Mark is a psychologist specialising in the development of Emotional Intelligence (EI) for managers and leaders. A highly sought after conference speaker, he has worked in the mining, logistics, finance, hospitality and manufacturing industries. He is the founder and CEO
of Mygrow – The Emotional Intelligence Platform. Mygrow develops, measures & tracks Emotional Intelligence in just a few minutes a day through video-based learning, neuroscience techniques, personalised coaching & rich data. His PhD work is focused on “The impact of Emotional Intelligence on Organisational Culture” looking at how delivering EI development at scale can shift Organisational Culture, and the impact made possible through a tangible, measurable and neuroscience based approach to EI development.

Ashnie has a honours degree in Psychology, a Masters Diploma in HR Management and, Masters Degree in Leadership. She is a qualified Masters Practitioner in Neurolinguistics Programming and an accredited change practitioner. She is also an author of the book “Succession Management: Definite Do’s and Detrimental Dont’s.” For the last 20 years she has worked in the field of Talent Management in various large scale organisations. She presently heads up the Talent Management function in Sun International. She is a frequent speaker both nationally and internationally in the various fields of Human Resources and is passionate about optimizing human potential.

I have been the operations director for Seattle Coffee Co. for the past 21 years, with a special focus on people and product. My partner and I, a friend from school, started and co-own Seattle in South Africa, opening our first store in November 1997. We were both 23 years of age at the time. From these humble beginnings, we have grown the business, with our amazing teams and partners, to 210 stores spread across all regions of South Africa to date.

Honourable Minister Naledi Pandor

Keynote Speaker at Future of HR Summit & Award

Naledi PANDOR is South Africa’s Minister of Higher Education and Training. A life of exile from 1961 until 1984 resulted in an international flavour to her education. She holds a BA from the University of Botswana and Swaziland and an MA in Education from the University of London. In 1992 she studied for a Diploma in Higher Education, Administration and Leadership at Bryn Mawr in the USA. In 1997 she completed an MA in Linguistics at the University of Stellenbosch and a Diploma in Leadership in Development at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, while she was serving as an MP.

PANDOR became an MP in 1994 and has amassed impressive experience in positions of public office. Her experience in education policy planning made her a welcome appointment as Minister of Education. She has also served as Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Home Affairs.

PANDOR has received honorary doctorates from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Stellenbosch, University of Lisbon, Leiden University and from the University College of Dublin.

She is married to Sharif PANDOR and they have four children and two grandchildren.

Thabo worked in the automotive industry in the early 80s where he qualified as a Fitter and Turner artisan. He moved to a technical college where he was employed as an instructor and a lecturer for the engineering trades and later became the head of division responsible for 16 different trades. Exposure to senior management experience started in 1997 as a Principal of a Technical College, as well as a manager for cluster of colleges for various portfolios such as Student Support Services, Human Resources, Linkages to Industry and Learnerships. The National Department of Education appointed him as the deputy Director in the FET-Policy Planning and curriculum development for a very short period before moving over to the Department of Labour as the Executive Manager for the National Skills Authority (NSA). Due to the 2009 skills development function shift he was transferred to the Department of Higher Education and Training in the same portfolio as the Executive Officer. He manages the work of the NSA which includes advising the Minister on strategic and policy matters including National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) and the monitoring of performance and governance of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). He ensures skills development footprints in all provinces through the establishment and support to Provincial Skills Development Forums (PSDF).

He holds a doctoral degree in educational management, diplomas, higher diploma, and degrees in qualifications ranging from technical/engineering, education, management, human resources, business management and business administration. He also holds a Post-graduate Diploma in M&E from WITS school of governance.

He led and participated in labour movement in late 80s to early nineties and represented lecturers from the former Bophuthatswana Homeland during the change-over period to the new SA. He actively participates in his community, church and sits on various councils including the Quality Council for Occupations and Trades (QCTO), NCP HRDC, NW HRDC, SASCE, the Public Service Trainers’ Forum (PSTF) and few other councils.

Anish Shivdasani is co-founder & CEO of Giraffe- an automated job matching platform that gives medium-skilled jobseekers more access and visibility to opportunities than ever before, and enables businesses to recruit high volumes of staff faster and more efficiently than any other way.

Since launching in 2015, Giraffe has attracted nearly 1 million users and remains one of South Africa’s the fastest-growing tech startups.

Prior to founding Giraffe, Anish was a Principal at Delta Partners, a strategic advisory firm specialising in telecoms in emerging markets.

Anish holds an MA (Hons) from Cambridge University and a PhD from Sheffield University.

Culture and Leadership Consultant, Coach, Author, Keynote Speaker and Co-Founder of the Johannesburg Chapter of Hacking HR.

Deborah’s career in HR spans 2 decades, during which time she has worked in employee relations, change management, OD and HR management, prior to becoming an independent consultant in 2008. She has always been known to question the status quo and act as a catalyst for change, so it is no surprise then that Deborah has built a global reputation as somewhat of an authority on all things relating to the human experience in the new world of work.

Tshidi Khunou is a seasoned Talent Acquisition specialist with over 14 years experience in talent sourcing, recruitment and selection. As an astute business strategist, some of his primary roles over the years have included recruiting young talent as well as experienced talent. He is currently the Head of Talent Acquisition at FNB Wealth and Investments, and previously served in similar leadership roles in other financial institutions. His profile is indicative of his passion for education and personnel development. In his spare time, he enjoys photography, all things Tech as well as giving sage advice to young job seekers and empowering aspirant social entrepreneurs. He is known to most people by his #TopOfTheMorning titbits that he shares with job seekers and young talent.

Rhett Davies is a Business Partner at MCI and Co-Founder of Direct Hire Recruitment Software. He has over a decade of experience in providing successful digital hiring solutions to local and international corporates and enterprises. Rhett is an expert in HR recruitment tech and automation and is at the forefront of digital recruitment innovation and solutions in SA. Rhett is passionate about all things HR and strives to bring the best of recruitment technology to organizations, helping to reduce the time and complexity involved in connecting them with the right talent.

Tricia is founder, managing member, skilled coach, facilitator and strategist with a CV that ticks all the boxes and qualifications that confirm she knows her stuff but, like you, she’s a perfectly, imperfect human. For her, it’s not about lectures, death-by-PowerPoint presentations and a one-size-fits-all solution.

It’s about insight and inspiration and empowering each person who crosses her path to overcome challenges and achieve their dreams.

Tricia’s certifications in Motivational Mapping, Life Coaching, NLP Practice, Logotherapy, StrengthScope and Multiple Brain Techniques ensure that she has access to a full spectrum of resources, which can be uniquely applied to each challenge to provide a fit for purpose solution.

Paige is the Digital Lead for SAP Africa. She explores emerging technologies and trends with customers, focusing on how these can be applied to create competitive advantage and new revenue streams. Paige is a chartered accountant with a background in management consulting and strategy, specialising in innovation and new business models. Her previous roles included leading the innovation eco-system for Deloitte Africa and establishing the innovation advisory practise at Dimension Data.

Paige speaks regularly at events across the country, and contributes to print and digital publications including Fast Company, The Star and ITWeb. She is currently investigating how technology can be used to augment behavioural science approaches and create positive change in society.