ADVISORY BOARD
THE ADVISORY BOARD
Prof Joseph Sekhampu
Chief Director of NWU Business School
Prof. Joseph Sekhampu is the Chief Director of North-West University Business School, where he provides academic leadership and strategic direction to ensure the School’s overall success and growth.
Before joining North-West University Business School, he served as Chief Operating Officer & Executive Head at Milpark Education. He oversaw the company strategy’s operationalisation and managed the business’s operational units there. Previously, he was the Dean of the School of Commerce at the same institution where he provided academic leadership and managed all programmes offered by the school, focussing on quality assurance, planning, and execution of deliverables.
His earlier career in the banking sector included various roles such as Team Leader for Customer Consultants, Trainee Branch Manager, CRM Manager, and Product Analyst, providing a comprehensive experience in banking operations and management.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and has conducted extensive research on poverty and socioeconomic issues. In addition to his academic and administrative roles, he writes about leadership, drawing on his extensive experience and African communal culture’s influence. His leadership philosophy emphasizes collective responsibility and the pursuit of the common good. He is committed to academic excellence, research, and transforming lives and communities through the power of education.
Follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephsekhampu/.
Charlotte Mokoena
Executive Vice-President at SASOL
Ms Charlotte Mokoena is the Executive Vice-President for Human Resources and Corporate Affairs at SASOL. She is responsible for the design of global strategies, policies and frameworks that enable the organisation to attract, develop and retain key talent. Her remarkable career has transcended industries, portfolios and traditional silos that often lead to a disconnect between employees, stakeholders, culture and business objectives. Charlotte’s deep and wide experience spans over 25 years, in Strategic HR, Organisational Capability Development, Leadership Development, Stakeholder Relations, Corporate Reputation Management, Customer Experience Management, Corporate Social Impact (CSI), and Management Consulting.
Dewald Olivier
SA Feedlot Association
Dewald Oliver holds an LLB degree and Higher Diploma in Import & Export and an MBA (Cum Laude) from the NWU Business School. He is the current president of the Alumni of MBA’s at the NWU Business School. He is also a Member of the Institute of Directors and serves as director and trustee on several boards and trusts. Dewald was admitted as an attorney and later transitioned to the agriculture industry as legal advisor. After serving as Chief Operations Officer for a company, he started his own consulting and advisory business focussing on assisting small and medium businesses in agriculture to comply with the regulatory and non-regulatory traceability.
Dr Terrence SIBIYA
Managing Executive of Nedbank
Experienced Group Managing Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Skilled in Banking in Africa, Credit Analysis, Investment Banking, Retail Banking, Foreign Exchange (FX), Market Risk, and Asset Management. Strong leadership and business development professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Computer and Information Sciences and Technology from University of Pittsburgh. Also holds AMP from Duke University.
PROF RAYMOND PARSONS
NWU Professor, Economics
Prof Parsons is the chairperson of the Advisory board, he studied economics at the Universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Copenhagen, before playing a leading role in organized business in SA for many years. Professor Parsons was the Overall Business Convenor at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) until 2010, which is the major social dialogue institution in South Africa. He is a former Director-General of the SA Chamber of Business. In 2017 ESSA conferred honorary life membership on him in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the economics profession in SA. He was also a director of the SA Mint.
Kgosi Moshe Mabe
Chairperson North West Provincial House of Traditional Leaders
Kgosi Moshe Mage is the chairperson of the North West House of Traditional Leaders. He is no stranger to serving in important roles. He has been elected for three consecutive terms as the chairperson of the North West Provincial House of Traditional Leaders. His leadership stretches over 20 years as Kgosi of Batlhako Ba Matutu in Mabeskraal. He has served as a member of the Invest North West board and was chairperson of the North West Provincial Heritage Agency for three years.
Prof Linda du Plessis
NWU Deputy Vice-Chancellor: VP and Planning
Prof Linda du Plessis recently served as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the North-West University. After starting her career in Information Technology as a programmer, she left the industry to teach in the higher education sector. She obtained her Master’s degree in Information Technology and completed her PhD at the then PU for CHE, and a second Doctorate at the University of Bath (UK). She made history by being the first-ever female vice-rector at the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark. She has contributed to various national and international publications and is well known for her dedication and focus when overseeing high-level projects.
Jeremy Sampson
Executive Chairman Brand Finance Africa
To many South Africa’s most experienced brander, working between London and Johannesburg, translating into Europe and Africa. Working in the fields of brands, reputation, design and marketing management.
Has won over 100 design awards.
