Faculty Members

Frederick Ahwireng-Obeng
Professor Emeritus

Prof Ahwireng-Obeng has published widely, both locally and internationally, on development economics, entrepreneurship and small business. He was awarded for publishing the best paper in the South African Journal of Business Management.

Professor Frederick Ahwireng-Obeng joined Wits Business School in 1995 and is a tenured full professor of business administration (economics). He has been an Emeritus Professor since 2009 and has been extensively involved in the training and supervision of post graduate students in several universities across South Africa since then.

He is published widely, both locally and internationally, in the fields of development economics, entrepreneurship and small business. He was awarded a gold medal by the SA Association of Business Managers for publishing the best paper in the South African Journal of Business Management in 2001.

Frederick holds senior positions in a number of professional bodies and is a board member of the International African Institute based at the University of London. He also serves as a specialist reviewer for eight academic journals. Frederick was a visiting scholar at the University of Indiana, USA, in 1999, and a visiting professor at the Brisbane Business School, Queensland University of Technology, in 2000.

He holds a BSc (Honours) degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ghana and a PhD in Economics from the University of Leeds, UK. In his early career he consulted extensively for the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation. After completing his doctoral studies in 1981, Frederick taught economics at a number of universities in Nigeria and South Africa, joining the Department of Economics at Wits University as a senior lecturer in 1990.

He is still actively involved in research and publication.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3605
Frederick.Ahwireng-Obeng@wits.ac.za

Prof Imhotep Alagidede
Professor of Finance

Imhotep is a metaeconomist, and a transdisciplinary scholar with avid interest in the noumena behind phenomena. He is an entrepreneur and philanthropist, an accomplished academic, a seasoned consultant and policy maker. His extensive academic and professional career has taken him to six continents, and his works on financial economics is global, with great contributions in top-tier international peer reviewed journals.

As consultant par excellence, Imhotep has contributed to the enrichment of our understanding of the optimal provision of global public goods, and has provided research and policy inputs to national and international frameworks aimed at improving societal welfare.

Professor Imhotep Paul Alagidede received his pre-university education in Navrongo, and he obtained a first class honours degree in Economics and History from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, distinction in Master of Science degree in Economics and Finance from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, and PhD in Economics from the same university.

Professor Alagidede is very keen at developing metaleaders through a dedicated programme of mentorship. He is involved in training and coaching people from all walks of life to tap into their inner potential.

The research interest of Imhotep is tilted towards a synthesis of the thesis and the antithesis in all disciplines. He believes strongly in the value of multidisciplinary research, and after retiring as Editor-in-Chief of the African Review of Economics and Finance journal, he became the Grand Editor of the multidimensional publication, the Journal of Indigenous and Ancestral Studies. He is dedicated to finding the balance between the modern and the ancient; the known and the unknown. To this end indigenous knowledge, and how it merges with modern technology is the bedrock of Imhotep’s research trajectory. He is interested in supervising strong PhD candidates in different aspects of indigenous knowledge and its appropriate utilisation, including but not limited to herbs and plants, economic and political systems.

Selected Publications

Imhotep Paul Alagidede (2019). Dr. George Adu: a valedictory remembrance. African Review of Economics and Finance 11(1), pp 3 –8.

Paul Alagidede, Jones Odei Mensah and Muazu Ibrahim (2018). optimal deficit financing in a constrained fiscal space in Ghana.  African Development Review 30(3), pp 291-303.George Tweneboah and Paul Alagidede (2018). Dollarization, inflation targeting, and inflationary dynamics in Ghana. Journal of African Business 20 (3), pp 358-375.

Abdul Aziz Iddrisu and Imhotep Paul Alagidede (2020). Monetary policy and food inflation in South Africa: A quantile regression analysis.  Food Policy.  https://doi.org/10.1016/.j.foodpol.2019.101816

Maurice Omane-Adjepong, Imhotep Paul Alagidede (2020). High-and low-level chaos in the time and frequency market returns of leading cryptocurrencies and emerging assets. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 132, 109563

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3996
imhotep.alagidede@wits.ac.za

Professor Brian Armstrong
Chair and Director, BCX Chair in Digital Business

Brian is one of the foremost ICT industry leaders in South Africa, with over 30 years of top level management experience in Telecommunications, IT, technology R&D and systems engineering, both in South Africa and abroad. He is widely regarded as a thought leader in digitalisation, convergence and business strategy.

In July 2017 Brian joined the Wits Business School in the role of Professor in the Chair of Digital Business. His focus here is on building a comprehensive knowledge base on the diverse dimensions of Digital Business, and developing more scientifically rigorous models for and an academically sound underpinning of core concepts in digitalisation.

Previously was a key part of the leadership team which has been credited with turning Telkom around, in the capacity of Group Chief Operating Officer and Group Chief Commercial Officer. In his time with Telkom he also revived the ailing Telkom Business unit, and conceived and led the acquisition of BCX and its integration into the group. He was also responsible for the group’s Retail unit, as well as leading group strategy and transformation activities.

Before joining Telkom in 2010 Brian was BT’s Vice President for Middle East and Africa with overall responsibility to oversee and grow BT’s activities across the region. Before that his work experience includes South Africa’s CSIR, ultimately as the Director of the Division for Information and Communications Technology; and South African listed ICT services group AST (now Gijima), as Managing Director of AST Networks.

Brian completed his BSc (Eng) and MSc (Eng) at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1982 and 1984 respectively, and obtained his PhD from University College London in 1992.

His professional interests include business leadership, digitalisation, strategic change leadership and management, corporate entrepreneurship, organisational design, multinational and multicultural business optimisation, and venture creation.

Contact details:
+27 (11) 717 3951
brian.armstrong@wits.ac.za

Zunaid Bulbulia
Adjunct Professor

Zunaid is Non-Executive Director of Huge Telecommunications Group, a niche player in the fixed wireless South African telecommunications landscape and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).  In this role, he is responsible for guiding and formalising the formation of the long-term strategy of the organisation in the highly competitive telecommunications arena.

Zunaid has spent most of his career with MTN South Africa, starting out in 1995 as Financial Manager – Analysis.  He was Chief Financial Officer from November 2005 to May 2013, Chief Executive Officer from May 2013 to August 2014, and served as Group Chief Operations Officer of the MTN Group from August 2014 to December 2015.

A Chartered Accountant, he was educated at Damelin College and Wits University, where he obtained B.Com in Accounting.  In 1992 he obtained his Honours B.Compt (CTA) from Unisa.

Zunaid brings to WBS a wealth of experience in the dynamic telecommunications industry and invaluable insights into what it means to do business on the African continent. As a leader he has a collaborative, engaging style and is a highly effective communicator

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3625
zunaid.bulbulia@wits.ac.za

Dr Eleanor Chipeta
Entrepreneurship

Eleanor holds a Master of Commerce degree from North-West University and a PhD in social entrepreneurship, also from North-West University. Her focus is on social entrepreneurship. Eleanor has done work on antecedents to social entrepreneurial intentions, gender differences to social entrepreneurial intentions, effect of bias, personality and cognitive variable in social enterprise formation.

Prof Rod Crompton
Director, African Energy Leadership Centre

Professor Rod Crompton is the Director of the African Energy Leadership Centre at Wits Business School. Previously he ran Crompton Consulting specialising in industrial policy, energy and economic regulation.

He has been a Research Fellow at the Centre for Competition Regulation and Economic Development and a Research Associate at Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies advising the South African Department of Trade and Industry. He serves on the Ministerial Task Team Appointed to Establish an Interim Rail Economic Regulatory Capacity.

He was previously a full-time board member at the National Energy Regulator (NERSA) and a Deputy Director General at the Department of Minerals and Energy. He has also worked at the Department of Trade and Industry and was managing director of the Minerals and Energy Policy Centre. He has served on the boards of several companies. His obtained his PhD at the University of Natal.

Publications
Crompton R, Fessehaie J, Kaziboni L and Zengeni T (2016) Railway Locomotives and Transnet: A Case Study, Industrial Development Research Programme, Centre for Competition Regulation and Economic Development, University of Johannesburg.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3605
roderick.crompton@wits.ac.za

Professor Waltenegus Dargie
Visiting Professor
Area of teaching: Computer Networks
waltenegus.dargie@wits.ac.za

Professor Waltenegus Dargie is the Head of Energy Lab at the TU Dresden (Germany), Faculty of Compute Science. He obtained a PhD in Computer Engineering from the TU Dresden (2006); a MSc in Electrical Engineering from the TU Kaiserslautern (2002); and a BSc in Electrical and Electronics Technology from Nazareth Technical College (1997). He has also been awarded a Habilitation from the TU Dresden in 2010. This is the highest academic qualification one can achieve in Germany and it is a prerequisite in many European universities for conducting independent teaching and research.

Professor Dargie is a recipient of five research projects from the German Research foundation and has supervised seven PhD candidates. Two of them were women and two of them defended their dissertation with distinction (summa cum laude).

He has published two text books and more than 20 scientific articles in highly reputed IEEE and ACM journals. He is also a member of the editorial committee for the Journal of Computer Networks (Elsevier) and several technical program committees.

His research activities are focused on (1) developing energy-efficient and smart computing and sensing devices for the Internet of Things, (2) developing energy-efficient protocols for wireless sensor networks, and (2) using unsupervised learning to extract meaning from sensed data.

Professor Dargie has published four novels (ERMIAS, PEREGRINATION, PRINCESS MERCABEL, and THE EUNUCH AND THE KING’S DAUGHTER) and one philosophical book: THE REASON FOR LIFE.

In his spare time professor Dargie enjoys long-distance running.

Dr Alan Fowler
Visiting Professor

Spanning some forty years, Dr Alan Fowler’s career combines academic scholarship with practical advisory work and organisational entrepreneurship.  He is the author and co-author of 11 books about the roles and behaviours of non-profit organisations in international development.

Dr Fowler's lecture and research areas include non-profit management, strategy, philanthropy and inter-organisational relations. He is currently emeritus professor at Erasmus University in the Netherlands.  Previous academic posts include a visiting fellowship at the Centre for Civil Society, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and visiting senior research fellow at Oxford Brookes University.  A diploma in education complements formal training in electronic engineering.

