Speakers Profiles

The author of the bestselling book “BrandOvation™: How Germany won the World Cup of Nation Branding”, and the sequel “The Hero’s Journey: Building a Nation of World Champions”, Dr Nikolaus Eberl holds a PhD from the Free University of Berlin and a Postgraduate Diploma from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Dr Eberl headed the Net Promoter Scorecard research project on South Africa’s Destination Branding Success Story during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, and he is the co-author of the World Cup Brand Ambassador Program 'Welcome 2010' and chairperson of the inaugural 2010 FAN World Cup.

Dr Nik is the author of “The Seven Secrets of IziCwe: Conquer Life!”, a uniquely South African Life Skills Program, and “a must for anyone who wants to overcome career and personal challenges!” (The Business Day). The sequel, “The IziCwe Code: Internal Branding” was introduced to the international media at the Global Leaders Summit 2006, sharing the platform with leadership gurus Tom Peters, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Porter, and has become recommended reading for government leaders at national, provincial and local level.

Dr Nik’s 2006 FIFA World Cup™ book, “BrandOvation: How Germany won the World Cup of Nation Branding”, was featured extensively in the local and international media (CNBC, Carte Blanche, Business Day, The Star, The Mercury, 702, SAfm, MetroFM etc). Based upon the Brand Innovation Lessons from the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, BrandOvation™ is a Novel Concept of Brand Leadership, merging the disciplines of Internal Branding and Touch- Point Innovation. Dr Eberl’s work has received acclaim from a number of eminent South African leaders: • “We share a vision for the development of leaders and strongly believe in building the capacity of people and society at large.” (John Samuel, CEO Nelson Mandela Foundation)

• “Nikolaus Eberl and Herman Schoonbee have thrown down the gauntlet. It is up to us to take up the cudgels to unearth pearls of wisdom from other great Africa Leaders.” (Reuel Khoza, Chairman Nedbank, President: Institute of Directors)

From May 2007 to August 2010, Dr Eberl authored the Business Day’s World Cup Column as well as co- anchored CNBC’s weekly Business 2010 show (as the resident analyst). His forthcoming book “Nation of Champions: How South Africa won the World Cup of Destination Branding”, is measuring South Africa’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) for Brand Advocacy and the Civic Pride Index (CPI) of South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Dr Dambisa Moyo

Dr Dambisa Moyo is the CEO and founder of the Mildstorm Group. Mildstorm is a boutique firm that analyzes the global macroeconomy, world financial markets, and works with clients to devise investment strategies.

Dr. Moyo examines the risks and opportunities across the global landscape, including developed, emerging (BRICs), and the frontier economies in Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East. She has traveled to nearly 60 countries over the past decade, during which time she has developed a unique knowledge base on the political, economic, and financial workings of the global economy.

Ms. Moyo serves on the boards of Barclays Bank, the financial services group, SABMiller, the global brewer, and Barrick Gold, the global miner. She was an economist at Goldman Sachs, where she worked for nearly a decade, and was a consultant to the World Bank in Washington,D.C.

She is the author of 3 New York Times bestsellers Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa; How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly and the Stark Choices Ahead, and Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and what it Means for the World.

In 2013, Dr. Moyo was awarded the Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award named for the Nobel Prize winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Friedrich Hayek. She was named by TIME Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and to the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders Forum. Dr. Moyo is a contributing editor to CNBC, the business and finance news network. Her writing regularly appears in economic and finance-related publications such as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal.

She completed a PhD in economics at Oxford University and holds a Masters degree from Harvard University. She completed an undergraduate degree in chemistry and MBA in finance at American University in Washington, D.C.

Mr Femi Adebanji

Key Industries: Entrepreneur

As former head of the investment consulting division within a blue chip South African insurer, Femi was responsible for setting up the division from the ground up and within 2 years, himself and his team were responsible for growing an asset base of R1 billion to just over R5 billion. He then went on to become head of retirement fund asset strategy within the consulting division of a leading BEE investment firm, where he was successful in putting the team together, driving overall strategy, and spearheading new business acquisition.

A fervid entrepreneur at heart, Femi now speaks professionally on leadership, innovation, change and creating high-performance cultures. He also heads up the VestCom Group, an investment holding outfit he established in 2006. Starting off with little seed capital, VestCom currently has a diversified portfolio of wholly owned businesses such as Morgan and Brown – a multi-million rand bridal retail business, Pinnacle – a consulting firm that specialises in providing organisational development and skills empowerment training to corporates, BW – an exporting business focused on wholesaling bridal gowns and accessories to designers in the SADC region and the rest of Africa, War-Room – an online creative design agency that provides design and social media solutions, and Success For Life – a powerful 1-day personal development program that empowers delegates to be more, do more and have more.

Femi believes that the blue-print to building a successful business lies in getting four key pillars right – the quality of its leadership, its ability to innovate strategically and creatively, its proficiency at managing change intelligently and the degree to which it can embed a high-performance people culture – hence the focus of his talks.

His career as a dynamic, fresh and “straight-shooting” speaker has been featured in interviews with leading publications such as the Business Day and mainstream radio stations, while his television appearances on the Good Morning Africa’s Business Leadership series on Dstv have been flighted in over 20 countries on the continent. He regularly authors business motivational articles to publications such as the Business Day, Destiny Man and Entrepreneur Magazine South Africa, and hosted his own radio show “Motivationally Speaking” on 93.8 MixFm. He recently completed the 150-page manuscript of his first book “The Challenge of Greatness” – a book based on scientific research and evidence that support the hypothesis that peak performance can be attained through the power of awareness and intentional action.

Femi holds a Masters degree in Financial Economics.