Expert Speakers

Izham brings over 27 years of in-depth experience in procurement and supply chain management, with specialised knowledge across diverse product categories. Since joining TNB Fuel Services (TNBF) in 2016, he has become a key figure in coal procurement, serving as the Head of Procurement & Supply Chain. In this role, Izham oversees the annual procurement of 32 million tonnes of thermal coal, critical to Malaysia’s electricity generation. He is also responsible for shaping coal and freight procurement strategies, and leading the execution of procurement and tendering processes to ensure security of coal supply through best value procurement.

Jamie possesses deep experience in the transportation industry, gained over the 14 years that he has been in the rail industry. He has served at the helm of two private rail companies in South Africa first as the CEO of Grindrod Rail at 31 years old and now at Traxtion. Jamie took over as the CEO of Traxtion, then Sheltam, in 2016 and has since evolved the company into the largest private rail operator in Africa. 

Jamie is the representative for Africa on the Management Committee of the Rail Working Group which is a non-profit organisation promoting the adoption of the Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment.

Jamie is also the Chairperson of the Africa Railway Industry Association which represents the interests of the private sector in Railways in South Africa.

Jamie is a CA(SA) and completed his articles at KPMG in the Financial Services division. He attended Stellenbosch University and holds 5 financial degrees.

Appointed as the CEO of The Road Freight Association (RFA) in 2019, Gavin joined the Association in 2007, as its Technical and Operations Manager. 

He has been involved in the resource, strategy and operations field for 42 years: from operations leadership, co-ordination and training – to leadership development, lateral management, operations and business survival training.

Over the years, Gavin has played a key role in developing standards and procedures for the transport industry. These include driving licence training (driving school industry) and licence testing and issuing; the development of standards and procedures for vehicle equipment standards (non-OEM) and testing (vehicle testing industry); as well as the development of standards for the transportation of passengers, goods and dangerous goods. 

He has also actively contributed to the development of road traffic related legislation, as well as traffic policing initiatives, including the Short Term Implementation Programme (STIP), Arrive Alive, National Traffic Police (NTP) and the Code of Conduct, Traffic Officer (TO) Diploma, Examiner of Driver Licences (EDL), Examiner of Vehicles (EoV), AARTO, and finally road safety programmes (public target), formal school curricular programmes (Safety in Traffic Education Programme (STEP), Bridge, School Driver Education Programme (SDEP), Child in Traffic (TIC), Scholar Patrol) and industry targeted programmes (Captain Safety, Safe Driver, SafeCab & TruckSafe).

He was involved in various SANS standards committees and has served on various Agency Boards.

Gavin holds various degrees and diplomas – ranging from Curriculum Development, to Policing Ethics, and most recently completed a SACAS certified SANS17021 qualification (Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems).

He has written numerous articles for technical journals, trade publications and various media house periodicals, regularly appears on a number of TV channels and radio stations and is a sought-after speaker at industry events and leadership seminars.

Hugo has 20 years’ experience as a macro economist. Before that, he was as an economics reporter at Die Burger newspaper in Cape Town. After leaving the media industry and helping to establish a newly formed economic consultancy firm, Hugo spent 17 years at the Bureau for Economic Research, the last five as chief economist. He was the Thomson Reuters South African Economist of the Year in 2014 and the Media24 Economist of the Year in 2021. 

In his current role, Hugo leads the economics department at the Minerals Council. He focuses on collecting and analysing data on commodity markets and the South African mining sector, as well as advocating for a more conduce domestic mining policy environment. 

Hugo holds a Master’s of Economics degree (cum laude), Stellenbosch University.

Michael joined Ninety One as a strategist in December 2002 and worked full-time for the company until 2023. His responsibilities included understanding how the shift in the centre of economic gravity from West to East is impacting on the world of investment and in particular how it is opening up new investment opportunities for Ninety One’s global client base.
Today he focusses his attention on the consequences of the fragmentation of the post-WW2 political and economic order and, within that, the Rise of the Global South.
He began his financial career working in the Middle East department of Chase Manhattan Bank before joining Anglo American’s corporate finance department in South Africa. Michael then worked in the London corporate finance department of NM Rothschild & Sons where his work had a strong natural resource emphasis. Having completed a 4×4 overland safari through Africa, Michael then worked for HSBC-Equator Bank in Kenya for four years. He returned to the UK to work at Baring Asset Management as a director in their emerging markets department, where he was head of Africa and the Middle East as well as heading the natural resources sector, and was also portfolio manager for the Pan African Simba Fund.
Michael graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Phd in Economics. He also holds an MA in International Business and Law from the Fletcher School at Tufts and a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford. Since he retired from Ninety One in March 2023, he has taken up a professorship in the Economic Department of UCT, writes regularly for the Daily Maverick and maintains his website and blog at https://www.kaskaziconsulting.io/

