WBS Advisory Board members

Vice-Chancellor and Principal

Prof Zeblon Zenzele Vilakazi is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand. He joined Wits University as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Postgraduate Affairs in 2014. His previous appointments include Group Executive for Research and Development at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) in 2011, while also serving as the Director of iThemba LABS – a position he has held since January 2007. He also holds an Honorary Professorship in the Department of Physics at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

Vilakazi has served as a chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Standing Advisory Committee on Nuclear Applications from 2009 to 2011. He is a member of the Programme Advisory Committee for Nuclear Physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia and a member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Working Group for Nuclear Physics. In 2010, he was nominated by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. He has more than 300 refereed articles in Nuclear and High Energy Physics and is a regular invitee for talks and presentations at leading international conferences and seminars.

Jason is Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management and a Professor of Information Systems. He received his PhD in Information Systems in 2004 with a focus on IS strategy and planning. His research work is focused on information systems in organisations and e-commerce with over 65 publications in leading international journals and conference proceedings. These include Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Information & Management, International Journal of Information Management, Expert Systems with Applications, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Medical Informatics, Electronic Commerce Research, and Internet Research, among others. He holds an National Research Foundation C1 rating. He has taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in topics such as business process management, digital commerce, and IT management. He has supervised 40 masters students and 4 doctoral students to completion. In 2011, he was Visiting Faculty at the International Centre for Health Innovation at the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. He was previously head of the Information Systems division in the School of Economics and Business Sciences (2004-2010) and then Assistant Dean Research (2015-2019) supporting the Faculty to establish a new research culture and grow its research output. Jason was also previously Deputy Dean in the Faculty (2018-2022).

Head and Director of School, Wits Business School

Maurice Radebe is currently Head and Director of W its Business School. Previously he served as Executive Vice President responsible for Sasol’s Energy Business globally. He was accountable for the successful marketing of all the Energy Business’ products as well as managing the gas-to-liquids (GTL) joint ventures in Qatar (ORYX GTL) and Nigeria (EGTL), the gas-to-power (GTP) venture in Mozambique. Maurice Radebe is the Founder and Chairman of Unleashing Leadership Potential Foundation in South Africa.

Maurice is an experienced energy industry executive, having worked in the sector for over 30 years. During his 8 years at Shell, 7 years at Exel and 16 years at Sasol, he has had Profit & Loss experience and responsibility, developed a deep understanding of the energy sector, both upstream and downstream, and been involved in significant projects.

Maurice has had extensive operational experience throughout his career, including managing the impacts of sharp drops in the oil price through restructuring, cost cutting and cash management. W hen he became Sasol Oil MD, he launched the Go4Gr8 project to create a quantum leap in revenues and profitability and drove the Functional Excellence programme and Phoenix programme in Sasol Oil. He also steered the Response Plan in 2009 at Sasol Oil to the sharp fall in the oil price in order to dramatically reduce the cost base.

He drove the retail, commercial and lubricant market development at Sasol Oil, was involved in Sasol’s entry into Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and was intimately involved in the Uhambo merger planned between Engen and Sasol. He has had intensive interactions with governments and commercial organisations in South Africa and internationally in Mozambique, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, and Qatar. Maurice is the first person to serve as chairman of the South African Petrol Industry Association (“SAPIA”) twice, once during the 2010 Soccer World Cup being responsible for the collaboration of the industry during the momentous event. Through his various roles in Sasol and his role in SAPIA, Maurice has had extensive exposure to the regulatory issues facing the energy industry in South Africa, Qatar, Mozambique and Uzbekistan.

Maurice operates well at a strategic level and is known for his ability to identify strategic issues, create alignment, drive purpose and to relentlessly ensure implementation. He has attended the Sasol Limited board and has been a member of the Sasol Group Executive Committee (“GEC”) for the last 10 years. Maurice has been on the Sasol Oil board for 14 years and served as Chairman for the last ten years. He was on the Exel Petroleum board, in his capacity as a Managing Director, for almost 4 years. Maurice has a track record of creating diverse and cohesive teams, coaching and mentoring his direct reports and many others, and holding people accountable for the results he expects. He has a strong track record of commercial success, a supportive mentoring and coaching leadership style, an open-door policy, a willingness to listen and good social skills.

