mother and co-founded Rise Women, a fitness and wellness initiative empowering women of all body types. Together with Siya, she co-founded the Kolisi Foundation in 2019 to tackle inequality through programmes in food security, education, gender-based violence prevention, and sports development, serving as its CEO until early 2025. Married in 2016, the couple raised four children — their two biological children, Nicholas and Keziah, as well as Siya’s younger half-siblings, Liyema and Liphelo. In 2024, Rachel and Siya announced their amicable divorce, after which she shifted her focus to personal growth, activism, fitness challenges, and GBV advocacy. Known for her Christian faith, resilience, and openness about struggles such as post-partum depression, Rachel has become a prominent voice for women’s empowerment, intentional living, and social justice in South Africa.

Akhona Qengqe

General Manager

Akhona Qengqe is the General Manager at KFC Africa. She is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and overall operations of the organisation and will also be working closely with the full leadership team to continue to drive profitability and relevance for the business. She started at KFC in 2015 as a Development Director before moving into the role of Transformation and Diversity and Inclusion in 2017 and later becoming the Chief People and Transformation Officer, Africa in 2020. In her role as Chief People and Transformation Officer at KFC, Akhona was responsible for developing and executing KFC's global people strategy in support of the overall business' strategic direction. Prior to this role, she was the Director of Transformation for more than two years and instrumental in crafting a diversity and inclusion agenda for the business where through initiatives such as #IamMoreThanWhatYouSee and more recently KFC’s Women on the Move (WOM) Programme she is able to demonstrate thought leadership and build credibility with both peers and franchisees, specifically through bringing KFC’s strategy to life.

Jackie Motsepe

COO, KwaZulu-Natal Tourism And Film Authority

Jackie Motsepe has an extensive career in the South African film and television industry. A founding member of the National Film and Video Foundation executive, Motsepe is credited for positioning the South African film and television industry in the global market. Motsepe established the South African Film and Television awards (SAFTA’s) for the South African film industry. At the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Motsepe served the first democratic SABC Board as board administrator, and worked in various capacities in the television channels at SABC 2 and 3. The last position Motsepe held at the SABC was the General Manager of International Content Acquisitions. Motsepe was the Chief Operations Officer at the KwaZulu Natal Film Commission and is now the Chief Operations Officer of the newly established KwaZulu Natal Tourism and Film Authority

Urishanie Govender

Chief Sustainability Officer, Harmony Gold

Urishanie was appointed chief sustainability officer with effect from 1 October 2024. As a sustainability leader, she has extensive experience in ESG; health and safety, leadership; diversity; social impact and digital technology within the academic, government and mining industry. She is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Witwatersrand. Previous positions include that of director ESG-EHS at Vedanta Zinc International; head of safety and sustainability at De Beers Group; company director and general manager of environmental management at GIBB (Pty) Ltd. She served as an independent non-executive director of SANPARKs and executive director at Vedanta Zinc International.

Takalani (Taki) Netshitenzhe

Vodacom South Africa: Director External and Regulatory Affairs & Chairperson Vodacom Foundation

Taki is Director of External and Regulatory Affairs for Vodacom South Africa, and Chairperson of the Vodacom Foundation. She is a public policy development expert with 20years experience in law writing in national security and also drives environment, social and governance functions (ESG). An admitted Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and former Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to Central Europe, she is a recipient of several awards and recognitions. She holds several degrees in law including a Masters in Security Studies; an executive education certificate on cybersecurity from Harvard School of Governance; and a cyber security post-graduate certificate passed with distinction from Wits University.

Antoinette Roberts

CEO, Bridging & Associates

Antoinette Roberts is a seasoned business leader with over two decades of experience in driving strategic transformation and building sustainable capabilities within major South African corporations. As the CEO of Bridging Associates, she specializes in business coaching and consulting,

Simone Cooper

Head, Business and Commercial Banking South Africa, Standard Bank Group

Simone Cooper is the Head of Business & Commercial Banking for Standard Bank South Africa. With a solid background across business lending, enterprise development, transactional products and credit, she has held numerous leadership roles within Standard Bank—ranging from heading business-lending product lines and supply chain finance to managing credit for personal and business banking across several African countries. Simone is deeply committed to the growth of small and medium enterprises, steering initiatives to support SMEs through digital innovation, funding and partnerships. She has also been recognised for her contributions, including awards for her leadership in SME banking.

Chrissy Dube

Chief Stakeholders, Projects & Advocacy Officer, Good Governance Africa

Chrissy Dube is an executive at Good Governance Africa (GGA) and a member of the Business Ethics Network (BEN) — Africa Networking Council. An advanced project manager with deep implementing, monitoring and evaluation expertise, she also specialises in strengthening stakeholder relations to drive business development. She uses her skills and expertise to provide innovative solutions and recommendations for sustainable development across the public and private sectors. Chrissy combines rigorous data-led analysis with strategic insight to design practical, evidence-based solutions and policy recommendations that enable informed decision-making. Her core strengths include advocacy, business risk management, stakeholder collaboration and strategic alignment as an implementing partner — consistently enabling organisations to translate strategy into measurable results. She holds an MA (Commerce) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has completed professional qualifications in Data Analysis, Advanced Project Management and Advanced Risk Management at the University of Cape Town. She is also certified as an Ethics Officer for the private and public sectors through Stellenbosch University.

Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale

Chairperson, Commission For Gender Equality

Diploma in Advanced Social Work Practice, Certificates in Trauma Counselling from Copenhagen, Denmark and a Postgraduate Certificate in International Human Rights Law obtained from a partnership programme of Oxford University & University of George Washington. In 2017, she was appointed as a part-time Commissioner in the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) and was subsequently appointed by the President of the Republic of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa, as the Chairperson of the Commission in 2023.