On my 55th birthday (26 February 2023), I looked back with gratitude and humility at the role played by so many people to get to where I am today. I am a beneficiary of so much generosity, love and selflessness from people who wanted to help me reach my full potential, without regard to fame, fortune or recognition. My vision was to plough back to my community by linking established leaders with young and aspirant leaders across the country and the continent at no cost to the young leader. This idea gave birth to the Youth Leadership Summit. In a time when our nation is grappling with a leadership crisis, the Lincoln Mali Leadership Foundation, in collaboration with Henley Business School – Africa, established the summit to make a lasting impact and empower the next generation of trailblazers. 16 senior leaders volunteered to give masterclasses to 200 young African leaders, an inspiring example of Ubuntu and Collaboration.
Lincoln Mali
A special thank you to Lesaka Technologies and Take Note IT for the support.
Our inaugural Youth Leadership Summit in partnership with Henley Business School took place on June 24th, 2023. 16 esteemed African leaders (in commemoration of June 16th, which is Youth Day in South Africa) converged with 200 young leaders. These leaders were selected from over 700 hopefuls who applied. The delegates participated in 16 Masterclasses. You can watch the video recordings of the masterclasses by clicking on the links below.
Developing leaders who will become midwives for Africa’s rebirth
Calling all passionate young leaders! Brace yourselves for an unforgettable event that will ignite your potential and shape the future!
Reflecting on the generosity and selflessness of those who helped Lincoln Mali reach his full potential and driven by a vision to empower young leaders across the continent, the Lincoln Mali Leadership Foundation established the Youth Leadership Summit in 2023. Join us for the 3rd annual Youth Leadership Summit taking place on June 28th.
In partnership with Henley Business School Africa, the YLS brings together 200 young professionals and 16 esteemed African leaders in commemoration of June 16, Youth Day in South Africa. Young leaders are carefully selected from hundreds of applicants. Beyond networking, delegates participate in 16 impactful masterclasses by esteemed African leaders, aimed at empowering the next generation of African trailblazers.
Apply now for the Youth Leadership Summit and be part of something extraordinary.
1-Day Summit | Networking | Experience
Apply before 30 April 2025
Who should attend this 1-day summit?
If you are a young professional between the ages of 21 – 35 and are passionate about making a difference, this summit is designed for YOU! Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to be part of a vibrant network of emerging leaders.
MEET YOUR SPEAKERS
Angela Mhlanga
CEO of Hollard Group Risk business that provides Risk benefits to the Employee base in South Africa. She is an executive director on the Hollard Specialist Life and Hollard Life Boards.
She is a chartered accountant by profession and has over 20 years’ experience as a C-suite executive running businesses in the financial services industry. She has vast experience running businesses in Insurance and related industries. Her first CEO position was for Compass Insurance – a specialist short-term Insurance company at the of age 32.
Angela is a co-founder of Mahogany Capital a private equity business funded by Nedbank. She proudly attributes her love for business from running her family’s butchery in Pimville, Soweto as part of her chores from age 12.
She is the member of Young Presidents Organisation and sits on their Board for Women Business Network. Her passions include coaching leaders and individuals within the businesses she runs, as well as active involvement in community affairs. She contributes to the Autism community, serves on the board of Bethany Home, a facility for abused women and children, and participates actively in her local church.
Ziyanda Ntshona
Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, Ziyanda has two decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions, and corporate and commercial transactions. She has expertise in all aspects, including reorganisations, private equity and general corporate transactions in South Africa and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. Ziyanda has represented several international and local clients and has worked across various sectors, including mining, health, financial services, telecommunications, real estate and private equity.
She serves on the board of Ubuntu Pathways, a not-for-profit organisation providing integrated support to orphaned and vulnerable children. She is also a Non-Executive Director for the Kolisi Foundation, founded by Springbok captain Siya Kolisi with the aim of addressing inequality in South Africa.