Maurice was appointed as an Executive in Residence at Wits Business School in January 2013. Since then, he has worked with the various Heads of School to provide real life business experience in the learning environment, with emphasis on the energy industry. To this end, he facilitated regular seminars dealing with energy related topics. He guided and supported 2 master classes spanning 3 days each in 2016 and 2017 to kick-off the development of the African Energy Leadership Centre. The culmination of this work is the Energy Leadership programmes currently on offer at the Wits Business School, being the first post-graduate diploma and Masters program in energy leadership on the African continent.

Maurice has strong views on the need for a clear common purpose in South Africa, Africa and within the global community. He now focuses his energy on the imperative role education plays in the country’s and the continent’s development. He is deeply committed to the socio-economic transformation of South Africa, Africa, and the global community, and has played a driving role in achieving it. Maurice continues to be passionate about leadership and gender equality. He continues to invest his own time and resources in providing young people with the skills required for personal and professional success.

He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc (Applied Mathematics and Physics)) from the University of the North (now known as University of Limpopo), Polokwane, South Africa in 1983 and a Higher Diploma for Educators of Adults from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa in 1988. In 1991, he attended the Management Advancement Programme at Wits Business School and in 1997 obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from same business school.

He also attended the General Management Programme at Harvard Business School, Boston, United States in 2007.

Maurice is a grounded individual with a strong value system and a commitment to family and society which engenderstrust. He is naturally collaborative, and listens well, but does not shy away from tough decisions and holding people accountable.

Academic Director, Wits Business School

Logan Rangasamy has worked on economic policy issues and developments for over 30 years. During this period, his involvement has been in the capacity of economic advisor at the European Union and senior positions at international institutions and at the South African Reserve bank. His work has covered policy issues related to national (South Africa), regional (Common monetary area, Southern African Development Community, Africa) and multilateral (G20, IMF, OECD etc) interests. Logan has participated in discussions at both technical and high-level meetings with senior policymakers (ministers, central bank governors, presidencies of governments, international investors, rating agencies etc).

 He has led country and technical teams at the G20, IMF, AU, SADC, and CMA forums. He has held oversight responsibility for South Africa’s participation at the working groups at the BRICS, G20, IMF, OECD and BRICS. He led South Africa’s technical team in the BRICS Contingency Reserve Arrangement discussions which resulted in the establishment of a US$100billion facility for BRICS countries. He has chaired the SARB’s technical team in interactions with the IMF, G20 and other continental bodies in Africa. He has articulated African interests at international fora (G20, BRICS and OECD) and has been involved in the Africa Peer Review Mechanism evaluating macroeconomic performance of African countries.  

Rangasamy has published many articles in peer reviewed journals on policy issues. He assumed the role of Academic Director on 1 January 2021 where his focus is on establishing “WBS as the leading African Business School firmly embedded among the best business schools internationally”.

Operations Director, Wits Business School

Setumo is Operations Director at Wits Business School (WBS). Prior to this he served as the Finance and Business Manager at the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management at Wits University for five years, and the Finance Manager at North West University, Mafikeng Campus for six years.

He has over 18 years of professional experience, 14 of which are in higher education institutions.  His competencies in business growth and suitability practices have allowed him to impact academic teaching, learning and research capabilities in two of Africa’s leading institutions.

Setumo obtained his MBA - Finance and his B.Com degree from Northwest University – Mafikeng campus.  He also completed an International Executive Education Programme (IEDP) with Wits Business School and London Business School.

CEO of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA)

Cas is CEO of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and the former Managing Director of The Banking Association SA (BASA). He is the Chairperson of the National Business Initiative. He serves on the Board of the Centre for Development & Enterprise. He is the immediate past President of the International Banking Federation (IBFed).  He serves as a Council member of the University of Witwatersrand. He is also on the board of the Nepad Business Foundation. He also serves on the Steering Committee of the CEO Initiative.

Cas obtained his B. Com from the University College - Durban in 1971.  He completed the Housing Finance Course with the Wharton Real Estate Centre at the University of Pennsylvania. He also completed the Effective Directors Programme with the Kagiso School of Leadership. He has contributed to numerous articles and publications on housing finance, civil society, local government and the role of civic organisations in governance.

