Africa Business Conference 2021

Paulo Gomes is a global business leader, active environmentalist and a key political actor in Guinea Bissau. He has an acute knowledge of the politics and policies of Africa which he developed through his political engagement, support to several governments and as an Executive Director of the World Bank. He has also founded the firm Paulo Gomes and Partners, which is the natural outcome of many years advising governments and businesses on strategic investments as well as serving on boards of firms such as AFIG, Asky Airlines and Ecobank. A founder of the Africa South East Asia Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Advisory Board, his business reach has touched all continents and interests. Gomes is also a senior advisor to PIL Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from ILERI, Paris and a master’s Degree from Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Andy Searle has a strong background in management consulting having worked for leading global and local firms since 1998 in the fields of strategy, business architecture and change management. As a specialist in business services, Searle has played an active role in the growth and development of the Global Business Services (GBS) sector in South Africa since 2003. His involvement in the sector has included various initiatives to market South Africa to target offshore regions, initiatives to implement a skills supply chain in the country to ensure a sustainable supply of skilled people for jobs in demand, and to create an environment in which the workforce can up-skill, re-skill and future-skill itself to increase its competitiveness. Searle has also been instrumental in mobilising the sector role players locally and internationally to collaborate and jointly contribute to the creation of a trading environment that is inclusive and offers real value to foreign and local companies doing business in South Africa. He is passionate about the power of people in business performance and believes in the correlation between the worlds of sport and work. He was educated in South Africa and holds a BCom, HDE and MBA.

Dr Myriam Sidibe is one of the world’s leading experts on brands that drive health outcomes through mass behavioural change. As Social Mission Director for Unilever’s Lifebuoy brand, she conceived and established Global Handwashing Day — now celebrated in over 100 countries. She is currently on sabbatical from Unilever to Harvard Kennedy School where she is a senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center. She has been recognized as one of the top 10 intrapreneurs in the world for her approach to pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo — which has proven pivotal to leading a paradigm shift in the way public-private partnerships for health/well-being are managed and funded. Originally from Mali, she holds a doctorate in Public Health from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and a Masters in Water and Waste Engineering from Loughborough University, UK.

Dr Catherine Duggan has worked in Africa for more than twenty years and gained experience in nearly two dozen African countries. Prior to her appointment as Director (Dean) of the UCT GSB, she was Vice Dean and Professor of Management and Political Economy at the African Leadership University School of Business (ALUSB) in Rwanda. Previously she was a professor at Harvard Business School (HBS), teaching leadership and political economy in MBA and executive education programmes. She was the first woman in the school’s history to win the Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Required Curriculum two years in a row. She also received the Charles M. Williams Award for Excellence in Teaching and was named the Berol Corporation Fellow. She earned a PhD in Political Science from Stanford University, and received a B.A. with honours in Political Science from Brown University.

Valter Adão is the Chief Executive and Digital Leader for Cadena Growth Partners, a digital and innovation advisory and venturing organisation that operates at the intersection of strategic and innovative thinking with emerging digital technologies and rapid commercialisation. As a faculty member of Singularity University, a Tedx Speaker, and the recipient of the Constellation Transformation 150 award, which recognises the top global executives leading digital business transformation efforts, as well as the Big 4 professional of the year, Adão is recognised as an expert in the fields of disruptive innovation, business re-imagination and emerging technologies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. With extensive experience in venturing and commercialising businesses across many industries, Adão works with the CEOs of leading organisations to conceive, develop and scale innovative opportunities and IP into high growth, sustainable businesses.

Claire Barnardo started and currently manages the world-renowned UCT GSB Case Writing Centre which pioneers the writing and publication of African-focused teaching cases. Established with funding from the Harvard Business School Alumni Africa Club, the Case Writing Centre now hosts a collection of award-winning teaching cases, that are relevant to doing business in emerging markets. Barnardo holds an MA in Media Theory & Practice from UCT and undergraduate degrees from Rhodes University. Prior to cases, she has over a decade of editorial experience as a print editor/journalist. Claire is passionate about writing and championing African and emerging market business cases.

Folu Okunade serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Hello Tractor, responsible for shaping, executing and measuring the organisation's growth strategy and operations. Prior to joining Hello Tractor in 2019, Okunade was a Senior Manager at Accenture focused on defining and implementing large-scale transformational process improvement solutions, primarily within the financial services sector. His experience also extends to driving agricultural systems change at the NEPAD Business Foundation, specifically within the continental African agriculture program (CAADP). Okunade holds an MBA from the UCT GSB (specialising in Leadership and Doing Business in Africa) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis. His professional interests lie at the intersection of macroeconomic growth, impact entrepreneurial empowerment, organisational strategic growth, and technology-led social innovations.

Sarah Boyd is a case writer and researcher with the UCT GSB Case Writing Centre where her particular research interests include organisation development, operations management, and social enterprise. She holds an MBA from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and a Master of Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.

Aside from his role as Executive Chairman of the Cape Union Mart Group of Companies, Philip Krawitz is a Past President of the South African Chamber of Business, the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce, and has served on numerous Boards. Krawitz is Chairman of the United Herzlia Schools and United Jewish Campaign Boards of Trustees, and a trustee of the CSO and the Eliot Osrin Leadership Institute. He is Member of the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency for Israel. Krawitz has received many awards including Cape Times Businessman of the Year, the Lexus Lifetime Jewish Achiever Award and the Kaapstad Sakekamer/Die Burger Business Leader of the Year. He was educated at Herzlia High School, University of Cape Town and has completed courses at Harvard and Wharton. He is married to Michele and has three daughters and seven grandchildren.

Aldi Schoeman is a journalist with over a decade of editorial experience at news outlets in South Africa. She was news editor at a newspaper in Cape Town at the time of its digital transformation. In her previous role she was a business writer at a national publication. Schoeman completed her MBA at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business in 2020 and holds degrees in journalism and history. Her current role is communications Specialist at Coronation.

Seno Namwandi is an enthusiastic pioneer of Intellectual Property (IP) in Namibia. She is passionate about the role of IP and Innovation in developing the economic sector in Africa. Namwandi was employed full time at the International University of Management (IUM) where she served as the Director of Innovation and IP. She is also the youngest director on the board of the Business Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) in Namibia (a state-owned enterprise). One of her achievements was being selected as a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow. Namwandi is currently pursuing her MBA with the University of Cape Town (UCT) and serves as Class President. She has a master’s degree in IP from Africa University, Zimbabwe and other postgraduate certifications in IP. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from Stellenbosch University.

Lawrence Bbosa grew up in Nairobi Kenya, where he completed his formal schooling. He then came to the University of Cape Town where he obtained a BSc in Electro-Mechanical Engineering in 2005, followed by an MSc in Chemical Engineering in 2008. In 2013, he completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering. Lawrence is currently employed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCT, and is completing his MBA specializing in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He currently serves alongside Seno Namwandi as MBA Full time class president. Lawrence is married to Coni Bbosa (who also happens to be doing her MBA and is Class President of the Mod class) and they have two daughters Emerald and Alyssa. He is a keen long-distance runner, having completed the Two Oceans Half Marathon three times, the Ultra Marathon in 2014 and the Cape Town marathon in 2019.