A network of associates chosen for outstanding expertise and skills
We work with a select group of independent associates chosen because of outstanding expertise and skills, to augment the range of services and topics we offer clients.These include leadership development, strategy, quality assurance, food safety, management and skills development, values and ethics, diversity and gender, marketing, employment equity and Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET).
Besides the diversity that team members bring in terms of experience, services and skills, this enriches all of us through knowledge sharing and joint development of new approaches.This also enables us to compose the optimal teams for different assignments - both in innovation and the other areas in which Truida Prekel Consultants have an established track record.
To read more about each individual, click on their names.
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The
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Truida and Lu-Marie celebrate together. Truida leads the team in the
Cape, and Lu-Marie in Gauteng
Creative problem-solving, innovation and change management are Truida's main areas of practice. She and her associates mainly use the SynNovation approach, based on the internationally renowned Synectics process, which they have adapted and combined with other approaches, to provide a Total Innovation Programme (TIP). The TIP addresses strategic and operational issues both innovatively and practically - while also building a positive climate and a range of skills that promote creativity, collaboration and communication.
She uses this very effective process as an innovation catalyst, to energise staff as they develop novel strategies and products; in change, transformation and conflict management; and to promote co-operative problem-solving and eager implementation of shared action plans. It works well in businesses of various sizes, in government departments and in communities. She currently also works with others, using the approach to promote safety and security and promote "togetherness" in the very diverse communities in the greater Muizenberg area in Cape Town, where she lives. (See www.safertogether.org.za)
Her other areas of expertise and interest are skills development, team effectiveness, interpersonal relations, gender and diversity management, communication, and personal and career development of individuals. She pioneered work on the development of the management potential of South African women in the 1970s, does individual coaching, and assists corporate and professional couples to bring life, family and career together effectively.
She has played - and still plays - an active role in transformation in South Africa. She served in the National Skills Authority, the National Training Board, the Services SETA, Sanlam Employee Benefits Transformation Board, and various women's and community organisations. Past board appointments include the South African Revenue Service Advisory Board (appointed by Cabinet mainly to assist SARS in its transformation), the TCTA (Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority - Lesotho Highland Water Project), Project Literacy (adult literacy initiative), WOW (Women of the World), the Agri Academy (development of emerging farmers) and Muizenberg Improvement District (MID).
She and her associates use the Synectics / SynNovation process to assist firms of various sizes, government departments, educationists, non-profit organisations and communities to address challenges in new ways. Clients include FASSET (the Finance SETA), BIDFood Ingredients, Old Mutual, Anglo American, Sasol, Sanlam, Nampak, Eskom and the City of Johannnesburg. She was at the UNISA School of Business Leadership for 17 years, first as manager of marketing and public relations, then lecturing in management for ten years. An independent consultant since 1988, she has published widely mainly in the fields of innovation and gender, and guest-lectures at several universities and business schools. She was an associate lecturer in Creativity, Innovation and Change on the MBA of the UK-based Open University.
Truida completed a BA at Stellenbosch University in 1960, and holds a Higher Education Diploma from Pretoria University. In 1977 she completed the Master of Business Leadership at UNISA with distinction, receiving the SBL Board Gold Medal as best student. She also received the Four Outstanding Young South Africans (FOYSA) award for 1978 and 1979, and several other awards.
Because of her interest in cultural diversity, people development and music, she served for five years on the board of MIAGI (Music Is A Great Investment), www.miagi.co.za, the International Classical Music Festival, which brings together the best in classical African and Western music and jazz, promotes music education and social development among the youth as a tool for social transformation, and brings people from different cultures together to share the joy of music. She is also a director of the Richard Wagner Society of Africa, also to promote classical music and talented young local musicians.
Lu-Marie discusses an exercise with Old Mutual actuaries during a Toolbox workshop
Lu-Marie has many work-related interests and likes to keep a balance between work that requires analytical thinking and work that requires creative thinking.
She primarily focuses on the following
three areas
Creativity,
innovation and change
Quality management
system auditing and consulting
Training.
Creativity and innovation
As co-founder of SynNovation Solutions, she is excited to work in the
field of creative problem-solving and innovation as consultant, facilitator
and trainer of innovation skills. "It is great to see people discover
for themselves their hidden creative abilities and to see groups of
people learn to solve problems together and to find new solutions and
adopt a more fun, productive way of working together long after our
facilitation or training".