His professional experience has been gained within numerous institutions.  Examples are as a visiting fellow at the World Bank, with the Society for Participatory Research in Asia, New Delhi, as a programme officer at the Ford Foundation in East Africa and as a business field manager.

Dr Fowler has advised many non-profit organisations including World Vision, Action Aid International, Oxfam and Amnesty International.  In addition to numerous books, including compendiums and organisational biographies, he has authored more than 140 published articles and papers.  He co-founded Matrix Consulting in Kenya, the International NGO Training and Research Centre based in the UK and Inter-Mediation International.  He has acted as convenor of the NGO Study Group of the Development Studies Association of the UK and Ireland.

Voluntary service includes roles an elected board member and past president of the International Society for Third Sector Research and as a board member of CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation.

Contact details
alan.fowler@wits.ac.za

Dr Jenika Gobind
Senior Lecturer: Human Resources

Dr Gobind’s research interest lies in employment relations.  Her teaching and learning experience spans over 12 years at a number of institutions.

After obtaining her BProc (Law) from the University of Durban-Westville, she lectured at Durban University of Technology in various legal subjects between 2005 and 2009. She then shifted focus to employment relations, human resource management, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and research methodology. She completed a Diploma in Employment Relations through UNISA, Postgraduate Diploma in Industrial Relations Management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and a Postgraduate Diploma in HIV and AIDS Management from Stellenbosch University (US).  She obtained her PhD in Employment Relations at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in 2014.

Prior to joining WBS, Dr Gobind served as Head of Research at Milpark Business School and lectured in employment relations, collective bargaining and negotiation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) at UJ, as well as extensive research supervision at Master’s and Doctoral level.

Dr Gobind’s other research interests lie in gender discrimination and HIV/AIDS in the workplace. She holds an MPhil in HIV and AIDS Management from Stellenbosch University.  Widely published, her books include South African Employment Relations in Context (Knowledge Resources, 2015) and HIV/AIDS Fact File (South African Board of People Practices, 2012).

Dr Gobind has extensive experience in the private sector, chairing multiple disciplinary hearings and consulting in labour legislation, employment relations and HR issues.  At Transnet Freight she trained the HR managers on employment relations and HR management. 

She has also contributed extensively to the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) and the University Research Company (URC) in research and the development of local and international publications on HIV/AIDS, TB, leadership and management.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3761
jenika.gobind@wits.ac.za

Euphemia Godspower-Akpomiemie
Finance

Euphemia completed her PhD in financial management at WBS. She also holds her Master’s in Finance and Investment and has served as a sessional lecturer at WBS (MM-FI and MM-DB). Her research interests include financial regulations/supervision, efficiency and performance matters; fintech and digitisation in the financial industry; banking fragility, twin-peaks, market discipline and Basel accords; money laundering and transparency in the banking industries; and other regulatory matters in the financial system.

Biographical Information
Diane Hildebrandt is currently the  Distinguished Professor for Future Energy at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.  She is jointly appointed  in the African Energy Leadership Centre, at the Wits Business School,  and the Molecular Sciences Institute, School of Chemistry.

She is the Director of the  International Joint Research Laboratory of New Energy at the  Hebei University of Science and Technology and the Director of the  Keqiao Green Energy  Materials Joint Laboratory, Zhejiang College of Zhejiang University of Technology, both in situated in China. Diane Hildebrandt obtained her B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has authored or co-authored over 210 scientific papers, including an invited paper in Science, and has supervised over 100 postgraduate students.

She was awarded the President’s Award by the Foundation for Research and Development and the Distinguished Researcher Award by the University of the Witwatersrand in 1996. In 1997 she became the first engineer to be awarded the Royal Society of South Africa’s Meiring Naude Medal. In 2000 she and a colleague were the first academics to be awarded the Bill Neale-May Gold Medal by the South African Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 2002 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and also received the Vice Chancellor’s Research Award of the University of the Witwatersrand. In 2003 she was elected as a member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa. In 2005 she was recognized as a world leader in her area of research when she was awarded an A rating by the National Research Foundation. In 2006 she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Engineering of South Africa. In 2009 she won the Distinguished Woman Scientist Award from the Department of Science and Technology and the African Union Continental Scientific Award in the category Basic Science, Technology and Innovation. In 2010 she was awarded the ASSAf ‘Science-for-Society’ Gold Medal Award. In 2017 she was conferred the NSTF Research and Capacity Development award. In 2017 she was appointed as one of 100 Foreign Experts to advise the Government of Hebei. In addition, she was honoured to be chosen for the China National Talent Programme for Foreign experts in 2018 and she is presently the only African to be so honoured.  In 2021 she and the team led  received the NRF Science Team award for their work on Biogas.

In 1998 Diane Hildebrandt became the first woman in South Africa to be made a full professor of Chemical Engineering when she was appointed as the Unilever Professor of Reaction Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 2003 she became the first woman professor of Chemical Technology in the Netherlands when she was appointed as a part-time Professor of Process Synthesis at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. She was South African Research Chair of Sustainable Process Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa from 2005 to 2013. She has worked at the Chamber of Mines, Sasol and the University of Potchefstroom, and has spent a sabbatical at Princeton University, USA.

Research
One of the largest challenges facing the world is how to continue to supply energy to society, while decreasing the emissions of carbon dioxide. We have to decrease these emissions, if we are to reduce the impact of global warming. The effects of global warming are putting severe pressure on communities, and the predications are that the poorest will be most adversely affected. Some of the forecasts suggest that these pressures will lead to civil unrest and war – not an inheritance that we wish to leave to our children. It is essential that we solve this problem timeously while meeting the energy needs of society.

We have many people, both in South Africa and other developing countries, that do not have access to energy and who need accessible energy in order to improve their standards of living. Governments need to plan to supply this increased demand for energy, while simultaneously trying to reduce the impact of on the environment. The financial and environmental burden of building more power stations to generate electricity is prohibitive and governments in developing countries often cannot secure the funding or pay the loans back to put this infrastructures in place, notwithstanding that new power stations are often coal-based and will contribute to the global greenhouse gas problem.

A more local, but equally serious challenge, is that there is a very high unemployment rate in South Africa. This problem is also common to many other developing countries. This problem causes poverty and leads to social instability. We, at the same time, also have waste from households and industries that pollutes the environment, and which is expensive to dispose of safely. However, this apparently bleak scenario offers opportunities to us. A theme that runs through my research is how to utilize these carbon containing wastes and convert them to fuel and electricity in order to supply energy and jobs to communities while cleaning up the environment.

Research Metrics

Orcid Profile: 0000-0001-7873-8855

Summary to date of research metrics:

Scopus:

H Index: 28 (as of 1 December 2021)
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0LTYNG0AAAAJ&hl=en
Total citations: 4372 (as of 6 December 2021)
H Index: 33 (as of 1 December  2021)
I 10 index: 133 (as of 1 December 2021)

