Alumni Webinar with Professor Shabir Madhi

Update on COVID-19 and insights into the vaccine trials

Wits alumnus Professor Shabir Madhi (MBBCh 1990, MMed 1999, PhD 2004) is familiar to South Africans as leading the charge in two COVID-19 clinical vaccine trials in South Africa. He is Professor of Vaccinology at Wits and has been appointed as Dean of the Health Sciences Faculty in 2021. Prof Madhi serves both as Director of the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytical Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council and Research Chair in Vaccine Preventable Diseases of the Department of Science and Innovation/National Research Foundation. He holds the Chair of the National Advisory Group on Immunization in South Africa and is a member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Ann Bernstein

Recovery Strategies – SA and economic recovery: Quo Vadis?

Ann Bernstein (BA 1976, BA Hons 1977) is the founder and executive director of the Centre for Development and Enterprise, South Africa’s leading development think tank which focuses on inclusive economic growth and democratic consolidation.

CDE has published numerous reports on topics including economic growth, jobs, education, skills, land reform, urbanization, cities and the role of business. Bernstein engages regularly with leaders in government, business, civil society and academia. She is a frequent commentator in the media. Her book, The Case for Business in Developing Economies (Penguin 2010) received favourable reviews in South African and international media and won the Sir Anthony Fisher Award 2012, Atlas Research Foundation, Washington DC.

Bernstein has participated in many seminal development initiatives in South Africa and internationally: member of the Transition Team, Board of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (1994 - 2001), fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, Washington DC (2005), member of the Brenthurst Foundation board (2007-2017), invited faculty member, World Economic Forum, Davos (2008 and 2009), public policy scholar, Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington DC (2013), invited fellow, Rockefeller Centre, Bellagio (2016). She received the University of Johannesburg’s Ellen Kuzwayo award in 2019.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Dixit Joshi

The Future of the Global Financial Industry

Dixit Joshi (BSc 1992) is Group Treasurer of Deutsche Bank AG and is based in London. In this position, which he has held since 2017, Joshi is responsible for managing one of the largest balance sheets in the banking industry. A Wits alumnus with a degree in statistics and actuarial science, he has served in senior executive positions in leading financial institutions such as Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2010. Joshi is currently serving his third term as Board Member of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and has been deeply engaged in issues shaping the future of the global financial industry including interbank lending rate transition, distributed ledger technologies and Central Bank Digital Currencies. Joshi has been a committed supporter of citizenship and community initiatives, serving as a Board Member of Pratham, a non-profit organisation supporting education in India, and as Trustee of the Student Sponsorship Programme in South Africa. He served on the Board of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African Art and as President of the Advisory Board for National Sewa Day, a social action and volunteering initiative for local communities.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Dr Alex Granger

Built To Adapt: Better Every Day

Dr Alex Granger

Global Speaker | Trainer | Management Consultant | Life Coach | Author at Alex Granger Speaks @Alex Granger Speaks

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Advocate Kate Hofmeyr

“Of Commissions, Law and Evidence”

Kate Hofmeyr (BA Hons 2001, LLB 2003) is a respected member of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates and has been an advocate for 13 years. She clerked for former Chief Justice Chaskalson at the Constitutional Court and studied at Oxford University where she read for Bachelor of Civil Law and Master of Philosophy degrees. In her final year at Wits, she participated in the Jessup World Moot Court Competition in Washington DC, where she and Steven Bundlender (BA 2000, LLB 2002) competed against more than 50 countries. They won the competition, making it the first and only time an African university has won the prestigious contest. Hofmeyr has published articles in both domestic and international law journals. During her career at the Bar, Hofmeyr has appeared in more than 50 reported cases. Since 2018, she has been an evidence leader at the State Capture Commission. There, she has been responsible for the evidence of over 40 witnesses, including former ministers, directors-general, CEOs, CFOs, SOE board members and auditors.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Pavlo Phitidis

Reset Rebuild Reignite

Crises can take many forms in business, and tend to follow one after the next. Through the right mindset and action, you can build your business to thrive in any crisis, and Pavlo shares stories of businesses that got it right, and practical insights on how to get it right in your business.