The firm uses the SynNovation approach, based on the internationally renowned Synectics process, which they have adapted and combined with other approaches to provide a Total Innovation Programme (TIP). The TIP addresses strategic and operational issues both innovatively and practically - while also building a positive climate and skills that promote creativity and collaboration. The process works well for innovation - to develop new products, for customer- focused innovation and solving problems with novel solutions, and to achieve culture change - to energise people, change the work climate, implement and manage company change, and overcome conflict.
Quality Management systems
Lu-Marie has had wide experience in the food industry since 1988. With
a background in Food Science she is still very active in the food industry
as an expert in management systems that promote quality and product
safety in food and beverage production, and encourage continuous improvement.
This keeps her analytical brain happy. The standards she is qualified
to work in are ISO 9001, SANS 10330, ISO 22 000, PAS 220, BRC Food,
BRC IOP.
She helps companies with practical implementation of standards and does certification audits with leading certification bodies.
Training
Lu-Marie also enjoys developing and presenting novel training material.
She skilfully combines creative and analytical thinking skills in her
training. She has developed training material in all areas of her expertise
including quality, food safety and innovation. She custom makes training
material to suit the needs of individual clients, for example a custom
made HACCP course for Coca-Cola to equip bottling plants across Africa
to implement HACCP, and an auditing course for the SA Bureau of Standards.
She has also been selected as a facilitator to present training for
Duke Corporate Education as part of a major change programme.
Lu-Marie holds a degree in Food Science from the University of Pretoria. After she had worked for Nampak R&D and SGS Foods division, monitoring all Pick 'n Pay suppliers, she started as an independent consultant in 1995.
She is married and has twin boys. In her free time she likes to work on projects that promote safety in her community, using the creative problem solving approach.
Heinz is a retired management consultant in the areas of quantitative management, decision-making techniques and innovation. As a founder member of SynNovation Solutions he used to facilitate innovation and change workshops but now concentrates on assisting the SynNovation team with statistical analyses of research data, and management and administrative aspects, such as reports, proposals and Powerpoint presentations.
Heinz was professor of quantitative management at the Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) of the University of South Africa for 18 years, where he taught and consulted on: Computer simulation of business processes and Multi-criteria decision-making - a computer-aided technique to facilitate selection among several alternatives on the basis of ill-defined and often conflicting criteria, and use of business statistics and tools such as decision trees and linear programming to improve risk management and quality of business decisions and products, . He has also taught on the ABSA Growth Network MBA programme, presented country-wide by interactive satellite television.
Before joining the SBL, Heinz was manager and executive board member of Metrication in South Africa, where he was responsible for managing the country's transition to the metric system - one of the largest change programmes initiated in South Africa. He has also advised several other countries on the management of similar change processes.
He holds an Engineering Diploma from Pretoria Technical College, a B Sc. in Mathematics and Physics, an M Sc. in Physics and a D Sc. in Metal Physics from the University of Pretoria, and a Master in Business Leadership from UNISA. Other career experience includes lecturing engineering physics at Pretoria University; being research associate in physical metallurgy at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, USA; a visiting professorship at the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, USA; guest professorship at WITS Graduate School of Business, and visiting researcher and consultant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Materials Flow and Logistics in Dortmund, Germany.
His main areas of expertise and interest, in which he both trained and consulted, are:
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Creative problem-solving and innovation using the highly effective SynNovation approach to achieve effective change with high levels of collaboration. |
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Computer simulation of business processes and Multi-criteria decision-making - a computer-aided technique to facilitate selection among several alternatives on the basis of ill-defined and often conflicting criteria. |
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Use of business statistics and tools such as decision trees and linear programming to improve risk management and quality of business decisions and products. |
Melanie explains
the finer points of the open-mindedness exercise to two Crown National
staffers
Melanie Burke left full-time corporate employment in 2005 to start her own company, MAB and Associates (Pty) Ltd - a company that focuses on transformation and technology solutions for social development and business support.
Melanie also coaches and builds capacity through her role as senior programme director at Common Purpose, an organisation that facilitates leadership development. Other company directorships include Vermaas Weeks Partners and Associates (Pty) Ltd.