In addition regularly appears on radio, is The Brandfather with Michael Avery on Classic fm Business, television and in print.
He has spoken at conferences and/or presented papers at WIPO (Geneva), World Stock Exchanges (Cancun), LESI x 2 (Cape Town and Johannesburg), Design Indaba x 2 (Cape Town) Accra, Ghana; Nairobi, Kenya; Harare, Zimbabwe; Istanbul, Turkey; Dubai, UAE; London, UK etc, etc.
Also currently writing two wine columns, from a brand/reputation perspective.
Prof Jacques Faul
CEO Titans Cricket
CEO in professional sports administration for 20 year. Director at ASK4 Online. Training platform for Practitioners Communities. Associate Professor at North West University Business school.
Consultant in stakeholder relationship management.PhD, LLM & MBA degrees. Founding member CEOs in Sport. Qualified mediator
Prof Mabutho Sibanda
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (North-West University)
Prof Mabutho Sibanda serves as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the North-West University (NWU). He holds a PhD in Finance, an MSc in Investment and Finance, a BCom Honours in Finance, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education, and is currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health.
A full professor in the School of Commerce at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, he has authored more than 80 accredited publications and supervised 24 doctoral candidates. His expertise spans financial management, investment economics, research, and higher education leadership.
Prof Sibanda has extensive experience in academic and operational leadership, ensuring quality assurance and compliance with key regulatory bodies, while aligning institutional strategy with national development priorities. He has also led and contributed to research initiatives in financial literacy, public sector finance, and investment economics.
He maintains strong partnerships with leading professional and public institutions and serves as President of the South African Commerce Deans Association. He is also co-founder and conference chair of the Business Resilience, Regeneration and Continuity Conference, and a regular keynote speaker at national and international platforms.
Dr Stavros Nicolaou
Senior Executive Strategic Trace, Aspen Pharmacare
Stavros Nicolaou is the Aspen Pharmacare Group’s Senior Executive responsible for Strategic Trade Development. Aspen is one of South Africa’s most globalised multinational companies with 26 manufacturing facilities across 6 continents. He has over 30 years’ experience in the South African and International Pharmaceutical Industry and has won SA Institute of Marketing Management (IMM) Health Care Marketer of the year Award. He also received the Monte Rubenstein Award for proficiency in Pharmaceutics from the Wits University Pharmacy Faculty. He has been inducted as a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA), and was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science in Medicine from Wits University.
Xoli Moagi
Board Member| MP| CEO| DP|
Xoli Moagi is a Woman Entrepreneur and Marketing Practitioner by profession, committed to advancing ethical leadership, entrepreneurship, and inclusive economic development. She serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the North West Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NWCOCI), where she drives initiatives that promote business growth, enterprise development, and strategic partnerships.
She is the Chairperson of Professional Remarkable Women a platform dedicated to empowering women leaders and supporting vulnerable women in communities and business. Xoli also serves on the Board of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI), where she leads the Chamber Forum, strengthening collaboration among chambers of commerce across South Africa.
In addition, she is a Board Member of the North-West University Business School and the Provincial Moral Regeneration Movement. She further serves as Deputy President of the South African Women in Construction (SAWIC) and is a member of Women in Mining South Africa (WIMSA) advocating for the advancement of women in the construction, mining, and built environment sectors.
Xoli is also an Associate Pastor, reflecting her commitment to faith-based leadership; youth; women and community development. She is passionate about empowering women, strengthening business institutions, and promoting sustainable economic and social transformation.
PROF TOMMY DU PLESSIS
Chief Executive Officer of Virtual Integrated Academy (Pty) Ltd, and Chief Executive Officer of Pambili Wildlife (Pty) Ltd.
Prof Tommy du Plessis retired at the end of 2017 as Director of the Northwest Business School and taught on the Company Project until retirement.
He has been a member of the AMBA’s Faculty of Assessors since 2017 and served on the assessment panels of 55 business schools in Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, and France. Now also active as Accreditation Consultant for both AMBA as well as BGA. He also serves on the Accreditation Panel of AABS (Association of African Business Schools).
He was the National President for the AHi (Afrikaans Chamber of Commerce and now called the SBI) for 2014/2015 and President of SABSA (South African Business School Association) during (2012-2014).
Prof du Plessis is still involved in the corporate sector and serves on several boards of directors, both in executive and non-executive capacity. His industry experience fits well with his academic profile. His main involvement now is in the field of the production of Medicinal Cannabis.
Prof du Plessis obtained his MBA (cum laude) from Northwest University in 1986 and his PhD from the same institution in 2008.