Thabiso Sekano is the head of the Mining and Metals business unit at the IDC. He has spent the last 16 years at the IDC working on deals that cover, mergers and acquisitions, BEE structuring’s, project finance, standard term loan facilities, guarantees and more. Thabiso started his career as a mining graduate at Anglo Coal. Thabiso holds a BSc Eng (Mining) from the University of the Witwatersrand and a MBA from the University of Pretoria.

Mike Teke is the CEO of Seriti Resources Holdings which he co-founded in 2018.  His qualifications include a BA (Ed), BEd, BA (Hons) and an MBA.  

Mike has held HR roles at several companies including Unilever from 1992 to 1994,  Bayer from 1994 to 1999, BHP Billiton from 2000 to 2005 and Impala Platinum from  2005 to 2007. Upon his departure at BHP Billiton, he became a founding member of  Optimum Coal from 2007 to 2012 where he took on the role of CEO, and later Non Executive Chairman until 2015.  

Mike was also the VP of the Chamber of Mines in SA between 2011/12 and  subsequently became the President from 2013 to 2017. He became the Chairman of  the Richards Bay Coal Terminal Board in 2012 and stepped down in 2016 to become  a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee.  

Mike currently serves as Executive Chairman and controlling shareholder of  Masimong Group Holdings and Non-Executive Chairman for a number of  companies, including Rolfes, Anchor Group, and is the Chairman of Council at the  University of Johannesburg. Mike is also a Non-Executive Director of ARB,  Halewood and Mouton Citrus.

Dr Nombasa Tsengwa started her career in the mining industry in 2003 when she joined the then, Kumba  Resources as the General Manager Safety Health and Environment. With the unbundling of Kumba and  the inception of Exxaro Resources, she was appointed as Executive General Manager Safety and  Sustainable Development. In 2010 she was appointed as Regional General Manager Coal Tied  Collieries, overseeing three underground and four opencast operations. In 2015 she was appointed as  acting Executive Head Coal Operations before formally taking hold of this position in May 2016. In this  position she was responsible for oversight in the operations and functioning of the Coal Business and its  ventures managed by Exxaro Coal. In this position she was also responsible for the marketing and  logistics of all products. In July 2020, Dr Tsengwa was appointed as Managing Director Minerals, a new  division, which was an expansion of her Coal and FerroAlloys portfolio to included new low carbon  minerals. In March 2021 Dr Tsengwa was appointed CEO Designate, until she moved into the role of  CEO from 1 August 2022 with the retirement of Mxolisi Mgojo. Before she joined Kumba, Dr Tsengwa  worked in various South African Government departments, amongst others, as Deputy Director General  of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. 

Dr Tsengwa is a member of the Exxaro Board, the President of the Minerals Council of South Africa and  the Deputy Chairperson of the Energy Council of South Africa. 

Dr Tsengwa previously served on the Astral Foods Pty.Ltd. Board of Directors as a non-Executive Director for nine years (2008-2017), during the last two years, she was also the Chairperson of the  Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nominations Committee. 

In 2017, Dr Tsengwa was awarded the coveted Standard Bank Business Woman of the Year Award. This was followed by the Winner of the “Africa ‘s Most Influential Woman in Business and Government – Mining  Industry Category” at the Pan African Awards in 2018. Exxaro Resources applauded her outstanding  leadership and her role in advancing women in the workplace by awarding her an Evergreen Award in  the category CEO Special Nomination in 2018. Dr Tsengwa was awarded the Gender Icon Award at the  2023 Standard Bank Top Women Award and an award in being a Pioneer in Transforming the Mining  Industry (2023) by South African Women In Mining Association (SAWIMA).