Chairman, Edward Nathan Sonnenberg (ENS) Africa

I am the Chairman of the firm and still significantly involved in practicing law and other activities referred to below. The firm is managed by Mzi Mgudlwa, the CEO, and general managers, all of whom are full-time involved in the management of the firm. We have more than 1300 people, approximately half of whom are professionals.  Of these more than half are females, and more than a third are Black practitioners.

The firm has 32 departments and offers the same wide range of services that the large New York law firms and the Magic Circle law firms in London offer.  We have offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Stellenbosch, three in Namibia, Mauritius, Ruanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana.  In addition, we have two pro-bono offices in Alexandra Township and Mitchells Plain, two areas inhabited by very poor residents.  These residents receive free legal advice from us.  It is mandatory for all professionals in our firm to render a certain prescribed amount of time to our pro-bono offices.  These pro-bono offices are a significant part of our Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, which, however, does extend beyond these pro-bono activities.

• Often present papers on legal and fiscal topics, most recently presented a paper at 50^th Anniversary of Commonwealth Lawyers in London on “Directors Duties, Shareholder Remedies and Auditor Duties.”
• Mentioned in Legal Periodicals as the leading South African Lawyer and highly recommended South Africa Lawyer in Tax, Mergers and Acquisitions and Competition Law, including –
• Chambers and Partners Global Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers 2010 – Corporate Commercial/M&A and Tax (South Africa);
  • Chambers and Partners 2009 - Corporate/M&A, Tax (South Africa);
  • Best Lawyers South Africa 2009 – Tax, Banking;
  • Best Lawyers South Africa 2010 – Tax;
  • IFLR 1000 2009 - Corporate Commercial;
  • IFLR 1000 2010 - M&A;
  • PLC Which Lawyer?  Cross border Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook 2009/10;
  • PLC Which Lawyer?  2009 – Corporate/M&A, Tax, Banking and Finance, Competition/Antitrust, Private Equity/Venture Capital and Corporate Governance;
  • PLC Which Lawyer?  2010 – Corporate / M&A, Competition, Finance and Securitisation, Tax, Corporate Governance and Banking and Finance;
  • Legal 500 2010 – Corporate Commercial, Tax (South Africa);
  • Acquisition Finance (ACQ) Global Awards 2010 – Most Respected Lawyer, Dealmaker of the year and Strategic Advisor of the year (Africa);
  • Legal Experts Europe, Middle East & Africa 2010 – Corporate / M&A and Tax;
  • The International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers 2010 – Tax  (South Africa);
  • The International Who’s Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers 2010 – Corporate Governance (South Africa);
  • The International Who’s Who of Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers 2010 – M&A (South Africa);
  • The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers – Corporate Governance and M&A (South Africa);
  • The International Who’s Who of Corporate Tax Lawyers 2009;
  • The Guide to the World’s Leading Tax Advisors 2009

Chairman, FirstRand Limited

Prior to becoming the Chairman on 1 April 2018, he served on the FirstRand Board as a non-executive director for 8 years. He was a member of the Risk, Capital and Compliance Committee, the Large Exposures Committee and Chaired the Nominations Committee and Directors Affairs and Governance Committee.

Jardine is a past CEO of 3 South African Companies: Kagiso Media, the Aveng Group, and Primedia. He has been a Director of several companies in diverse industries including steel, retail, manufacturing, IT services, mining services, and infrastructure development.

In 1995, Jardine was appointed Director-General of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. He has also served as Chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Chairman of the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA).

Roger Jardine was born in Riverlea, Johannesburg. Jardine studied physics and obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from Haverford College in 1989 in Pennsylvania (USA), and a Master of Science (MSc) in Radiological Physics from Wayne State University in 1991 in Michigan (USA).

Executive Vice President: Energy Business - Sasol

As Executive Vice President, Priscillah is responsible for the production, distribution and sales of gas as well as distribution, marketing and sales of liquid fuels. She will drive customer-led growth in all Energy’s activities particularly gas, mobilitysolutions and lower-carbon initiatives. In addition, she is responsible for securing new gas supply and delivering Sasol’s renewable energy ambition to support climate change roadmap efforts.

She joined Sasol from BP Southern Africa (BPSA), where she was Chief Executive Officer. Directly prior to this she was Retail Operations Director for BP UK’s retail business and preceding this she was BPSA’s Chief Financial Offi cer for four years.