Recent Publications  from 2020 –

1. Chike George Okoye-Chine; Oliver Mbuya; Tau Ntelane; Mahluli Moyo; Diane Hildebrandt. (2020) The effect of silanol groups on the metal-support interactions in silica-supported cobalt Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. A Temperature programmed surface reaction, Journal of Catalysis, 381, 121-129.
2. Otun, K.O., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020) Metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis: Recent progress and future perspectives. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 51, 230-245.
3. Rubin, D., Stacey, N., Matambo, T. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020) Oxygen transfer Characteristics of a Hollow Fiber Dialyser: Towards Possible Repurposing of Dialysers as Blood Oxygenators in the Context of Constrained Availability of Respiratory Support. medRxiv, doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.06.20055236.
4. Gorimbo, J. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020) Thermochemical Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide by Reverse Water-Gas Shift Reaction over the Ceria based Catalyst. Conversion of Carbon Dioxide into Hydrocarbons, Vol. 1 Catalysis, 43-61.
5. Rubin, D.M., Stacey, N.T., Matambo, T., Do Vale, C., Sussman. , M.J., Snyman, T., Mer, M. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020) Toward Respiratory Support of Critically Ill COVID-19 patients Using Repurposed Kidney Hollow Fiber Membrane Dialysers to Oxygenate the Blood, Journal of Healthcare Engineering, Article ID 8862645 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8862645
6. Fernandez-Torres, M.J, Hildebrandt, D., Sempuga, B.C. and Caballero, J.A. (2020) Integrating environmental concerns into the teaching of mathematical optimization. Education for Chemical Engineers, 32,40-49.
7. Yao, Y., Liu, X., Gorimbo, J., Xiong, H., Fox, J., Glasser, D. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020) Fischer-Tropsch synthesis: A long term comparative study of the product selectivity and paraffin to olefin ratios over an iron-based catalyst activated by syngas or H2. Applied Catalysis A: General, 602, 117700.
8. Zhang, Y., Tshwaku, M., Yao, Y., Chang, J., Lu, X., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt , D.(2020) Reaction of ethylene over a typical Fischer-Tropsch synthesis Co/TiO2 catalyst. Engineering Reports, 2 (9),e12232.
9. Ansari, S.H., Ahmed, A., Razzaq, A., Hildebrandt, D., Liu, X., Park, Y.K. (2020) Incorporation of solar-thermal energy into a gasification process to co-produce bio-fertilizer and power. Environmental Pollution, 266, 115103.
10. Zhang, Y., Yao, Y., Chang, , Lu, X., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020)  Fischer-Tropsch synthesis with ethene co-feeding: Experimental evidence of the CO-insertion mechanism at low temperature. AIChE Journal, 66 (11), e17029.
11. Gorimbo, J., Muvhiiwa, R., Llane, E. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020) Cobalt Catalyst Reduction Thermodynamics in Fischer-Tropsch: An Attainable Region Approach. Reactions, 1 (2), 115-129.
12. Yao, Y.,Sempuga, B.C., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D.(2020) Production of fuel and chemicals from a CO2/H2 mixture. Reactions, 1 (2), 130-146.
13. Okoye-Chine, C.G., Moyo, M. and Hildebrandt, D. (2020) The Influence of hydrophobicity on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts. Reviews in Chemical Engineering,   https://doi.org/10.1515/revce-2020-0037
14. Ndlovu, K., Stacey, N., Fernandes-Torres, M. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) A Direct Gasoline Pre-Blending of Bioalcohol Mixtures as a means of Decreasing Energy Losses. Biofuels,12 (6), 615-623, DOI: 1080/17597269.2018.1546487
15. Dumont, K.B., Hildebrandt, D. and Sempuga, B.C. (2021) The “yuck factor” of biogas technology: Naturalness concerns, social acceptance and community dynamics in South Africa. Energy Research and Social Science, 71, 101846.
16. Okonye, L.U., Yao, Y., Hildebrandt, D., and Meijboom, R. (2021) Contributing to energy sustainability: a review of mesoporous material supported catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Sustainable Energy and Fuels, 5, 79-107.
17. Li, Y., Liu, Y., Mu, H., Liu, R., Hao, Y., Wang, X., Hildebrandt, D., Liu, X and Li, F. (2021) The simultaneous adsorption, activation and in situ reduction of carbon dioxide over Au-loading BiOCl with rich oxygen vacancies. Nanoscale, 13 (4), 2585-2592.
18. Shiba, N.C., Yao, Y., Liu, X.,and Hildebrandt., D. (2021) Recent developments in catalyst pretreatment technologies for cobalt based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.  Reviews in Chemical Engineering, pp. 000010151520200023. https://doi.org/10.1515/revce-2020-0023
19. Shen, J., Ho, W.H., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) Tubular reactor internals for suppressing hot spot formation to the Ficher-Tropsch reaction. Chemical Engineering and Processing-Process Intensification, 161, 108309
20. Zhang, Y., Yao, Y., Chang, J., Gorimbo, J., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) The interaction of CO, H2 and ethylene over a typical Cobalt-based Fischer -Tropsch Synthesis catalyst. Applied Catalysis A: General, 614, 118024.
21. Chang, J., Zhang, Y., Lu, X., Yao, Y., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) Insight into the role of Co2C supported on reduced graphene oxide in Fisher-Tropsch synthesis and ethene hydroformylation. Applied Catalysis A: General, 614, 118050.
22. Shiba, N.C., Yao, Y., Forbes, R.P., Okonye-Chine, C.G., Liu, X., and Hildebrandt, D.,(2021) Role of CoO-Co nanoparticles supported on SiO2 in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis: Evidence for enhanced CO dissociation and olefin hydrogenation. Fuel Processing Technology, 216, 106781.
23. Otun, K.O., Yao, Y., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D., (2021) Synthesis, structure and performance of carbide phases in Fisher-Tropsch synthesis: a review. Fuel, 296,120689.
24. Okonye-Chine, C.G., Moyo, M. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) The effect of hydrophobicity on SiO2-supported Co catalysts in Fisher-Tropsch Fuel, 296, 120667.
25. Sun, T., Wang, H., Liu, J., Chu, X., Xing, X., Liu, S., Tang, E., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt D. (2021) Recoverable acrylamide-vinylamine copolymer immobilized TEMPO mediated oxidation of cellulose with good catalytic performance and low cellulose degradation. Cellulose, 1-4.
26. Shen, J., Li, Y.C., Ho, W.H., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D., (2021) Experimental and simulation study of the temperature distribution in a bench-scale fixed bed Fischer-Tropsch reactor. AIChE Journal, 67 (5), e17145
27. Mguni L.L., Yao, Y., Ren, J., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) Modulated synthesized Ni-Based MOF with improved adsorptive desulfurization activity. Journal of Cleaner Production. 323, 129196
28. , Y., Yao. Y., Shen, J., Chang,J., Gorimbo, J., Liu, X., and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) Effect of ethylene co-feeding in Fischer-Trospch Synthesis: A study of reaction equilibrium and competition. Fuel. 301, 121146202.
29. Shiba, N.C., Liu, X., Hildebrandt, D. and Yao, Y. (2021) Effect of Pre-Treatment Conditions on the Activity and Selectivity of Cobalt-Based Catalysts for CO Hydrogenation. 2 (3), 258-274.
30. Mguni L.L., Yao, Y., Ren, J., Liu, X. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) Modulated Synthesis of a Novel Nickel-Based-Organic Framework Composite Material for the Adsorptive Desulfurization of Liquid Fuels.  Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 60 (30), 10997-11008.
31. Muvhiiwa, R., Sempuga, B. and Hildebrandt, D. (2021) Using the GH Spece to show heat and work efficiencies associated with nitrogen plasma gasification of wood. Chemical Engineering Science, 1167931.
32. Okoye-Chine, C.G., Moyo, M. and  Hildebrandt, D. Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis: The effect of hydrophobicity on siilca-supported iron catalysts. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 97, 426-433
33. Ramutsindela, F.K., Okoye-Chine, C.G.,  Christel O.L. Mbuya,  O.L., Mubenesha, S., Gorimbo, J., Okonye, L.U., Liu, X. and  Hildebrandt, D. (2022) The effect of reducing gases on raw iron ore catalyst for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, Vol 131.
34. Otun, K.O., Xaba, M.S.,  Zong,  , Liu, X., Hildebrandt, D.,  El-Bahy, S.M. and  El-Bahy, Z.M. (2022) Double linker MOF-derived NiO and Nio/Ni supercapacitor electrodes  for enhanced energy storage. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects.  Vol. 634, 128017
35. Shiba, N.C.,  Liu, X.,  Hildebrandt, D., Mao, H.,  Yao, Y. (2022) Enhanced catalytic activity on Co/SiO2 via hydrogenation-carburization-hydrogenation reduction procedure for synthetic fuel production.  Energy Reports, Vol. 8., 201-206

Recent Awards:  2020-

Dr Renee Horne
International Programmes Director
Senior Lecturer: Business in Africa, Emerging Markets & Economics

Dr Renee Horne is a senior lecturer of business in Africa, emerging markets and economics and director of International Programmes at WBS. She is an award-winning political journalist, war correspondent, editor and political economist. 

She is a lecturer and speaker on political economy and international relations in Africa and the Middle East, and is passionate about enterprise and skills development. 

She has advised governments, media and businesses on the political and economic policy of South Africa, Iraq, Kenya, the Democratic of Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Uganda. She also headed up the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Unit. She has interviewed politicians and presidents, and advised governments, media and businesses on the political and economic policies of African and Middle East countries.

Dr Horne has worked with institutions such as Transparency International, Delta Economics, Royal Africa Society, Exclusive Analysis, Royal United Services Institute, BBC, SKY, ITV, SABC and the World Entrepreneur Society. She has interviewed politicians, high-profile personalities and presidents, including Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, Trevor Manuel, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3612 
Renee.Horne@wits.ac.za 

Mitch Hughes
Lecturer, Digital Business.

He is also currently a Lecturer in Information Systems at the Wits School of Business Sciences.

Prof Odongo Kodongo
Director of PhD Programme
Associate Professor in Finance

Professor Kodongo has a wealth of teaching and research experience with articles published in several outstanding academic journals. He is the editor of Africagrowth Agenda journal and a founder member of African Development and Financial Economists Institute.

Prof Odongo Kodongo has a wealth of experience in several areas of Finance, having held several permanent and visiting positions in various universities. He has also played an active role in coordinating, developing and reviewing finance curricula. He currently teaches corporate finance, capital budgeting and project finance, investment banking, and commercial real estate finance at Wits Business School.

Prof Kodongo’s research interests are in the pricing of risk, financial markets, corporate finance and real estate and infrastructure financing. His research articles have appeared in such outstanding academic journals as Journal of Banking and Finance, Emerging Markets Review, International Review of Economics and Finance, Journal of International Financial Markets Institutions and Money among many others. He has also authored several chapters in books published by Oxford University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Edward Elgar and others.

Prof Kodongo is the editor of Africagrowth Agenda journal and reviews for several journals. He is among the founders and an active member of African Development and Financial Economists Institute (ADEFEI).

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3806
odongo.kodongo@wits.ac.za

Professor Drikus Kriek
Associate Professor

Prof Kriek is focused on teambuilding, leadership and change management and was instrumental in introducing adventure therapy to South Africa. He has extensive international experience spanning several African countries as well as Australia, Russia, Slovenia and Serbia.

He has fulfilled various roles at Wits Business School – he was the director of the Leadership Development Centre, associate professor in Human Resource Management and Leadership, and programme director for the International Executive Development Programme and the International Executive Programme for Learning and Development.

Drikus’s research, publications and teaching focus mainly on teambuilding, leadership and change management. He consults in the field of organisation development and has been involved in team development, management education projects and leadership development programmes. Drikus was instrumental in the introduction and advancement of the adventure therapy industry in South Africa.

Drikus has extensive international experience spanning Namibia, Botswana, Australia, Ghana, the DRC and Eritrea. Most recently, Drikus was involved in teambuilding interventions with companies from Slovenia, Russia, Serbia, Mozambique and Namibia. In 2006 he was visiting professor at the Integral Leadership Centre of the Graduate School of Management of the University of Western Australia in Perth.

Drikus received his MA (Clin Psych) and MBA degrees cum laude from the Rand Afrikaans University and the University of Stellenbosch respectively. Prof Kriek received his Doctorate from the University of Pretoria and is a graduate from Yale University in the United States.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3572
driekus.kriek@wits.ac.za

Professor Greg Lee: Associate Professor

Greg is Associate Professor of Digital Business at Wits Business School, where he focuses on digital business with a particular focus on the effect of the fourth industrial revolution on workplaces and workplace analytics. He is the author of many books, including internationally-published books on analytics and human capital management. He has published in journals such as the Human Resource Management Journal, International Journal of Human Resource Management, European Journal of Operational Research, Scientometrics, the International Journal of Manpower, and many others. He consults to organisations and is a regular public speaker in leading industry conferences.