Melanie has some 20 years experience in the financial services and technology fields and has expertise in most areas of business. She holds an international Master of Business Administration (MBA), specialising in Information Technology, as well as Project Management and Marketing qualifications. Melanie is a qualified Diversity Management Consultant and holds a Diversity Management Diploma from Wits Graduate School of Public Development Management and is active in diversity interventions in organisations. She was recognized for her ability in this field as a recipient of the Excellence in Diversity award. Melanie is also a winner in the Cape IT Initiative's Women in ICT Awards as well as a two-time finalist in the Technology Top 100 Awards; both these accolades achieved within 18 months of starting her business. Melanie is considered a leading subject matter expert in the field of Contract Management and is a regular speaker at conferences on the subject. She is also a qualified OutComms™ Facilitator.
She is also well-known for her philanthropy and has recently been recognised as a Nedbank Local Hero for her work with StreetSmart SA as well as being nominated in the social development category of the Shoprite/Checkers Women of the Year 2008. Melanie was shortlisted for a Nelson Mandela Rhodes Foundation Harvard Fellowship in 2008. She is a finalist in the Business Women's Association Regional Achievers Awards in the Social Entrepreneurship category for 2010.
Melanie's areas of expertise in business and consulting include account management, vendor management, channel management (including training), marketing and brand management, training, innovation/development/product management, project management, strategic management, sales strategy, business process re-engineering and contract management.
Melanie serves on the boards of StreetSmart
South Africa www.streetsmartsa.org.za
(since 2004), a public benefit organisation that supports initiatives
for street children and is also the Chair of Safer Together www.safertogether.org.za
(since 2009) which supports community safety initiatives. She also
serves on the boards of Umthombo Wesizwe Children's Fund www.umthombofund.org
and Symphonia for South Africa since 2010.
Karen
(right) with Christine Merkel from UNESCO, Germany – together during
a WITS! workshop
Karen is an independent consultant specialising in economic and community development, and in particular in promoting innovation in strategic management in the public and non-governmental sectors. She is also a skilled facilitator and trainer.
Her current work profile includes providing direct long-term support to the Dr JS Moroka local and Ugu district municipalities through the undertaking of economic and social analyses, institutional analyses, the design of development strategies and the implementation of projects. This work involves extensive stakeholder engagement and management processes. She has also worked on multi-disciplinary teams as the economic and social development resource, and has been sub-contracted to participate in government programme reviews, such as the Expanded Public Works Programme, the Co-operative Support programme in the Western Cape, the Decentralization Framework for the Western Cape, and the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy. Karen works closely with an associate, Jacqui Boulle, and together they have built up relationships with non-government sector clients that involve ongoing management support, monitoring and evaluation of programmes and training.
Prior to establishing her own consultancy, Karen was Executive Director: Community and Developmental Services of the Cape Winelands District Municipality. She was responsible for delivery of personal primary health care services, municipal health services, social development programmes, and the promotion of economic development. She also managed the process of transforming and extending a lay health worker programme into a social development programme that is fundamental to the Cape Winelands human security interventions, covering TB prevention, alcohol abuse prevention, HIV/AIDs prevention and management, food security and early childhood development.
She managed the development of a Growth and Development Strategy for the Cape Winelands and designed and implemented programmes addressing small business development, tourism marketing , product development and business opportunity identification, and skills development..
Karen's previous work experience includes the Department of Provincial and Local Government, Pretoria (Local Economic Development, and Capacity Building); management of projects to decide on the division of ministerial powers and functions in municipalities; the University of Natal, Durban, independent consultancy work in Kwazulu Natal; conflict resolution with the Natal regional office of the National Peace Accord; the University of Cape Town Community Health Department, and an NGO working with refugees.
She has published various papers on issues such as the problems women face within and when entering small businesses, globalisation and the clothing industry, economic development and health management.
Karen obtained a Master of Development Studies (MA) Cum Laude at the University of Natal, Durban, and won the prize for the top Masters student in the year 1995-96, and received a prize to further her doctoral studies. Previously she did a BA(Hons) in African Studies at the University of Cape Town, and a BA at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. She did various other short courses including conflict management, project management, strategic planning, and the Executive Management Development Course, University of Stellenbosch.
She has been involved in leadership positions in various community initiatives including women's issues, rape crisis centres, and addressing current social, economic and political issues.
Teamwork:
Bertus with Lu-Marie and Stella collecting ideas from participants during
a workshop at Diversity High School
Bertus Louw is editor at a children's newspaper, film-maker, movie critic, relief worker and nature guide. Since 1992 he was involved with leadership development for teenagers in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East. He has done relief work in Northern Iraq, Mozambique, Sudan, Turkey, Iran and Indonesia and plays an important role in Global Relief, a South African NGO that focuses on natural disasters such as earthquakes.