You may have heard him on Radio 702 or Cape Talk where he is the resident entrepreneurial and business growth content contributor. He is a keynote speaker at both local and international business conferences. As an entrepreneur and investor, Pavlo offers over 25 years of direct experience in conceptualising and building businesses across four continents. He has developed and brought to market business assets in excess of $350m through a combination of business start-ups, turnarounds, sales and acquisitions. Through Aurik, he works with established business owners to get their businesses to the next level of growth and value. With around 400 clients in South Africa and 98 in the US and UK that work with Aurik to build Assets of Value, Pavlo brings practical strategies, tactics and mindsets to the tough business of building business.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Greg Solomon

Leadership

Greg Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at McDonald’s South Africa 

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Rashid Seedat

Social, spatial and governance contours of the Gauteng City-Region

Wits alumnus Rashid Seedat (BA 1985, PGDipArch 1987, MM 2001, MSc 2007) has had a long association with Wits University and was recently appointed as the executive director of the GCRO. For the past 10 years he’s occupied senior positions in the Gauteng Office of the Premier where he headed the Premier’s Delivery Support Unit. He also headed the Gauteng Planning Commission/Division for several years and has served on the board of the GCRO as a representative of the Gauteng Provincial Government. Seedat worked in several urban development NGOs during the transition from apartheid to democracy that were influential in framing the post-apartheid system of local government. In his private capacity, he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation that is focused on building non-racialism, promoting constitutionalism and researching the history of the struggle for freedom in South Africa.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with John Sanei

Trans-For-Motion: Transforming at constant pace into the unknown future

John Sanei is a futures strategist who makes sense of trends and merges them so individuals and organisations can forge ahead with confidence and elevate their leadership vision. John has travelled virtually, locally and internationally. He has received global recognition for his keynote talks and masterclasses as Africa’s first Singularity University Faculty Member, a lecturer at Duke Corporate Education and an Associate Partner at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies. He is the Co-Founder of the School of Modern Wisdom and The Expansive Podcast. He is the author of four bestsellers, including “What’s Your Moonshot?” and is currently working on his fifth. When not speaking, John’s training for the next triathlon and convincing friends, family and fans to adopt abandoned dogs.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Francois Engelbrecht

The IPCC Assessment Report Six and future climate change: a code red for South Africa

Professor Francois Engelbrecht is distinguished professor of climatology at the Global Change Institute at Wits. Professor Engelbrecht’s research has led to new insights into the changing temperature, rainfall and circulation patterns over the continent under anthropogenic forcing. He was invited lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Global Warming of 1.5 ºC special report published in 2018, and currently serves as an invited lead author of Assessment Report Six of the IPCC. He is an invited member of the Working Group on Numerical Experimentation of the World Climate Change Research Programme, co-chair of the World Meteorological Organisation Joint Expert Team on Earth System Implementation and a Scientific Steering Group Member of CLIVAR of the World Climate Research Programme.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Joanne Joseph

State of Affairs with Joanne Joseph

Wits alumna Joanne Joseph (BA 2000, BA Hons 2001, MA 2008) is a respected South African journalist and bestselling author, with over 20 years of experience. Not only has she hosted prominent radio and television shows for major broadcasters, but her debut book Drug Muled: Sixteen Years in a Thai Prison (Jacana, 2013) sold over 10 000 copies. Her latest work of fiction Children of Sugarcane (Jonathan Ball, 2021) is set against the backdrop of 19th century India and the British-owned sugar plantations of Natal. It shines a light on women indentured labourers.

She’ll be in conversation with Professor Dilip Menon, director at the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa and Mellon Chair in Indian Studies at Wits.

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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Alumni Webinar with Tsakani Maluleke

The Professionals’ Responsibility in Promoting Accountability and Ethical Leadership in a Constitutional Democracy

Ms Tsakani Maluleke is South Africa’s auditor-general, the first woman to hold this position in the supreme audit institution’s 109-year history.
Her background as a Chartered Accountant spans more than 20 years, with experience in both the private and public sectors, and in areas as diverse as auditing, consulting, corporate advisory, development finance, investment management and skills development agencies.
Her current role as the SAICA (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants) nonexecutive chairperson of the board is a continuation of this work. Her commitment to service excellence and ethical leadership, and her contribution to transformation has been recognized, and awarded by the Presidents of ABASA, AWCA and Black Management Forum (BMF).

Live streaming: YOUTUBE, WITSALUMNI

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