Publications

• Lee, G.J. (2019). Designing Organizations for People-Led Sustainable Competitiveness. Silk Route Press.
• Lee, G.J. & Davison, A,H. (2018). Designing payroll levies for firm training. International Journal of Manpower, 39(6): 766-781.
• Lee, G.J. (2018). Talent measurement: A holistic model and routes forward. South African Journal of Human Resource Management, 16: 1-11.
• Lee, G.J. & Barnes, T. (2016). Factors driving online apparel shopping in South Africa, Retail & Marketing Review, 62(2): 362-379.
• Lee, G.J. & Rees, G. (2016). Give and take between households and the state: Development and application of a benefaction-contribution ratio, Review of Income and Wealth, 62(2): 362-379.
• Lee, G.J. (2016). Transcending paradox in the realm of executive pay. In Goldman, G. (Eds.) Critical Management Studies in the South African Context, Aosis Publishing.
• Lee, G.J. (2015). Training match and mismatch as a driver of key employee behaviors, Human Resource Management Journal, 25(4): 478-495.
• Lee, G.J. (2015). Business Statistics Made Easy in SAS®. Carey, NC: SAS Press. URL: https://support.sas.com/publishing/authors/lee.html.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3626
gregory.lee@wits.ac.za

Dr Christoph Maier
Senior Lecturer

Dr Christoph Maier is an entrepreneurial academic and academic entrepreneur. He is a major shareholder in and the CEO of the Comazo Group, a clothing company with subsidiaries in Germany, Russia, Croatia and Romania and more than 500 employees. Christoph’s academic interests focus on issues of leadership, diversity, cross-cultural management and African management.

Besides managing his own companies and lecturing at universities, Christoph consults to various South African organisations and facilitates corporate workshops in transformation and leadership, taking senior executives to unknown territories – in the classroom and on field trips. Although travelling extensively, he has been based in Johannesburg since 1998 and spends as much time as he can here in what he says is “the world’s most exciting city”.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3608
Christoph.Maier@wits.ac.za

Ayanda Magida
academic researcher

Ayanda Magida is an academic researcher in the Chair of Digital Business (BCX) at Wits Business School. Ayanda graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Cum laude), Bachelor of Arts Honours and Masters in Research Psychology from the University of Pretoria. Prior to joining WBS she worked for Wits Health Consortium as lead researcher in a programme funded by the Gates Foundation. She has experience in both qualitative and quantitative research, systematic reviews, teaching research methodologies and evidence based practices, program evaluation and implementation sciences. Her broad research interests include research methodologies, gender, inequality, and industrialisation. Within the Chair, Ayanda works on Economic and Social Impact of digitalization specifically focusing on the future of work, digital economy platforms, digital divide and the impact of automation, AI and robots on jobs in South Africa light of the anticipated Digital/Disruption/4th Industrial Revolution.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3953
ayanda.magida@wits.ac.za

Prof Chris Malikane
Economics, Finance and Investment

Prof Chris Malikane is an Associate Professor at the Wits School of Economics & Finance

Professor Johnny Matshabaphala
Senior Lecturer  

Prior to joining Wits Business School, Johnny was a Senior Lecturer at the Wits School of Governance (WSG).  At WSG, he also served as Academic Director, Director of Executive Education Unit and the Acting Head of School in 2005. He teaches courses in the areas of Leadership, Human Resource Management and Project Management.

During his academic career, he has also facilitated Leadership, Human Resource Management, Strategy and Project Management courses in Limpopo (South Africa), Botswana, Namibia, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Southern Sudan and the University of Pittsburgh (USA).

Johnny has also served as lecturer and co-ordinator of the Development and Facilitation Institute at the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership at the University of the North, also serving as Acting Director.  In 2001 he served as the Chairman of the Leadership Academy of the Leadership Regional Network.

In 2007, he facilitated a course on Performance Management through Leadership to the Executive Deans of Faculty in South Africa on behalf of Higher Education South Africa.  In 2009 he was part of the inaugural class of the International Programme in Leadership and Management (IPLM) in Higher Education at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Johnny also serves as an external examiner on various Human Resource Management, Leadership and Management courses for the Universities of Limpopo, North-West, Stellenbosch, Venda, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the University of South Africa (Unisa).

He is an Associate Fellow of the Graduate School of Public International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States of America.

Johnny holds a D.Litt et Phil from Unisa.  His research interests include Leadership, Ethics, Human Resource Management and Project Management.

Publications

Attfield, R, Hattingh, J and Matshabaphala, MDJ. 2004. Sustainable Development, Sustainable Livelihoods and Land Reform in South Africa: A Conceptual and Ethical Inquiry. Third World Quarterly, Vol 25, 2, 405-421.

Matshabaphala, MDJ. 2007. Strategic Leadership Challenges for Service Delivery in South Africa. Journal of Public Administration, 42, 3. 2007.

Matshabaphala, MDJ. 2008. Developing and Maintaining a Corporate Culture Through Leadership for Service Delivery. Journal of Public Administration. Vol 43, 1. 2008.

Matshabaphala, MDJ. 2014. Leadership, Ethics and the Professionalisation of the Public Service. Journal of Public Administration. Vol 48, 1. 2014.

Matshabaphala, MDJ. 2014. Finding Our Way: The Need for Accountable Leadership and Good Governance in South Africa’s Public Service. Journal of Public Administration. Vol 49, 4. 2014.

1. MDJ. 2015. Leadership and Good Governance in the Public Service: Lessons from African Philosophy. Journal of Public Administration. Vol 50, 3. 2015.

Matshabaphala, MDJ. 2017. Social Media And The Enhancement Of Good Governance In The Public Service. Journal of Public Administration.

Matshabaphala, MDJ. 2017. The Ethical Intelligence Imperative In Public Administration Research. Journal of Public Administration. Vol 52, 1.1. 2017.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3668
manamela.matshabaphala@wits.ac.za

Jones Odei Mensah
PDM Programme Director
Senior Lecturer: Economics and Finance

He currently teaches Time Series Econometrics, Applied Financial Econometrics, Economics, and Finance and Investment Decisions at WBS.

Jones’ primary research interest is in financial interconnectedness, particularly tail risk co-movement, systemic spillovers, market integration and its implications for portfolio diversification.

He has also worked on the dependence structure among emerging and advanced financial markets, fiscal sustainability and the nexus between infrastructure and growth. His research articles have appeared in international peer reviewed journals, including but not limited to, the Singapore Economic Review, Economic Modelling, Research in International Business and Finance, Japan and the World Economy, and the Journal of Property Investment and Finance. He has also authored a book chapter published by Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier.

Jones is the editor of the Ghanaian Journal of Economics and serves on other editorial boards including the International Journal of Comparative Management and the Journal of African Political Economy and Development. He is also the Director of Finance, Investment and Social Development of the research think tank, African Finance and Economics Consult (AFEC).

Jones received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, and he holds a Master’s degree in economics and a Ph.D. in economics from the School of Business and Economics at the University of Brunei Darussalam. He held a Postdoctoral Fellow position at the Wits Business School from 2015-2017.

He has also been involved in private consulting in the areas of Finance and Economics.

Publications

• Leukes, C., & Mensah, J. O. (2019). Systemic risk contribution of financial institutions in South Africa. African Review of Economics and Finance, 11(2), 188-218.
• Obeng-Odoom, F., Mensah, J. O., & Botha, F. (2019). The African Review of Economics and Finance: past, present, and future. African Review of Economics and Finance, 11(2), 3-18.
• Mensah, J. O. & Premaratne, G. (2018). Integration of ASEAN banking sector stocks. Journal of Asian Economics, 59, 48-60.
• Alagidede, P., & Mensah, J. O. (2018). Construction, Institutions and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Review of Economics and Finance, 10(1), 136-163
• Mensah, J. O. & Premaratne, G. (2018). Dependence patterns among Asian Banking Sector Stocks: A Copula Approach. Research in International Business and Finance, 45, 357-388.
• Mensah, J. O. & Premaratne, G. (2017). Systemic interconnectedness among Asian Banks. Japan and the World Economy, 41, 17-33.
• Mensah, J. O. & Alagidede, P. (2017). How are Africa’s emerging stock markets related to advanced markets? Evidence from copulas. Economic Modelling, 60, 1-10.
• Ijasan, K., Tweneboah, G., & Mensah, J.O. (2017). Anti-persistence and long-memory behaviour of SA REITs. Journal of Property Investment & Finance, 35(4), 356-368.
• Amewu, G., Mensah, J. O. & Alagidede, P. (2016). Reaction of global stock markets to BREXIT. Journal of African Political Economy & Development, 1(1), 1-12
• Premaratne, G. & Mensah, J. O. (2014). Performance of Asian Mutual Funds. In G. Gregoriou & D. Lee, Handbook of Asian Finance: REITS Trading and Fund Performance (Vol. 2, p. 437-459). Oxford: Academic Press Inc.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3997
jones.mensah@wits.ac.za

Dr Keratiloe Mogotsi: The Key Kindler
African Philanthropy and Sustainable Development Educator
Programme Director: African Philanthropy Executive Education

Pan Africanist educator, speaker, researcher, lean innovation coach, project management professional and African Philanthropy Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand. Keratiloe is currently a lecturer, coach and mentor at the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment at the Wits Business School. She has vast experience in corporate, government and the non-profit sector. She is a certified project management professional with the PMI Institute and lean six sigma coach. She runs her own business and non profit organization. She is a registered member of ARNOVA (association for research in nonprofit organisations and voluntary action); ISTR (International society for third sector research) and IPASA (Independent philanthropy association of South Africa). She has led philanthropic projects as the President of the Women in Nielsen CSI initiative, African heritage programme lead for MINDS and Nielsen Cares programme in Africa. She teaches and provides advisory services for non-profits. Her research areas include disaster philanthropy in Africa, venture philanthropy, African philanthropy, lean and agile management in non-profits and philanthro-capitalism in Africa. She is passionate about the continent and its people, a passionate educator and coach committed to excel in everything that she does.

Research publications:

• Mogotsi, K., Alagidede, I. & Saruchera, F. (2022). Applying lean thinking for disaster responses: the case of philanthropic organizations. International Social Science Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/issj.12323
• Mogotsi, K., Ouma, W.N. & Moyo, B. (2022). Impacts of COVID19 on philanthropy in Africa. In Moyo, Qobo and Ngwenya (2022) African philanthropy: philanthropic responses to COVID19 and development goals in Africa. Edgar Elgar Publishing
• Mogotsi, K., Ouma, W.N. & Moyo, B. (2022). The impact of COVID19 on philanthropy in Africa. ISTR Conference Series https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.istr.org/resource/resmgr/working_papers_virtual_2021/mogotsi_impact_of_covid_on_a.pdf
• Mogotsi, K. & Saruchera, F. (2022). The influence of lean thinking in disaster responses. Journal of humanitarian logistics and supply chain management. Emerald. doi 1108/JHLSCM-07-2022-0079
• Mogotsi, K. & Saruchera, F. (2022). How humanitarian organizations respond to disasters in Southern Africa. Development Southern Africa. (awaiting publication)
• Moyo, B., Mogotsi, K. & Urban, A. (2022). Southern Africa Trust: embarking on a sustainability journey. Teaching note. Emerald. (awaiting publication)

Dr Lumkile Monde
Lecturer, Economics and Management.