Lee Naik
The current Group Executive for Generation, a division of Eskom Holdings Limited, the national electricity utility in South Africa. A seasoned executive with nearly three decades of experience in Generation, Bheki has been instrumental in spearheading Eskom’s recovery since April 2023, when the country was at its highest levels of loadshedding. He has been instrumental in forming the Eskom Repurposing and Repowering Project for power stations that have reached their end of life to give meaning to the Just Energy Transition that Eskom is currently embarking on. Bheki has extensive heavy industry and Eskom business experience and an outstanding track record in his previous roles both within and outside of Eskom. He has over 26 years of experience in various managerial, senior managerial, and executive positions in Eskom, most of which were spent in the Generation business.
The various positions he has held in Generation include Power Station Manager at Grootvlei, Matimba and Kusile Power Stations, as well as managing the Generation Build Programme. In 2016, he joined ACWA POWER AFRICA HOLDINGS as the Chief Executive Officer for Bokpoort CSP, where he gained invaluable insight into renewables. Before returning to Eskom Generation in April 2023, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Eskom Enterprises and Eskom Rotek Industries.
Serame Taukobong
Appointed Group CEO Designate in August 2021. He took over the role of Telkom’s Group Chief Executive Officer from 1 January 2022. Serame was appointed at Telkom in June 2018 as CEO of the Consumer Business Unit, taking responsibility for both its mobile and fixed consumer businesses. He has extensive experience in this field, having previously held senior leadership positions with General Electric Africa (GE) and MTN, where his last role was as CEO of MTN Ghana. While at GE, Serame was the company’s Growth Leader for Sub-Saharan Africa and Head of Transformation in South Africa.
He has also worked for leading FCMG companies such as Unilever, SAB and at M-Net, and has completed various executive management courses at IMD (Switzerland), GIBS, INSEAD (Singapore) and the Wharton School of Business. His principal skills amongst others are marketing, customer operations, mergers and acquisitions, business leadership experience, commercial strategist and consumer expertise, telecommunications and technologies, and international operations.
Cumesh Moodliar
Khensani Nobanda is the Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank Group. As both the executive in charge of marketing, and a member of the Nedbank Group executive leadership, she ensures the cohesive and consistent alignment between marketing messaging, brand positioning and business objectives across the group, while also providing strategic input into various Nedbank structures, committees, and partnerships. Her portfolio also includes leading the social impact agenda for Nedbank through overseeing the bank’s CSI and Transformation programmes.
Khensani has a BCom from the University of the Witwatersrand, an MBA from GIBS and Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School, where she was voted as class speaker for that cohort. She is a member of the board of Effie Awards South Africa, sits on the board of Loeries, is part of the UN Global Compact CMO Forum on sustainability and has recently been appointed as a board member of the IAA’s Global Board of Directors.
Kensi has amassed several accolades in recognition of her contribution to the industry, including top honours as winner of the Loeries 2021 “Marketing Leadership & Innovation” award the “Marketing Industry Leader of the Year” by AdFocus for 2021 and 2024, the 2022 and 2024 “Most admired Marketer in South Africa” award by Marklives.com. and the 2023 Scopen Most admired Marketer.
Xolisa Dyeshana
Xolisa Dyeshana is Chief Creative Officer and partner at Joe Public United. He has been an invaluable part of the independent agency’s growth story, having led it to being rated as the top agency in creative rankings for Africa and the Middle East for the past 6 years. He contributes a wealth of experience gained over 22 years, working on iconic brands from across the globe.
Xolisa has actively contributed to the South African advertising industry as Chairperson of the Creative Circle, the highest decision-making body for advertising creativity in South Africa, and served as Chairman of the Loeries, the region’s premier advertising awards show. He also strives to give a voice to African creativity on the global stage and has won awards at almost every major awards show internationally and served on their juries. He was a member of the international board of the One Club for 6 years and currently sits on the Global Creative Council for Meta and Anheuser-Busch.
Xolisa has been recognised as the joint no. 1 creative leader for Africa and the Middle East for 5 out of the last 7 years by the Loerie Awards and was recently named in Adweek’s Creative 100 – an annual global honour that has become one of the most respected accomplishments in the creative industry. Ultimately though, Xolisa is passionate about building a diverse and inclusive industry and has been a part of many industry initiatives aimed at helping young people from underprivileged backgrounds gain access to advertising and actively engaging a new generation of creative minds to find new solutions for a better world.
