GIBS Spokespeople Abdullah Verachia Abdullah serves as the CEO of The has relevance and application to companies Area of expertise Strategists where he plays an active role and organisations around the world. Strategy and in assisting companies and organisations innovation craft competitive future strategies. He He holds a Bachelors in Law and a Masters has significant expertise in strategy, in Management (cum laude). He has Emerging markets; dynamic competitiveness and sector trends and also completed executive programmes on strategy and shared value and also capabilities, facilitates a number of high level strategy adapting in sessions and breakaways for companies on Competitiveness, with Professor changing context and governments and also speaks globally Michael Porter’s Institute of Strategy and Compettiveness, at Harvard Business Strategic foresight in this area. He led the team that crafted and scenario the 2017 - 2030 Gauteng Economic School. He also completed an executive planning Development Strategy with the Premier programme at University of Oxford’s Said Business School as well as an executive Youth development and Executive Council. He also led the and engagement 2017 Mauritius Competitiveness foresight programme on broadcast technology at strategy, He also plays a lead role on the Columbia Business School. Oxford University and Gates Foundation He has presented around the world programme on South Africa in a Digital Age. to leading listed firms, international Having presented and consulted in organisations and governments including over 60 cities globally Abdullah has in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzen, Mumbai, been recognised as a leading speaker, Bangalore, Delhi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, disruptor, strategist and thought leader on Hong Kong, Accra, Dar Es Salaam, Nairobi, competitiveness and the interplay between Frankfurt, Munich, Copenhagen, Madrid, strategy and disruptive innovation. His Paris.London and New York. He has been experience make him a sought after global asked to present at some of the world’s speaker in these areas. In December 2017 leading institutions including the School of Abdullah received a standing ovation at Public and International Affairs at Colombia the acclaimed TEDx Euston in London. University in New York, Tedx Euston, the Abdullah was also asked to be the keynote OECD in Paris and Casa Asia in Madrid speaker at the 2018 World Speech Day. amongst others. Abdullah has built a number of disruptive and truly innovative companies. He is thus able to fuse experience, insight, strategy and expertise into a beautiful tapestry that Prof Adrian Saville Adrian Saville’s qualifications include a School of Business, Kelley School of Area of expertise Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (cum laude), Business, Rotterdam School of Management Economics M.Com (cum laude) and PhD (Economics), and the Estonian Business School. He has which he completed at the University of held a Professorship of Economics, Finance Finance Natal in 1997 and for which he was awarded & Strategy at the Gordon Institute of Strategy the Economics Society of South Africa’s Business Science (GIBS) since 2003, where Founders Medal. He is a UNESCO laureate he teaches in the fields of macroeconomics, and a matriculant of Linacre College investment finance and strategy. Adrian (Oxford). He has completed programmes has received the Excellence in Teaching in value investing and competitive strategy Award at GIBS one ten occasions since at New York’s Columbia University and 2007. Harvard Business School in Boston. In 2012, he was nominated for the In 1994, while completing his doctorate in Economist Intelligence Unit’s Business economics, Adrian formed an investment Professor of the Year Award and in 2014 vehicle which became the forerunner to he received the Central and East European Cannon Asset Managers which he founded Management Development Association in 1998. In 2017 Bidvest Financial Services award in teaching excellence. Adrian’s acquired Cannon Asset Managers. Today successful career has encompassed Adrian serves as Chief Executive at Cannon consulting widely to government and the Asset Managers. corporate world, including serving as an economic consultant to Visa South Africa. Adrian has experience in managing all the He has presented to global audiences in major asset classes and has successfully many destinations, including Botswana, combined teaching and business, Brazil, Chile, Estonia, France, India, Japan, having lectured at the University of the Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Netherlands, Witwatersrand, the University of KwaZulu- Nigeria, Singapore, United Kington, United Natal, the University of Pretoria, London States, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Marius Oosthuizen Marius Oosthuizen is a member of faculty using his expertise in stakeholder dialogue, Area of expertise at the Gordon Institute of Business scenario planning, strategic foresight Senior leadership Science, University of Pretoria, South and systems thinking to create future- development Africa. He teaches leadership, strategy orientated strategy. He is a member of and ethics, and heads up the Future the Advisory Council of the Association Integration of ethics and strategy of Business Project that uses strategic of Professional Futurists and recent foresight methods to explore the future of participant in the London-based School of Socio-political South Africa, Africa and BRICS. International Futures, as well as a recent and socio- contributor to the European Strategy and economic context, Marius is a previous participant of the environment of Policy System, the foresight think tank of business Oxford Scenarios Programme at Saïd the European Parliament. Business School, University of Oxford, Long-term national, UK. He holds a Masters in Strategic In his capacity as a consultant, Marius has regional and global futures Foresight from Regent University, Virginia worked within the following sectors; IT, Beach, USA. He is currently writing a PhD financial services, insurance, agriculture, proposal on Integrative Public Leadership manufacturing (chemicals), warehousing and completing a Masters in Applied Social and logistics, oil and gas, international and Political Ethics. relations, social development, tourism, city and regional planning and mining Marius has worked with business leaders, engineering. policy makers and civil society activists Prof Nick Binedell Nick Binedell is the Founding Director and with leading South African corporates Area of expertise Sasol Chair of Strategic Management of and providing a high level of local and Strategy the Gordon Institute of Business Science, international business education. It was a Business School situated in Illovo, recently ranked as one of the top 40 global Strategic leadership Johannesburg and established in January executive education providers by the Globalisation 2000, by the University of Pretoria. London Financial Times. Emerging markets After an initial career in the industry in the Nick is a determined traveller and explorer. Mining and Manufacturing sectors in sales His earlier roots included extensive travel Socio political and economic and general management in the Barlow and by the time he was ten he had lived in forces shaping Rand Group, Nick has focused his career for Zimbabwe, Germany, Yemen, Kenya, South the business the past 20 years in the area of business Africa and Britain. He has spent five years environment education. in the United States and in the past three years has travelled to Sydney, Shanghai, In 1998 he was invited to establish a new Dubai, Prague, Budapest, Lagos as well as business school focused on meeting the European and American cities. individual and corporate needs of business in South Africa. His area of expertise is in the field of business strategy formulation and his The school has rapidly established itself academic and consulting work, although as a leading business school in South dominantly in South Africa, includes work in Africa with a strong focus on partnering the United States, Europe and Australia. Rabbi Gideon Pogrund Rabbi Gideon Pogrund founded and to corporations, helping them to improve Area of expertise directs the GIBS Ethics and Governance their ethics management, and his clients Ethics and Think Tank. Working with senior business, include the Johannesburg Stock Exchange sustainability government and civil society leaders, (JSE), Sanlam, Liberty, Discovery, the South the Think Tank’s purpose is to influence African Institute of Chartered Accountants Governance and encourage South African business (SAICA) and Google. to follow a more ethical approach and thereby help secure a more successful, He has contributed articles and been sustainable future for the business interviewed in various media outlets, community and the country. including Business Day, the Financial Mail, the South African Broadcasting Corporation He established the Ethics Barometer for (SABC), Finweek, Carte Blanche, CNBC South African business, applying a Harvard Africa and Thomson Reuters. He is a Business School (HBS) research instrument member of the Council of Elders of the and engaging with over 8.000 employees Institute of Stakeholder Relations Southern from 15 of SA’s leading companies. Africa (ISRSA). He has spoken at international business He holds a MA from Trinity College, schools such as HEC Paris, Baruch College Cambridge University. in New York and Nottingham Business School and participated in international The Association to Advance Collegiate leadership forums including the World Schools