He is a Lecturer at the Wits School of Economics & Finance.

Dr Bhekinkosi Moyo
Director of the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI), formerly the WBS Chair in African Philanthropy.

Dr Moyo has a doctorate in Political Studies from Wits University.  He was previously Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Africa Trust, a regional organisation that supports wider and deeper policy engagements in regional integration.  Prior to that, he was Director of Programmes at TrustAfrica, a pan-African foundation based in Senegal, for close to seven years, contributing to its growth and pan African reach. He writes extensively on African philanthropy, governance and the state of civil society in Africa. Among the books that he has authored are: Helping to Give, Giving to Help: The Context and Politics of African Philanthropy (2013), Disenabling the Public Sphere: Civil Society Regulation in Africa (2010); Africa in Global Power Play (2007) and What about the children: The silent voices in Maintenance (2004). He has also contributed to a number of journal articles and book chapters and regularly wrote a column for African Decisions Magazine.

Dr Moyo serves on the board of several organisations, including ICCO, the International Society for Third Sector Research, the African Union Foundation and AROCSA.

Contact details:
+27 (11) 717 3118
bhekinkosi.moyo@wits.ac.za

Dr Jabulile Msimango-Galawe
MMBEC Programme Director
Lecturer: Entrepreneurship

Dr Msimango-Galawe lectures in Decision Science on the Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation programme and Entrepreneurship in the PDM and PDBA programmes. She also mentors entrepreneurs and teaches in some of the entrepreneurship programmes at the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Wits University.

Dr Jabulile is an entrepreneur, business coach, mentor, statistician and the Managing Director of JoyG Business services (Pty) Ltd, a consulting firm that provides non-financial support to SMMEs.

She holds a BSc (Genetics and Statistics) and an MSc in Mathematical Statistics - Risk analysis from the University of the Free State, and a PhD in Entrepreneurship from Wits University.

She has over 15 years’ working experience including more than 10 years spent in the entrepreneurship space. Some of the experience was gained working as a statistician, risk analyst, trader and in management consulting. She is very passionate about entrepreneurship, especially the development and sustainability of small businesses in South Africa and helping other entrepreneurs succeed. Her research interest is on the challenges of entrepreneurs, the sustainability and success of SMMEs and the ideal entrepreneurial ecosystem to achieve such success.

Publications

• Full Paper: Msimango-Galawe, J., & Urban, B. (2019). An integrated approach to SME risk assessment: A focus on endogenous and exogenous risk factors. African Review of Economics and Finance,11(1), 142-177.
• Full Paper: Msimango-Galawe, J., & Mazonde, N. (Under review). Entrepreneurial Self Efficacy and Performance of Women-Owned SMEs. African Review of Economics and Finance
• Full Paper: Urban, B., & Msimango-Galawe, J. (Under review). Social entrepreneurship and opportunity recognition: A focus on moral judgement, empathy and self-efficacy in South Africa. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.

• Conference: Msimango-Galawe, J., & Mazonde, N.(2019). Entrepreneurial self-efficacy on the relationship between business experience and performance of women-owned enterprises, Wits Business School, August 29- 30, 2019. Paper to be presented at African Review of Economics and Finance Conference.
• Conference: Majaja, B, & Msimango-Galawe, J..(2019). Mapping the needs and challenges of SMEs: A focus on the city of Johannesburg entrepreneurship ecosystem, Wits Business School, August 29- 30, 2019. Paper presented at African Review of Economics and Finance Conference.
• Conference: Msimango-Galawe, J., & Urban, B.(2018). An integrated approach to risk assessment and success of SMEs, Wits Business School, August 22- 23, 2018. Paper presented at African Review of Economics and Finance Conference.

• PhD Thesis: Galawe, N.J. (2017). Endogenous and exogenous risk factors in the success of South African small and medium enterprises. Unpublished Phd thesis. Johannesburg, South Africa: University of the Witwatersrand. http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/23442

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3980
jabulile.galawe@wits.ac.za

Dr McEdward Murimbika
Senior Lecturer: Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation

Dr Murimbika is an entrepreneur and academic with more than 25 years’ experience as a business executive, management and a advisory consultant and an accomplished multi-discipline referenced scholar in the fields of entrepreneurship, small business management, enterprise development and Archaeology. Dr. Murimbika holds dual doctorates, one in the filed management and another in Archaeology. He is a published and referenced scholar with academic works and publications in organisational strategy and entrepreneurship, small business and management innovation. He is also an accomplished and globally rated archaeologist with international referenced works and publications in African archaeology, heritage resources management, ethnoarchaeology and palaeopathology including works on UNESCO African World Heritage Sites development and management. His current research interests are in enterprise development, small business growth and employment creation dynamics; emerging exponential technologies in context of the 4IR, strategic and management innovation, and archaeological resources management.

Dr Murimbika has demonstrated multi-discipline first-class research, training, analytical and applied problem-solving skills emanating from his work within the Emerging African Economies (EA) across the sub-Saharan Africa region. He also has international advisory, consultancy and executive training experience in the fields of Exponential & Emerging Technologies Convergence, Global Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial leadership and business advisory as well management innovation.

Dr Murimbika has a portfolio of  entrepreneurial ventures created and developed over more than two decades, a period during which he occupied senior executive management and founding directorship positions in multiple ventures including a multidiscipline specialist management consultancy based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In a career spanning more than two decades, Dr Murimbika has extensively travelled, worked and studied across the globe including the USA, South Africa, Norway, Kenya, Belgium, Zimbabwe, Spain, Tanzania, Germany, Namibia, France, etc. He has developed a portfolio of international institutions guest scholarships and lectureships including at the World Economic Forum, British Institute in East Africa; the World Bank (Washington, USA) as well as leading some African governments national business delegations and missions to the EU and the UNESCO.

Dr Murimbika graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with Bachelor and Honours degrees in Economic History and Archaeology. He holds an M.Phil. degree in palaeopathology from the University of Bergen in Norway; a Post-Graduate Certificate in African Archaeology from the University of Brussels in Belgium. Between 2006 and 2019, Dr Murimbika completed three post-graduate degrees from  the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg beginning a PhD in Archaeology, a Masters in Management in the field of Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation 2012 and subsequently completed a second PhD. in Management in 2019 both from the Faculty CLM.

Referenced Publications – Business

See -https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?user=KM0bLGEAAAAJ&hl=en

• Murimbika & B. Urban, (Forthcoming 2020). Systemic and local entrepreneurial intentions: Effects on employment creation and growth. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Forthcoming.
• Murimbika, M. 2013. Strategic Management and Corporate Entrepreneurship: Influence of Strategic Management of Entrepreneurial Orientation of South Africa Financial and Business Service Sector. Germany: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. [BOOK] ISBN 978-3-659-31317-2
• Murimbika, M. and Urban, B. (2013). Strategic management practices and corporate entrepreneurship: a cluster analysis of financial and business services. Journal of Business Management, 7(16), pp. 1522-1535.
• McEdward Murimbika and Boris Urban, (2014). Strategic Innovation at The Firm Level: The Impact of Strategic Management Practices On Entrepreneurial Orientation. International Journal of Innovation Management, 18, 1450016 [38 pages] DOI: 10.1142/S1363919614500169.
• Nhemachena C, & M Murimbika (2018). Motivations of sustainable entrepreneurship and their impact of enterprise performance in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Journal of Business Strategy and Development. Business Strategy & Development 1 (2), 115-127

Referenced Publications  - Archaeology & Heritage Resources Management

• Murimbika, McE.. & B. Moyo. 2008. Archaeology and donor aid in the Developing World, Managing Archaeological Resources. Ed. F.P McManamon et. al. California: One World Archaeology 58.
• Murimbika, McE. 2013. Violated sepulchres? The quest for a proper space for disinterred indigenous dead and immortal remains in post-colonial South Africa. [Book Chapter]. Pp.: 213-232. In M. Manyanga & S Katsamudanga. Zimbabwean Archaeology in the post-independence era. Sapes Books, Harare.
• Murimbika, M. 2004. Communing with the dead: an Ethnoarchaeological interpretation of Shona mortuary practices. British Archaeological Reports International Series, 1210: 181 – 188. [MONOGRAPH]
• Murimbika, M. & Huffman, T.N. 2003. Shona ethnography and Late Iron Age burials. Journal of African Studies, Vol.1 (2): 237-246. [JOURNAL].

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3658
mcedward.murimbika@wits.ac.za

Mjumo Mzyece
Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management (TOM)

Previously, he led the Smart Industries (ICT and Advanced Manufacturing) unit at The Innovation Hub, the innovation agency of the Gauteng Provincial Government. He has extensive international experience in various leadership, operational, R&D, academic and consulting roles, including at blue chip firms such as IBM U.S., Econet Group, and Agilent Technologies. His TOM-related industry experience includes managing a key offering for IBM’s global developer ecosystem and being part of the design and deployment team for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for a large mining conglomerate.

His research interests include operations in high-tech startups; digitalisation, digital disruption and digital transformation in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR); business model innovation; cyber-physical systems; innovation policy and management; and ICT policy and management.

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) (Honours) in Electronic & Electrical Engineering from Manchester University, England; a Master of Science (MSc) (Distinction) in Communications Technology & Policy and a PhD in Electronic & Electrical Engineering, both from Strathclyde University, Scotland; and an MBA from The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, USA, where he was a Keller Scholar.