Mzi Mgudlwa
The Chief Executive at ENS since 01 March 2016. Mzi’s experience includes matters relating to labour, commercial law, mergers and acquisitions. A significant amount of his time is spent on driving the growth of the firm, from a client and recruitment point of view.
Mzi is recognised as a leading lawyer by Legal Experts in Europe, Middle East & Africa for Corporate and M&A.
Basani Maluleke
The Divisional Executive for Retail Operations at Capitec Bank. She is responsible for managing distribution and sales. Prior to joining Capitec, she was the Group Chief Executive Officer of African Bank. Having qualified as an attorney at Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs in 2004, she joined RMB Corporate Finance in 2005. She subsequently joined FNB as the Head of Private Clients in 2011. Basani holds BCom and LLB degrees from the University of Cape Town as well as an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is a member of the African Leadership Initiative and the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Ipeleng Mkhari
Co-founder and CEO of a 100% black owned and 70% woman owned and led diversified investment holdings group. A pioneering business leader she has led Motseng Investment Holdings (MIH) a muliti-award winning organization with underlying investments in commercial and industrial property, property and facilities management, telecommunications, infrastructure concessions and engineering businesses. With geographic representation in five SADC countries, Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa, the Motseng group employs over 400 professional and technical staff. She is regarded as one of 100 Top Business Leaders 2022 in the commercial property sector by the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners (SAIBPP).
Ipeleng holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree, has completed The Executive Development Programme at Wits Business School and is an Archbishop Tutu Fellow. She has served on various boards of unlisted and listed businesses, public sector agencies and non-profit organizations. She serves as an independent non-executive director of a various boards and is a trustee of Women’s Property Network education trust and a director and Past President of South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) 2018/19. During her 2-year career she has been recognised and awarded by leading business organisations, advocacy groups and international bodies.
Since the late nineties, Ipeleng has been actively involved in business and equally advocating for the inclusion of women in the commercial property sector as entrepreneurs and professionals. She is passionate about the development and ascension of women in business and has been an ambassador of various women’s business and state led non-profit organizations.
Khumo Shuenyane
An experienced Independent Non-Executive Director (INED). He currently serves as Lead Independent Director on the boards of Vodacom Group Limited and Hollard Holdings Limited, and as an independent non executive director on the boards of Bidvest Group Limited and Ninety One plc. Khumo recently retired as Chairman of Investec Bank Limited, a role he held for five years. He served as an INED of Investec Bank, as well as the Investec Group (comprising Investec Limited and Investec Plc), for nine years since 2014. He also served on the boards of several other companies within the Investec Group, including Investec Life Limited and Investec Property Fund Limited. Khumo retired from all Investec boards at the AGM in August 2023 due to regulatory limits relating to NED independence.
Khumo has served on the key sub-committees of each of the boards he has been part of, including Audit and Risk, Remuneration and Nominations. He currently chairs the Investment and the Social and Ethics Committee at Vodacom. He previously served on the Investec Asset Management Africa Private Equity Fund Investment Committee and the Investec Property Fund Investment Committee.
Khumo also serves on a number of Not-for-Profit Boards, including The Constitution Hill Trust, which was created in 1996 to protect and promote the South African Constitution, and Flame Studios, a recording studio established on the premises of Constitution Hill with the aim of providing world class facilities at an iconic venue for commercial hire while helping to develop South African music talent through accessible recording facilities and mentorship programmes.
Katlego Maphai
The co-founder and CEO of Yoco, a market-leading digital payment platform that offers small businesses payments, software and working capital in South Africa.
His career started in management consulting with Accenture and then Delta Partners, where he focused on TMT. He then joined Rocket Internet before founding Yoco. He graduated from the University of Cape Town with a degree in Business Science Information Systems (Hons).
Nomsa Chabeli
Ms. Nomsa Chabeli is a dynamic and transformational leader with a proven track record of driving strategic growth, innovation, and excellence in every role she has undertaken. With extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, she brings a unique blend of commercial acumen and deep understanding of public service media to her role as Group Chief Executive Officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
As a member of the Global Task Force on Public Media (GTF), Ms. Chabeli contributes to international conversations on the future of public service media, advocating for sustainability, innovation, and the critical role of media in democracy. Her appointment reflects her leadership in navigating the evolving broadcasting landscape and ensuring the long-term viability of public broadcasters in a rapidly changing digital world.