Since 1999 Bertus was part of various Global Relief teams who trained South African, Turkish, Armenian, Iranian and Indonesian relief workers. He also played an important role in the development and presentation of a training course to equip Indonesian teachers in Aceh to help their learners who survived the 2004 tsunami deal with their trauma. He is currently studying Psychology through UNISA.
Bertus is also involved in the tourism sector where he works with various companies both in South Africa and Europe. He studied Film and Video Technology at the Technical University of Tshwane and participated in the production of a wide range of video and TV productions, including wild-life documentaries for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.
In 2004 he was involved in the founding of an electronic children's newspaper called J News (Junior News). He is currently co-editor of J News and is passionate about education and the empowerment of young people.
Sindiwe Magona is an author, poet, playwright, story-teller, actor, and inspirational speaker. After working for the United Nations for more than twenty years, she has relocated to her home country, South Africa, where she continues to write and work in various ways to assist with the development of people - particularly women and youth - and to promote social and economic transformation and intercultural understanding.
Having started her career as a school teacher, she moved to New York in 1981, first to study at Columbia University, where she obtained a Master's degree in Industrial Social Work. Her first ten years at the United Nations were in the Department of Public Information, where she worked in the Anti-Apartheid Radio Programmes.
She is probably best known for her novel, Mother to Mother, recently optioned by Universal Studios for a film on the life of Amy Biehl, and two autobiographical books, To My Children's Children and Forced to Grow. She has also published two collections of short stories: Living, Loving, and Lying Awake at Night; and Push-Push and Other Stories. LLLN is in the list of Africa's Best 100 Books of the 20th Century.
Magona has also been published in the New York Times, The Cape Times, The Sunday Times and The Cape Argus, as well as various magazines. Several of her short stories and essays have been anthologized. VUKANI!, an Aids play, has been performed in colleges, churches, and theatres in the United States.
The many awards she has received include an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York (1993); Fellowship of the New York Foundation for the Arts (Non-fiction category, 1997); and the Xhosa Heroes Award from the Xhosa Forum - Western Cape (1997).
Besides writers' conferences, Magona has given readings and addresses at numerous other international fora, including the United Nations, the Kennedy Centre, The Riverside Church, the Ford Foundation, Temple and Columbia Universities. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her work in women's issues, the plight of children, and the fight against apartheid and racism.
She
has started and is currently running a writers' workshop in Guguletu
- from which a collection of short stories - in isiXhosa - is being
compiled into a book.
.
Stella in conversation with a manager
of the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board during an innovation and
strategy workshop.
Stella M. Nkomo is a Professor in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Pretoria, in Pretoria, South Africa. Prior to joining the University of Pretoria she was the Bateman Distinguished Professor of Business Leadership at the University of South Africa's Graduate School of Business Leadership.
She is a former Scholar-in-Residence at Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College of Harvard University and Visiting Scholar at the Tuck Business School of Dartmouth College (USA). Her internationally recognized work on race and gender and managing diversity appears in numerous journals and edited volumes. She is co-author with Prof Ella L. J. Bell of the critically acclaimed Harvard Business School Press book, Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity, and the recently published, Courageous Conversations: A Collection of Interviews and reflections on responsible leadership by South African Captains of Industry. She is listed in the International Who's Who in the Management Sciences for her pioneering research on race and gender in organisations.
Stella is a sought after consultant, facilitator, and speaker. She is a certified facilitator and feedback expert. She has consulted with and assisted both profit and not-for-profit organisations with issues of diversity management, leadership development, leading change, managing human resources, and fostering innovation in the USA, in South Africa, and in Europe. Some of her recent clients include the Office on the Status of Women in the Presidency of South Africa, Mintek, Telkom, Vodacom, Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, Cumulus Division of Kentron, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Goldfields, Gijima, Ascent: Leading Multicultural Women to the Top, Transnet, ABSA, Accordia Foundation, Tshwane University of Technology, and Standard Bank.