Publications

• M. C. Gatara, M. Mzyece and S. J. Parekattil, “Towards a Fifth (5th) Generation (5G) Network and Haptic-Enabled Internet for Remote Robotic Surgery: A Task-Technology Fit (TTF) Model”, Proceedings of Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) 45th Meeting, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 18-21 January 2021.
• M. C. Gatara and M. Mzyece, “5G Wireless Network-Enabled Consumer Service Technologies: Towards a Predictive QoE-Centric Subscriber End-User Model”, Proceedings of Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) 45th Meeting, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 18-21 January 2021.
• M. Mzyece, “Enabling technologies and enabling business models for next generation wireless communications”, in M. Usman, M. Wajid & M. D. Ansari (eds.), Enabling technologies for next generation wireless communications, CRC Press (Taylor & Francis), 2020, Chapter 2, pp. 13-32.
• M. Mzyece, L. P. Mfupe and F. Mekuria, “Innovating for broadband: The case of television white space networks in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Proceedings of 8th International Conference on Appropriate Technology (ICAT 2018), Songhaï Center, Porto-Novo, Benin, 22-25 Nov. 2018.
• L. Mfupe, F. Mekuria and M. Mzyece, “Multi-criteria decision analysis of spectrum management frameworks for futuristic wireless networks: The context of developing countries”, Mobile Information Systems, vol. 2017.
• T. Masonta, A. Kliks and M. Mzyece, “Unlocking the potential of unoccupied spectrum in developing countries: Southern African Development Community – case study”, Development Southern Africa, vol. 34, no. 2, 2017.
• L. Mfupe, F. Mekuria, L. Montsi and M. Mzyece, "Geo-location white space spectrum databases: Review of models and design of a dynamic spectrum access coexistence planner and manager", in A. K. Mishra and D. L. Johnson (eds.), White Space Communication: Advances, Developments and Engineering Challenges, Springer, 2015, Chapter 6, pp. 153-194.
• N. Amanquah and M. Mzyece, “Lessons from addressing challenges in an agricultural extension scheme using mobile apps”, Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Next Generation Mobile Applications, Services and Technologies (NGMAST 2015), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, 9-11 Sep. 2015.
• L. Mfupe, F. Mekuria and M. Mzyece, “Geo-location white space spectrum databases: Models and design of South Africa’s first dynamic spectrum access coexistence manager”, KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems, vol. 8, no. 11, Nov. 2014, pp. 3810–3836.
• T. Masonta, M. Mzyece and N. Ntlatlapa, “Spectrum decision in cognitive radio networks: A survey”, IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, vol. 15, no. 3, Q3 2013, pp. 1088–1107.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3649
mjumo.mzyece@wits.ac.za

Dr Zanele Ndaba
Senior Lecturer

Dr Zanele Ndaba has experience as an academic, management consultant and human capital practitioner. She has worked for top management consultant firm Deloitte as well as the Department of Defence.

Dr Zanele Ndaba is a senior lecturer at Wits Business School and the deputy director for the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management. She has experience as an academic, management consultant and human capital practitioner.

Dr Ndaba has studied, lived and worked in the USA, UK, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. She worked for Deloitte, one of the top management consulting firms, where she focused on transformation, organisational design, gender mainstreaming and strategy implementation projects. She also worked for the Department of Defence and fulfilled roles such as labour relations manager.

Dr Ndaba’s research interests include gender and race in organisational studies, and understanding and improving the different forms of gender, race and class inequalities that may exist in a society.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3591
zanele.ndaba@wits.ac.za

Lwazi is an Energy and Business Professional with 15 years of Process Engineering and Business experience. He has extensive Process Design, Business Development, Process Re-engineering, Project Finance, Project Development and Project Management experience gained primarily in Coal to Liquids (CTL), Biomass to Liquids (BTL), Waste to Energy (WtE) and Solar PV energy technologies. He also has solid experience in policy and legislation, having worked with various government entities on Renewable Energy, Water and Environmental Policy development and implementation. He is currently a member of a number of Expert Panels providing Strategic and Technical guidance to various Ministers and government entities. He brings in a wealth of both local and international experience, having worked on large projects in China, Australia, USA and the Middle East. Lwazi is a long-time Witsie, who obtained his undergraduate engineering degree, PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from Wits. Although joining the WBS and the AELC from the private sector, Lwazi has maintained a keen interest in academia, having continued to publish research in international journals. In addition, he has kept close ties with the WBS, continuing his involvement with the school through supervising a number of MBA students over the years.

Dr Pius Oba
Senior Lecturer: Technology and Operations Management

Dr Oba is a leading engineer and seasoned operations management and energy expert with over 25 years of technical, business and management experience in power, oil & gas, manufacturing and academics, both in South Africa and other countries.

He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from University of the Witwatersrand, an MBA from the Wits Business School and LLB from Unisa, among other engineering certificates and qualifications. He is a registered professional engineer with the engineering council of South Africa (ECSA) and among the engineers in South Africa, registered in the International Register of Engineers (IntPE). Engineering, business and legal background has given him exposure and the capacity to work on highly complex projects and in technology field. Presently, Senior Lecturer at the Wits Business School in the Technology and Operations Management unit.

 Dr Oba started his career at Shell Petroleum Development Company, in 1992 as trainee engineer and progressed to senior engineer responsible for pipeline projects and new venture creation. Thereafter, he joined Wits University as a Lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering for about 5 years and from there to the CSIR. His experience at the CSIR and involvement within academia as a lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering helped him build strong research capacity and collaborations across industry. He then joined Eskom from the CSIR, where he managed a team of 42 people as section manager and Chief Engineer and implemented knowledge sharing processes in a highly complex environment, as well as processes for optimal project management. In 2013, he joined General Electric (GE) – Oil & Gas, where he worked as African Region Manager overseeing capital drilling equipment remanufacturing. In the role, he re-engineered the machinery maintenance business model, saving the company approximately R60M in the first year alone. This model was then adopted in other territories within the African region. He focused on creating strong teams of competent individuals who were focused on delivery.

Dr Oba has supervised a number of postgraduate students and has published in a number of journals.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3976
pius.oba@wits.ac.za

Prof Kalu Ojah
MMFI Programme Director
Professor: Finance

Prof Kalu has lived, studied and worked in several regions around the world including North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. He is an active researcher and editor and has produced several extensively recognised articles.

Professor Kalu Ojah is a full professor (finance), and director of the Master in Finance and Investment at WBS. He has garnered invaluable socio-cultural experiences by living, studying and working in several regions of the world including North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

He holds both a PhD and MFn in Finance (Saint Louis, USA) and a BSc in Management/ Economics (Oral Roberts University, USA). Kalu has also taught and researched at major business schools in America, Spain, United Arab Emirates and South Africa and was a visiting scholar at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Kalu is a very active researcher and has published many peer-reviewed articles in leading international journals, many of which have been cited and awarded. Kalu also fulfils several editorial and reviewer roles. He is frequently invited by the media to provide expert views on contemporary financial economics issues and often engages in thought leadership debates and presentations.

Publications
Growing Cross-Border Banking in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Need for a Regional Centralized Regulatory Authority, with F. Ngwu and C. Ogbechie. Journal of Banking Regulation (2019), 20:3, 274-285. https://doi.org/10.1057/s4127.

How does Natural Resource Endowment and Institutional Quality Influence the Nexus between External Indebtedness and Welfare in Africa? With S. Muhanji and I. Soumare. Economic Systems (2019), 43:1, 77-98. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2018.08.005).

Transition Probabilities between Entrepreneurship Phases in Africa’s Emerging Economies: The Case of Nigeria and South Africa, with S. Akinyemi Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 23:3, (2018), DOI: 10.1142/s1084946718500164.

Institutions, Human Capital and Entrepreneurial Orientation: Implications for Growth Policy, with T. Mthanti. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy (2018), 7:2, 135-160.

Comparative Analysis of Interest Rate Effects on Bank Performance in Emerging Market versus African Economies, with E. Godspower-Akpomiemie. African Finance Journal (2017), 19:2, pp. 1-28.

Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO): Measurement and Policy Implications of Entrepreneurship at the Macroeconomic Level, with T. Mthanti. Research Policy (2017), 46:4, pp. 724-739.

Does Infrastructure Really Explain Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa? With O. Kodongo. Review of Development Finance (2016), 6:2, pp. 105-125.

Effects of Financing and Institutional Constraints on Capital Structure of Firms in Select African Countries, with S. Ombati. African Finance Journal (2016), 18:2, pp. 1-44.

Governance Infrastructure and Indebtedness of African Countries: Do Regional Blocs Matter? With S. Muhanji. North American Journal of Economics and Finance (2016), 36, 123-153.

Does Investor Sentiment Explain the Seasonality of Overreaction? Examples of the Nigerian and South African Equity Markets, with R. Raji. African Finance Journal (2015), 17:2, pp. 25-54.

Conditional Pricing of Currency Risk in Africa’s Equity Markets, with O. Kodongo. Emerging Markets Review (2014), 21, pp. 133-155.

Firms’ Debt Choice in Africa: Are Institutional Infrastructure and Non-traditional Determinants Important? With T. Gwatidzo. International Review of Financial Analysis (2014), 31, pp. 152-166.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3764
kalu.ojah@wits.ac.za

Dr Emmanuel Quaye
Marketing Lecturer

Emmanuel holds a PhD in Marketing from WBS. He has experience lecturing at diploma, degree, and postgraduate levels, primarily in broad marketing areas, including marketing principles, strategic marketing, consumer behaviour, marketing for digital business, and global marketing. Emmanuel’s research focuses on the intersection of cross-cultural consumer behaviour, international marketing, consumer psychology, branding, digital marketing, and social marketing.

Jannie Rossouw
Professor of Economics

Jannie Rossouw is professor at Wits Business School. He previously served as interim Head of WBS. He completed the M.Com (Economics) and MBA degrees at the University of Pretoria and a PhD degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He has published widely and often addresses conferences and other interest groups.  His publications include a book on the SA Reserve Bank, a number of book chapters and more than 30 papers in accredited academic journals.

His areas of research are inflation perceptions and inflation credibility, ownership structures of central banks with private shareholders and fiscal sustainability in South Africa.  In 2014 he published a research paper on South Africa’s looming fiscal cliff and this matter has since attracted considerable attention in South Africa.

Jannie established himself as a political economist and regularly comments in the media on local and international economic and political developments.

He is a member of the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (L.Akad.SA) and serves on its Audit and Risk Management Committee.  He also chairs the Audit Committee of the Afrikaans Language Museum and Monument in Paarl.  He serves on the Board of Trustees of the UNIsarf Pension Fund as an alternate member.

The SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns awarded in 2019 the Stals prize for economics to Jannie.