Before joining the SABC, she held senior leadership positions at MultiChoice, where she successfully led SuperSport’s operations across various global markets, delivering strong commercial performance and audience growth. Her career also spans key strategic roles at MTN, Edcon, Brand South Africa, and the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), demonstrating her expertise in marketing, digital transformation, and brand strategy.
A passionate advocate for South Africa’s development, Ms. Chabeli remains dedicated to mentorship, skills development, and contributing to the future of media and communication in the her country and beyond its borders.
Currently pursuing a Master of Management in Digital Business at Wits University, she continues to deepen her expertise in digital transformation, an area critical to the SABC’s future.
Celiwe Ross
Celiwe is the Director of Group Strategy, Sustainability, People and Public Affairs. She has over 20 years of experience in financial services. She has developed strong credentials in project finance, structured finance and origination, leadership advisory and team effectiveness. Celiwe’s multi-disciplinary experience allows her align and integrate her portfolios accross Strategy, Human Capital, Sustainability and Public Afdairs for maximum value.
Some of Celiwe’s remarkable achievements include graduating as the first black female mining engineer in South Africa, recognised as Gauteng’s Businesswoman of the Year by the Businesswomen’s Association (2016) and recognised as the Standard Bank Top Women Business Leader (2022). Celiwe holds a Mining Engineering degree and an MBA (UCT). Celiwe is passionate about the convergence of technology and people and the role women play in all levels of leadership.
Punki Modise
Punki Modise is the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer (CSSO) and a member of the Group Executive Committee at Absa Group. With over 15 years at Absa, she has held multiple senior leadership roles, including Interim Chief Executive of Retail and Business Banking, where she led one of the Group’s largest business units through a critical transition. She also served as Interim Group Financial Director, overseeing financial strategy, governance, and investor confidence. Her leadership experience spans roles such as CFO for Retail and Business Banking, Head of Transactional Banking, and CFO for both Distribution Channels and Card and Consumer Finance.
She has two decades of experience in business strategy, financial leadership, and corporate governance, and now leads the integration of strategy and sustainability—a role she has held since 2022—ensuring Absa remains agile, forward-thinking, and aligned with its long-term growth ambitions and ESG commitments. Before joining Absa, Punki held senior roles at Standard Bank, Fedsure, and PwC, gaining extensive experience in corporate finance, risk management, financial reporting, and regulatory compliance. Recognised for her ability to drive transformation and innovation, she is known for leading high-performing teams and navigating complex business environments.
A Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) , she holds a B.Com from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Master’s in Financial Management from the University of Johannesburg. She further sharpened her leadership and strategic expertise through the Stanford Executive Programme (SEP) at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Outside of her professional commitments, Punki is passionate about baking—an activity that mirrors her approach to leadership, requiring creativity, and focus.
Sonja De Bruyn
Sonja has 28 years transacting and corporate finance advisory experience in Mergers and Acquisitions in South Africa and internationally as well as latterly, in Private Equity since 2016. She is the Founder and Principal Partner of Identity Capital Partners, a women led investment firm based in Johannesburg. She was previously Executive Director of Women’s Development Bank Investment Holdings (2002 – 2007) and prior to that, Vice President at Deutsche Bank, primarily based in South Africa and working in their London and Tokyo offices as well (1997 – 2002).
Over the last 25 years, Sonja has served in various Board roles initially as a shareholder representative and since 2005 also as an Independent NED. In the listed space she is on the Board of RMB Holdings (previous Chair) and Lead Independent Director at Remgro Group. In the unlisted space she is Chairman of TotalEnergies Southern Africa, 10X (Index Asset Manager). Sonja retired from the Boards of Rand Merchant Insurance and Discovery Group in 2021 and was previously on Ethos Private Equity, FirstRand, Anglo American Platinum, Mr Price Group, Nestle South Africa and the National Empowerment Fund (a DFI).
In 2010, Sonja was named one of the Class of Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum and has been awarded and recognized by the Black Management Forum and by the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP Woman of the Year 2014).