Priscillah has broad international leadership experience and a solid corporate track record of successfully leading and enabling transformation in large functions and operations in both United Kingdom and South Africa. She has served as Non-Executive Director on the Board of South Africa-based Standard Bank Group Limited and Vodacom (Pty) Ltd.

Mpumi was previously chief director in the Gauteng provincial government. During her time at Bidvest, she has held various senior management and executive board director positions such as general manager business development, divisional director business development, corporate affairs director and sales and marketing director. She is a director of numerous Bidvest subsidiaries.

Appointed as non-executive director of the Adcock board of directors on 23 November 2017. Was appointed CEO-designate of Bidvest Group on 4 March 2019.

Group Chief Executive Officer, Telkom SA SOC Ltd

Sipho Maseko was appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer and as an Executive Director of Telkom on 1 April 2013. He is also the Chairman of the Board at BCX. Prior, he was the Group Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director at Vodacom, which he joined from BP Southern Africa, where he held various roles from 1997, including COO and CEO.

Sipho previously served as Chairman of the Board of SAPREF (Joint Venture between Shell SA and BP SA). He has also been a Non-Executive Director on the BMW SA Board until 2020.

Sipho is currently a Non-Executive Director of the Board of the Centre for Development & Enterprise (CDE).

He has a BA as well as an LLB degree

Senior Manager: Strategy & Business Design, Deloitte

Thato Moraba holds a Master of Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand and Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Metallurgy and Materials Engineering) from the University of the Witwatersrand and has completed his MBA degree with the Wits Business School. He is currently studying for a Law degree with the UNISA which he is due to complete in June 2021. He is currently a Senior Manager (Strategy and Business Design) at Deloitte in Johannesburg. As a Senior Manager, He responsible for the sales and delivery of projects, while nurturing and managing executive level client relationships, as well as team growth and development. His main portfolios include playing a leading role in mining and manufacturing, as well as heading the Diversity and Inclusion portfolio for the Strategy team at Deloitte.  Prior to Joining Deloitte, he held various roles in Management consulting and in the Energy, Resources and Industrials Sectors. He is registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa as a Professional Engineer (Pr. Eng). He is currently the Vice-Chair of the WBS alumni committee and also represents the committee on the WBS Advisory Board as a member of the Board. 

He is a confident negotiator who is able to compellingly convey the message at hand to all levels of stakeholders. Thato was a founding committee member for the Wits Business School consulting club where he was also Vice-President of the Consulting Club (2015), The Young Professional Council (2014) where he also championed the Entrepreneurship portfolio and served as the Chairman for the Metallurgical Engineering Students Society at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2010. He remains committed and continue to contribute meaningfully to the affairs of the Business school in his various capacities.

Group Executive for Corporate Affairs Executive & Governance, Barloworld Limited.

Previously, she was a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Gugu was also Managing Director for Public Policy and Strategy at Barclays Africa. Previously she headed up Strategy & Emerging Markets at Ernst & Young and was a Member of Executive Committee at EY Africa. She was also previously Group Corporate Affairs Director at the Public Investment Corporation, (PIC).

South African born Gugu Sepamla was recently selected by Forbes onto its list of ‘Top 10 most Powerful and Influential Women in Africa’. She was selected as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a community of less than a 1000 across the globe who are viewed as leaders helping play a role in positively impacting the world across sectors (business, government and the not for profit sectors. Gugu Sepamla is a strategy and performance turnaround expert with vast experience across a broad range of industries, having served the top management of leading institutions. As a Senior Advisor at BCG, Gugu helps guide the company’s direction, growth, innovation as well as being instrumental in people development, in addition to lending her considerable talents and expertise to providing clients with solutions that help them to achieve their business goals.

Gugu carries over 20 years of related work experience in the professional services industry. She has a solid technical background with a strong interest in Business process Re-engineering, Strategy, Operating Models, and Planning. Gugu has strong networks both locally and across the Continent having worked and lived in Nigeria and Kenya.

She is a respected industry leader and dedicated mentor who is actively involved in various trusts, charities and is a champion for women’s empowerment in South Africa. Among her many notable achievements, is that she has worked with a government task team of a BRICS country to design the operating model for a proposed national pension system, leveraging existing institutional capacities in the public as well as the private sector.