Contact details
jannie.rossouw@wits.ac.za

Dr Yvonne Saini
MMSM Programme Director
Senior Lecturer: Marketing

Dr Saini's rearch interests include Consumer Behaviour, E-commerce and general marketing topics.

Some research topics include the following: Consumer Choice, Consumer Decision Making, Factors Influencing Online Consumer Choice, Effects of Fluency Processing in Consumer Decision Making, Effects of Social Media and Consumer Behaviour and Exploring the Effectiveness of Mobile Advertising.

Dr Yvonne Kabeya Saini joined Wits Business School in 2006 and is a marketing lecturer for the PDM, PDBA, MBA, MMSM and MAP programmes, with courses covering consumer behaviour, principles of marketing and marketing management. She has publications in local and international journals.

Yvonne has work experience as an economist, business analyst and business and information specialist. While in Zambia she worked as an economist for the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry and as a business analyst for the Zambia Privatisation Agency. She later took up a role as a business and information specialist at Mckinsey & Company in Johannesburg.

Yvonne has lectured at Monash University (South Africa campus) and the University of Cape Town. As well as her BA, MBA and PhD achievements, Yvonne also holds a certificate in e-marketing offered by the New Zealand Direct Marketing Association and the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3586
yvonne.saini@wits.ac.za

Dr Fanny Saruchera
Senior Lecturer, Logistics and Supply Chain management

Although he is more of an inter-disciplinarian, Fanny‘s research and pedagogical interests include; logistics-marketing interconnectedness, consumer mythology, innovation management and commercialization, customer and supplier relationship management, transport and logistics management among other related themes.

With more than twelve years’ experience, Fanny combines an exceptional flare of both industrial and academic exposure within multicultural environments. He has worked in various capacities including customer service, business development and cross-functional team leadership in the private sector. He has also worked as a Trainer and Head of Department and Senior Lecturer and Faculty industrial liaison coordinator in Botswana, Zimbabwean and Namibian top institutions. Dr Saruchera has held various visiting lectureship positions in various African countries. He has published and co-published more than twelve research papers in various refereed journals, a monograph, and two book chapters. He is a reviewer for various DHET accredited journals including the Journal of International Consumer Marketing (U.S.A.), Journal of Transport & Supply Chain Management (South Africa), Annals of Social and Behavioural Sciences (Zimbabwe) and the Journal of Economics (India).

He has presented at various academic and non-academic forums, conferences and seminars, by invitation, in Botswana, Germany, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He has also run successful management consultancy projects and workshops in various fields including strategic planning, train-the-trainer, marketing, logistics, procurement and supply chain management in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Fanny holds a PhD (Management) from UKZN, South Africa, a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and Master of Commerce, both from Zimbabwe; and a Master of Science in Procurement, Logistics and Supply Chain Management (with distinction) from the University of Salford, Manchester, U.K. He is a FIATA certified international Trainer in Freight Forwarding, Logistics and Supply Chain Management. He is also a certified SAP Trainer through the ESEFA-SAP University Alliance. Fanny is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CMILT), South Africa. He is also an Associate member of the Southern Africa Institute of Marketing (SAIM), and a member of the Southern African Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS), the Association of Consumer Research (ACR), U.S.A., and of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA).

Publications

Saruchera, F. & Fransman, L. (2018). Determinants of Effective High-risk Cargo (HRC) Logistics at Sea Ports: A Developing Economy’s Perspective. Conference proceedings of the 12^th International Business Conference, Mauritius, 23 - 26 September 2018.

Saruchera, F. (2017). Rail freight transportation concerns of developing economies: A Namibian perspective. Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 11(1), 1-9.

Saruchera, F. & Makasi, A. (2017) “Prior access to modern learning technologies as a predictor of  Post-Admission Cognitive Dissonance in African Universities: Evidence from Namibia and  Zimbabwe” in Meda, L. and Professor Makura, A.H. (Eds.), Technology driven curriculum for  a 21^st century student: Issues and perspectives in selected African countries. Cameroon:  Langaa Publishers.

Saruchera, F., & Phiri, M. A. (2016) Technological Innovations Performance and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Corporate Ownership & Control 13(4), 549 – 557).

Tukuta, M. & Saruchera, F. (2015) Challenges Facing Procurement Professionals in Developing Economies: Unlocking Value through Professional International Purchasing, Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 9(1), 1-9.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 7999
fanny.saruchera@wits.ac.za

Prof Eric Schaling
Research Director
Professor: International Finance 

Prof Schaling has been an adviser to the National Treasury, South African Reserve Bank, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Finance, SADC, IMF, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Presidency.

Professor Eric Schaling holds the Jelle Zijlstra Chair of International Finance at Wits Business School. He moved from The Netherlands to South Africa in 1998 when he was appointed professor of economics at the University of Johannesburg. He has been an adviser to the National Treasury, South African Reserve Bank, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Finance and SADC, to name a few. He was appointed South African Reserve Bank Chair at the University of Pretoria in 2007.

Eric studied macroeconomics at the Faculty of Economic and Business Administration at Tilburg University in The Netherlands. After obtaining his doctorate there he joined the Monetary Analysis Division of the Bank of England. He has been a consultant to the IMF, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Presidency and was appointed Fellow at the Centre for Economic Research at Tilburg University, The Netherlands, in 2004.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3660
eric.schaling@wits.ac.za

Dr Grant Sieff
Part-time Senior Lecturer in Strategy & International Business

Dr Sieff is a  management consultant who is the CEO of IC Growth Group, and Infochoice Growth (Pty) Ltd

He has a background in strategy, leadership development and general management, and global experience in financial services, management consulting and corporate education, with extensive experience in Europe, Australia and South Africa.

Grant specialises in strategy development and delivery, change management and in leadership performance and growth. He has a particular interest in strategic behaviour and organisational dynamics.

He has worked in Australia as a vice president for Citibank, and as a partner for the Centre for Corporate Strategy, and in South Africa as a partner at Accenture. In 1999, he established Netchoice, an ecommerce infomediary service, followed by Infochoice, a research, education and consulting organisation, and then IC Growth Group, a consultancy with a primary focus on strategic insights and leadership development.

He has served as a faculty member of Citibank's Asia-Pacific Banking Education Institute, and Duke Corporate Education’s Global Learning Resource Network, as academic director for Tias Business School in the Netherlands, and has held visiting professorships.

He holds a BA (with majors in Economics, Computer Science, and Psychology) and a BSc Honours degree (Computer Science) from the University of Cape Town, as well as an MA (Psychology) and an MBA from Sydney University.  He holds a PhD from the University of Johannesburg, on the topic of strategic leadership.

Grant consults in South Africa and internationally with leaders of listed companies and public sector organisations.

Contact details
grant.sieff@wits.ac.za

Prof Mills Soko
Professor 

Professor Soko teaches International Business and Strategy at Wits Business School, and is former Director of UCT Graduate School of Business.

He holds a BSoc Sci degree from the University of Cape Town, an MA in International Studies from the University of Stellenbosch, as well as an MA and Doctorate in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.   His doctoral thesis examined the political economy of trade policy reform in post-apartheid South Africa.

He was previously employed by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa as a researcher on parliamentary affairs, monitoring and preparing reports on the work of parliamentary committees in South Africa's first democratic national legislature.

He also worked as researcher to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, Foreign Affairs, and Public Enterprises in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). This was followed by his appointment as Head of Policy and Legislation in the NCOP, where he oversaw and coordinated the work of committee researchers.

He is a member of the editorial boards of Global Governance, Journal of Common Market Studies and AfricaGrowth Agenda.  He is a research associate of the South African Institute of International Affairs as well as the Institute of Global Dialogue.   He has served as a member of the Evian Group’s Council of Global Thought Leaders and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Trade Reference Group.

He is a member of the advisory boards of Namibia Business School.  He is a member of the board of TSIBA Business School, and chairs TSIBA’s Academic Advisory Council.  He has previously chaired the board of Inyathelo (The South African Institute of Advancement).    He is also a member of the board of the Field Band Foundation.

He formerly chaired a working group on education and employment under the auspices of the Africa-Germany Partnership, an initiative of the former President of the Federal Republic of Germany Horst Köhler.   And he was a member of the Warwick Commission on The Future of the Multilateral Trading System. 

He is an ardent writer on pertinent local and global issues.     He is a Fin24 columnist and also writes regularly for local newspapers including Business Day, Daily Maverick, Sunday Times, Business Times, Financial Mail and The Conversation Africa. He also writes for World Financial Review.   He is also a frequent guest on current affairs programmes on radio and television, including “SAFM Sunrise” (SABC), “African Dialogue” (SABC Channel Africa), “Power Breakfast” (Power FM), “#Africa” (eNCA), “The Pulse” Newzroom Afrika, and “Weekend Breakfast” CapeTalk.

Professor Soko’s research interests include: international business; strategy and innovation; trade and investment; entrepreneurship; African political economy; and business-government relations in South Africa.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3585
milford.soko@wits.ac.za

Dr Diran Soumonni
MMIS Programme Director
Senior Lecturer: Innovation Management and Policy

Dr Soumonni obtained his PhD in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, US, where he focused on both innovation studies and energy policy.

Diran Soumonni’s teaching interests include subject matter on creativity and innovation, techno-preneurship, the strategic management of innovation, and philosophical paradigms in scientific research. His primary research interest lies in the area of innovation for sustainability from both an ecosystemic and a firm-level perspective. Some of his previous publications span subject matter on electricity policy, biofuels policy, nanotechnology policy, and innovation policy and management.

Prior to embarking on his doctoral studies, he worked as a materials engineer in the area of research commercialisation of display and energy-efficient lighting technologies. In that capacity, he was part of a team that expanded the business opportunities of a new technology-based firm (NTBF), which was dependent on an enabling ecosystem for its survival and growth, while simultaneously working closely with large LED and display corporations such as Samsung (South Korea), Sumitomo (Japan), Nichia (Japan), among others, to help solve specific technological challenges along the innovation value chain.

Diran holds a Masters degree in materials science and engineering (Georgia Institute of Technology, US) and undergraduate degrees in physics and mathematics (Tuskegee University, US). He is an active member of the Global Network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation and Competence Building Systems (GLOBELICS), and of the International Network on Appropriate Technology (INAT).

