​Adv. Thulisile (Thuli) Nomkhosi Madonsela was appointed by the President as South Africa’s third Public Protector in October 2009 after being recommended by Parliament following a hundred percent vote in her favour by all parties represented in Parliament.

She has developed a reputation for fearlessly carrying out her duties no matter how highly placed.

For Adv. Thuli Madonsela's speech click here

Sumesh Rahavendra is the Head of Marketing for DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa.

Mr. Rahavendra’s responsibilities in the Sub Saharan Africa region include Brand, Advertising & Sponsorships, Business Development, Pricing and Public Relations.

An experienced sales & marketing executive and a specialist in International shipping; Mr. Rahavendra has lived and worked in Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa. 

Prior to his current role, Mr. Rahavendra served as Head of Global sales programs based in Bonn Germany where the group head-quarters is located. 

Mr. Rahavendra is a graduate of University of Madras, India and has completed his executive MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain.

For Sumesh Rahavendra's presentation click here

​Michael was appointed as Executive Head of Sales for Vodacom Service Provider Company in February 2001 and as Corporate Sales Director in 2004.

He is currently Managing Executive of Vodacom Business. Vodacom Business is Vodacom's total telecommunication offering to the business market which includes S.M.E, Large Enterprises, Strategic Accounts and the Public Sector.

Vodacom Business' offering includes a host of Converged Solutions, including Mobile applications, VPN Solutions, hosting, and international carrier services.

Michael holds an International Graduate Diploma in Marketing and AEDP from the University of SA. He was asked to join the Young Presidents Association in 2002.

Michael enjoys golf, reading, and is passionate about Karate and attends Martial Arts at least three times a week; he has black belt first Dan from the Japanese karate Association.

Michael is an active member of the business community and has keen interests in social responsibility programmes and the development of managerial talent.

​Ms Nobuzwe Mangcu is the Divisional Manager: Group Corporate Affairs at Mercedes-Benz South Africa and serves as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the company. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Natal, a SAPICS diploma (Association of Operations Management of Southern Africa), and more recently a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the University of South Africa.

Nobuzwe Mangcu joined MBSA in 2001 and has gained considerable experience in the areas of market research, marketing, sales planning and distribution, exports, and supply chain and logistics. Before her appointment to the Executive Board of Directors, she headed up the company's Supply Chain and Sales Support Division.

For Nobuzwe Mangcu's speech click here

Sakumzi (Saki) Macozoma was born in Port Elizabeth on 12th May 1957. He studied Political Science, Economics and Journalism at the Universities of South Africa and Boston in the United States of America.

After spending five years in prison on Robben Island he joined the South African Council of Churches. He also worked for the ANC and South African Breweries. He became a Member of Parliament in 1994 and left the Legislature to take up a position as Managing Director of Transnet Limited, a job he held for five years.

He is Chairman of Liberty, Chairman of Stanlib, Deputy Chairman of the Standard Bank Group, Non Executive Chairman of Safika Holdings and Chairman of the Council of Wits University.

Mr. Macozoma is also President of Business Leadership South Africa, Chairman of the Presidents Big Business Working Group.

For Saki Macozoma's speech click here

​Simone Zanetti was born in Italy in 1971. Entrepreneur and business man, he has managed organisations in South America, Europe, United States and South Africa. In 2000 Zanetti joined Allos, an innovative consulting and technology firm that provides services to global organisations in the private and public sector.

Simone is a regular international speaker in Europe, North America and South Africa. 

At the end of 2011, in Johannesburg, Zanetti was awarded “Business Person of the Year”.

​John Tedstrom is President and CEO of GBCHealth. John joined GBCHealth in August, 2006, and since that time has steadily expanded the organization's reach, deepened relationships with key partners and initiated important organizational reforms to make operations more cost-effective and programs more impactful.

Since John took over as Executive Director of GBCHealth in August 2006, membership has continued to grow and now includes more than 230 companies and organizations across the globe. John also led the organization's growth from an exclusive focus on HIV/AIDS to an agenda that included strong programs on tuberculosis and malaria beginning in 2007. Under John's leadership, the organization unveiled a broader public health mandate in June 2011.

John has also led the expansion of GBCHealth's geographical reach through a merger with Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA), an organization he founded and led prior to joining GBCHealth. TPAA operated in Russia and Ukraine, two countries at significant risk for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. TPAA developed several highly effective programs that continue today. One of the major programs, the Russian Media Partnership (RMP), reached millions with information about HIV/AIDS and has a high success rate in spurring people to take action to know their status and protect themselves. The Russian Parliamentary Working Group on HIV/AIDS advances policy reforms relevant to public health.

John served as director for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasian Affairs for the U.S. National Security Council from 1999-2000, where he provided policy advice and strategic planning for President Bill Clinton. He also managed inter-agency coordination on priority foreign policy issues in the region, with a focus on commercial, economic, and social policy toward the Newly Independent States.

John worked for nearly a decade at the RAND Corporation as economist and senior economist. In those positions, he focused on the intersection among economics, development, and international security and he led the policy analysis work of the first presidentially - mandated National Defence Panel.

John held the Jacyk Chair at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in 2000-2001.

​Thebe Ikalafeng is arguably one of Africa's foremost brand authorities. He has been recognised as one of the Top 10 Thinkers in Marketing in an Ipsos survey among business decision makers in Southern Africa.

He is founder of the award winning Brand Leadership Group, Brand Leadership Academy, Brand Africa and Public Sector Excellence initiatives. A Global African Thought Leader, Advisor & Author in Branding and Related Matters. He has been recognised with the award Asia Brand Congress "Global Brand Leadership" award and the Marquette University/American Marketing Association "Award for Marketing Excellence". Ikalafeng's distinguished career is highlighted by his leadership of NIKE Africa to over 75 local and global awards, including the 10 Cannes Lions and the Institute of Marketing Management's "Marketing Company of the Year" Roll of Honour and leading Brand Leadership to the Fin Week "Marketing Services Agency of the Year, 2008" and the 2011 REBRAND 100 Global Award for Effective Brand Transformations.

Ikalafeng is vice-chairman of the Brand Council of South Africa and has served on leading corporate boards and all notable industry bodies. Ikalafeng holds a BSc (Business Administration) and MBA degrees from Marquette University in the USA, completed executive leadership education in Finance at Wits Business School and Harvard Business School and is a Chartered Marketer (SA). He advices, teaches and speaks globally in commercial, political, nation and personal branding and related matters.