Sonja is a member of President Ramaphosa’s Advisory Council on Investment and she was previously a member of the Presidential Working Group on B-BBEE in President Mbeki’s administration. In 2019 Sonja was appointed to JP Morgan’s EMEA Advisory Council.
Dr Nolwandle Mgoqi
Dr. Nolwandle Mgoqi, CEO of Aon South Africa, has over 25 years’ experience at the senior executive level in
South Africa’s insurance industry across long-term and short-term insurance sectors, as well as in Employee
Benefits and Asset Management businesses.
She completed her undergraduate studies at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA, and earned a
Master of Science (MSc) from Howard University before obtaining her Ph.D. at Wits University. She also has a
post Doctorate Fellowship from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Nolwandle has also completed
several industry proficiency courses and is a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA). She has
and continues to serve in several industry committees and boards.
She is a highly driven, strategic leader with deep experience in and a passion for product and business
development, sales, distribution and marketing strategy and execution, and people development and
management. Her dedication to excellence in all that she does and her passion for people empowerment are evident in her
ethos of “I am because we are” and “Lift others as we climb”.
André Ross
André is a Managing Director with J.P. Morgan where he is the Head of the Global Corporate Bank for Sub-Saharan Africa. In this capacity he spear heads the bank’s client coverage in the region with responsibility across product areas including Debt and Loan capital markets, Markets and Treasury Services. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, André was Head of Financial Institutions, Africa, with Barclays Africa Corporate and Investment Bank, where he played a leading role in the work done with the Group’s Financial Institutions and Central Bank clients across the continent. He has been at the forefront of numerous landmark deals in Africa and has been recognised through, amongst others, the 2013 ABSIP Fixed Income Dealer of the Year, and Banker’s Africa Debt Deal of the Year, Awards.
In addition, he was a key member of the Best Bond Sales team in South Africa as per the JSE Spire Awards 2011 and 2012, and drove the Africa (excluding RSA) Fixed Income Sales and Syndicate businesses for Barclays. Previously; he worked in development finance, based out of Israel. Passionate about the development of youth and young entrepreneurs, he is a founding trustee of the Coca Cola Bottling Company South Africa Mintirho Foundation—an enterprise development fund—as well as the founding chairperson of the award winning Jala Peo Foundation—a sport for good non-profit organization working with youth in underserved communities in the Johannesburg area. He is an Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu African Leadership Fellow. André holds a Bachelor of Accounting and MBA (Cum Laude, UCT) degrees.
Ali Manzanderani
Ali is a financial technology entrepreneur and investor, with experience in emerging markets fintech. He is the co-founder and chairman of Teya, a pan-European fintech. He is a non-executive director on the board of Thunes (Singapore based private fintech) and was on the board of several leading payments companies globally including StoneCo (Nasdaq: STNE) in Brazil and Network International Holdings Plc.
He was a partner at Actis, a London based emerging market private equity firm, where he led multiple landmark fintech investments globally. Prior to his career at Actis, Ali advised private equity and corporate clients for OC&C Strategy Consultants in London and served as lead strategy consultant for First National Bank based in Johannesburg.
Thato Moraka
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Prof. Bernd Vogel
A Professor in Leadership at Henley Business School. He is also Research Division Lead in Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour, Founding Director of Henley Centre for Leadership and Henley Centre for Leadership Africa and an executive coach.
Having worked for over 20 years with global companies, business schools and universities, he bridges academia and practice to guide people and organisations in leadership learning journeys.
He is an expert in strategic leadership for healthy organisational energy and performance, the future of work and leadership, positive leadership, organisational leadership capability, senior management teams, followership, change and culture, multidirectional leadership for transformation and leadership development. He publishes in top-tier journals, is a regular media contributor and has authored and edited several books, such as Fully Charged: How Great Leaders Boost Their Organization’s Energy and Ignite High Performance, published by Harvard Business Review Press.
He previously worked at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, is a Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and has an Honorary Chair Professorship at Woxsen University, India. His past visiting positions were at Claremont Graduate University, USA, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa Business School, Spain, and the University of Southern California, USA. He earned a Masters in Business Administration and Economics and a PhD in Management from Leibniz University Hannover, Germany.