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3646
diran.soumonni@wits.ac.za

Prof Anthony Stacey
Associate Professor

Prof Stacey has research interests in group dynamics and group decision-making and developed a theory that has broadened understanding of the interaction and outcomes of small groups.

Prof Anthony Stacey has worked with Wits Business School since 1993, first fulfilling a role as part-time lecturer and external examiner until he was appointed to a full-time position in 2002. His research interests include multivariate analytical methods, group decision-making, analysis of group dynamics, forecasting using quantitative and qualitative methods and business modelling. His PhD thesis developed a new theory that enriched understanding of the interaction and outcomes of small groups.

Anthony spent much of his working career at Anglo American, starting out as a software development engineer at their electronics laboratory in Johannesburg and going on to hold various management positions at Anglo American including laboratory management, business development, and finance and administration. He also has extensive consulting experience in the fields of business data analysis and forecasting, marketing research, Monte Carlo simulation, business strategy and technology implementation.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3587
anthony.stacey@wits.ac.za

Dr Lehlohonolo Tabane
Organisational Behaviour & Development

Lehlohonolo holds a PhD in Industrial & Organisational Psychology from the University of Pretoria. She is a former Programme Director at WBS Executive Education, has lectured on the PDBA programme and designed and delivered the Leadership Fundamentals, Ethics and Corporate Governance modules on the MBA programme. Her research interests include Management & Leadership Development; Organisational Behaviour and Organisational Development; Women in the Workplace; and Vocational Psychology.

George Tweneboah
Senior Lecturer: Economics and Finance

Dr Tweneboah earned his doctorate degree from the same institution in 2016 and a Master of Science degree in Finance from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. His PhD focused on dollarization and macroeconomic instability in Ghana. He has considerable teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, having taught at the University of Cape Coast and Ghana Baptist University College. He has also held adjunct positions in Project Finance at Stellenbosch University Business School and Real Estate Corporate Finance at the School of Construction Economics and Management, University of the Witwatersrand. He also held a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship position at WBS from October 2017 to July 2019, where he taught courses such as Development and Entrepreneurial Finance, Financial Econometrics, and Economics for Business.

In terms of research, George has gained dexterity in the application of statistical and econometric tools for advanced research using R, Eviews, Stata, Microfit, SAS, and Oxmetrics. His broad focus has been on macroeconomic models, market integration, and capital market development. More specifically, time series modelling, comovement and interdependence structure, integration of markets and economies, fiscal sustainability, and emerging market development. His recent research has also examined the behaviour of equities of real estate investment trusts (REITs).  

George has a proven capacity to conduct cutting-edge research at any level, and has articles published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals such as Physica A, Resources Policy, Journal of African Business, Journal of Developing Areas, Cogent Finance & Economics, African Finance Journal, International Journal of Business & Economics, Latin American Journal of Economics, Journal of Economic Cooperation & Development, and Journal of Property Investment & Finance.

Publications

• Tweneboah, G. (2019). Dynamic interdependence of industrial metal price returns: evidence from wavelet multiple correlations. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 527, 121153.
• Owusu Junior, P., Tweneboah, G., Ijasan, K., & Jeyasreedharan, N. (2019). Modelling return behaviour of global real estate investment trusts equities. Journal of European Real Estate Research.
• Tweneboah, G. & Alagidede, P. (2019). Dollarization, inflation targeting, and inflationary dynamics in Ghana. Journal of African Business, 20 (3), 358-375.
• Ijasan, K. & Tweneboah, G. (2019). Time-dependent dynamics of Global REITs and the adaptive market hypothesis. Forthcoming: Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management.
• Owusu Junior, P., Tweneboah, G., & Adam, A.M. (2019). Interdependence of major exchange rates in Ghana: a wavelet coherence analysis. Journal of African Business, 20 (3), 407-430.
• Tweneboah, G. & Alagidede, P. (2018). Interdependence structure of precious metal prices: A multi-scale perspective. Resources Policy, 59, 427-434.
• Tweneboah, G. & Alagidede, P. (2018). Currency substitution and stability of money demand in Ghana. Journal of Developing Areas, 52(2), 41–53.
• Owusu, P.J, Tweneboah, G., & Adam, A.M. (2017). Comovement of real exchange rates in the West African Monetary Zone, Cogent Economics and Finance, 5, 1 – 18.
• Ijasan, K., Tweneboah, G., & Mensah, J. O. (2017). Anti-persistence and long memory behaviour of South African REITs. Journal of Property Investment & Finance, 35(4), 356-368.
• Tweneboah, G., & Agyapong, D. (2017). Modelling fiscal sustainability in the Middle East and North African region: A pooled mean group approach. Journal of Business and Enterprise Development, 7, 96-120.
• Tweneboah, G., Agyapong, D., & Frimpong, S. (2016). Economic integration and exchange rate behaviour in the West African Monetary Zone. African Finance Journal, 18(1), 53-80.
• Alagidede, P. & Tweneboah, G. (2015). Convergence of growth rates in the West African Monetary Zone. Journal of Economic Cooperation and Development, 36(4), 29-54.
• Tweneboah, G. (2015). Financial dollarization and exchange rate volatility in Ghana. Ghanaian Journal of Economics, 3, 28-44.
• Alagidede, P. & Tweneboah, G. (2015). On the sustainability and synchronization of fiscal policy in Latin America. Latin American Journal of Economics, 52(2), 213-240.

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3856
george.tweneboah@wits.ac.za

Prof Boris Urban
MMENVC Programme Director
Professor & Chair: Entrepreneurship

Prof Boris Urban has more than 30 years of academic and professional experience in business, where he has practiced, taught and researched, organisational behaviour, strategy and entrepreneurship. His academic appointments include Prof. at the Graduate School of Business (WBS), University of Witwatersrand, Assoc. Prof. at University of Johannesburg, and guest lecturing at various Business Schools globally. Boris was the inaugural Chair in Entrepreneurship at Wits and is a rated researcher.

Boris’s academic studies are positioned in Management Sciences where he holds a Ph.D (University of Pretoria). Based on more than 85 publications in academic journals his work is recognised and cited in the field (h index-20; i10-index-38). He has published in journals such as the: Journal of Technology Transfer, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, International Journal of Emerging Markets, International Journal of HRM, and Managerial and Decision Economics.

The rigour and significance of his work is evident in the many honours he has been awarded, which include both the Juta and Sasol prize for academic achievement, the MANEX award for Best Researcher at WBS, Dean’s award for Best Researcher at Wits CLM Faculty (2013 and 2015), and the Research and Knowledge Exchange (RAKE 2014) award from the UK based Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He is the recipient of research grant funding from the Economic and Social Research Council/NRF/Newton Fund.

Boris is the editor and co-author of a series of books on entrepreneurship published by Oxford University Press and Springer, which are used as prescribed texts at several universities. He has presented papers at international conferences, including the Academy of Management and the British Academy of Management and won best paper awards. He has published numerous award winning case studies used in classrooms globally. Boris serves on several editorial boards, including the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship (Oxford), Social Business (Strathclyde), Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (Essex).

His academic citizenship credentials have been earned in various capacities, such as Acting WBS Director (2009), Research Director (2013), and NRF Specialist Committee member (2014-2018). As Programme Director, Boris introduced the niche academic degree programme: Master of Management in Entrepreneurship (Ranked in Top 100 Best Masters.com). He has developed and lectured various modules for MBA and Executive Education programmes, and supervised numerous Ph.D and Masters’ students. His research theme leads the Centre for Entrepreneurship (Cfe) at the Wits, serves as a platform for research fellows, and provides him with access to international networks. To advance the national agenda for entrepreneurship he has engaged with the development of township entrepreneurs and enterprise hubs (Start-up Nations SA).

The impact and reach of Prof’s work is noticeable through several collaborative projects focusing on research and entrepreneurial capacity development around the world. Currently his research collaborations include the International Entrepreneurship Multi-Cultural Study with leading BRIC, UK and US universities, as well as the Partnering Network for Inclusive Growth through Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which has benefited several Ph.D students. As subject expert, he has contributed to several initiatives such as the World Economic Forum, EY G20 Entrepreneurship Monitor Report, Sunday Times Directors Event, SME Summit, and MIT Global Start-ups panels. He also sits on the Executive Board of the Africa Business and Entrepreneurship Research Society and has had the opportunity to present his research findings at conventions and colloquiums held at various organisations globally.

Apart from his academic background, Boris has wide-ranging business experience. He first gained entrepreneurial familiarity by working part-time in his family business. Boris has created new ventures, operated both as a franchisor and as franchisee, and worked for MNCs, with broad exposure to strategic and general management functions. Through training and consulting, he has delivered solutions to local and international corporate clients in the private and NGO sectors (e.g. Liberty Life, Vodacom, and Namibian Tourism). Boris is regularly invited as a keynote speaker and as a subject expert on TV and radio shows.

Boris conducts internationally relevant, high-quality independent research. His strategy of developing junior African scholars advances scholarship to move beyond high-impact factor journals through mainstream publishing. His primary research agenda is to expand knowledge within a unified explanatory structure to understand entrepreneurial behaviour at the individual, organisational and societal levels.

Publications

Urban, B. & Hwindingwi, R (2016). Institutional factors in African Emerging Markets influencing MNE corporate strategies. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 11(4): 497-513.

Urban, B. (2016). Empirical evidence on the influence of the institutional environment on venture innovation performance in South Africa. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 21(2): 1-14. 

Urban, B. & Joubert, G. D. S. (2017). A multidimensional and comparative study on intellectual capital and organisational performance. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(1): 84-99.

Urban, B. & Kujinga, L. (2017). The institutional environment and social entrepreneurship intentions.  International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 23(4): 638-655.

Urban, B. & Wood, E. (2017). The innovating firm as corporate entrepreneurship. European Journal of Innovation Management, 20(4): 534-556. 

Urban, B. & Willard, C. (2017). The antecedents of opportunity recognition in internationalised firms: an empirical study in South Africa. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 18(3): 1-14.

Urban, B. & Muzamhindo, A. (2017). An empirical investigation into institutions unlocking entrepreneurial activity. Journal of Entrepreneurship, 27(1): 65–82. 

Contact details
+27 (11) 717 3762
boris.urban@wits.ac.za