Professor Nkomo served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Management, the premier association for business school scholars and educators. She is a past member of the executive board of the Human Resource Management Division and the former chair of the Women in Management Division of the Academy of Management. In 2009, she was nominated and ran for Vice- President Elect of the Academy of Management. She served a two-year term on the Board of Governors of the Center for Creative Leadership in the USA and was a member of the Council of the University of Venda (South Africa). In 2008, she was elected a member of the International Women's Forum of South Africa. She is the recipient of the 2009 Sage Scholarly Contributions Award (Academy of Management) for her contributions to gender and diversity research in organisations.
Ferose Oaten is the managing director and sole member of AVTS Roadworthy Stations. She is also the majority share-holding director of Sure Travel Foreshore as well as a small coach tour operation called Gold Star Travel. She serves as president of the RMI (Retail Motor Industry Organisation) and chairperson of the Businesswomen's Association (BWA) in the Cape , as well as being national vice-president of the BWA. She is also an experienced trainer and facilitator.
On a personal level, Ferose Oaten (ne é Chilwan), was born and raised in Athlone on the Cape Flats , the only daughter in a family of 7 children. Passenger transport was the family's main business as she was growing up. She studied Librarianship at UCT, and then worked at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station for 12 years, occupying positions ranging from information management to human resources, transport management and finally in quality process management. She also completed a SMP (Senior Management Programme) at the University of Stellenbosch Business School.
She left Koeberg at the end of 1992 to join AVTS as the test station manager, and took over the business, in a buy-out in 1997. Since then, she has grown the business from the one branch, to 7 branches in the greater Cape Town area, employing 78 members of staff. AVTS Roadworthy Stations is a privately owned vehicle testing operation based in Cape Town . It has become well-known as a pioneer in the industry, being the first of its kind in the Cape Peninsula . It is the only group of test stations in the country, where each branch has achieved ISO 9000 certification. It has also been recognized by Impumelelo in their Top 300 publication as an emerging empowerment company in 2004 and 2005
Ferose was recently elected national vice-president of the Businesswomen's Association and during her tenure as chairperson of the BWA in the Cape Region , membership has expanded dramatically, and a wide range of very creative events have been offered. She is also the regional chairman of the NVTA (National Vehicle Testing Association) affiliated to the RMI, and was elected as president of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) in August 2006, having taken over the position from Brand Pretorius. She previously served for five years on the boards of the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency, and before that, on the South African Roads Board, both appointments by the Minister of Transport.
Ferose is actively involved in the FREE SAFETY TEST campaigns, where all Cape NVTA members offer free safety critical tests to motorists 3 times per year, prior to the Easter, winter school holiday and festive periods.
She is 47 years old, married to Brian Oaten, who is an exceptionally supportive husband, and has a 25 year old daughter and an 18 year old son.
Dr Devi Rajab is an independent consultant and writer. Her areas of expertise include conflict resolution, personal and career development, gender and cultural diversity. She was Dean of Student Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal until December 2005, and has been appointed as the Career and Counselling Consultant for CAPRISA, an NGO doing research and development in the area of HIV / AIDS management.
Devi is a psychologist by training and was educated in South Africa and in the USA as a Fulbright scholar. She obtained her Master's degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Kansas and her PhD in Social Psychology from Missouri . She has several publications in international and local journals on women's issues, prejudice and inter-group relations, and serves on several Boards in community and educational organizations. She is a frequent guest speaker on women's issues, self-employment and conflict resolution skills and writes a weekly column for the Natal Mercury, entitled ‘Devi's Diary'. In March 2005, she was recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Durban Bay. This is one of the highest awards given by Rotary and is in recognition of Dr Rajab's exceptional insight into the status and changes in South African society.
She has had several grants to study abroad : The IIE (Institute of International Education) grant to study at Harvard University where she took courses in the Psychology of Guilt and Shame, the British Council Grant to study career development at Worcester College, Oxford, and the Henry Luce Foundation Grant to pursue leadership training in Denver, Colorado, where she worked in the Headstart Project with preschool children.
Devi has delivered papers at several international conferences. She has numerous publications in international and local journals on women's issues, prejudice and inter-group relations, and serves, or has served, on several boards in community and educational organisations. These include the Unisa Women's Studies Centre, the Independent Projects Trust, the Monitoring and Complaints Committee of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, Durban Girls College Board, the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Higher Education and the King George Hospital Board and the Advice Desk for Abused Women
As a psychologist and consultant, Devi sees her role in South Africa as offering training and development towards community and nation building, with particular emphasis on life-skills, cultural diversity and enhancing inter-group relations and gender issues, with regard to empowering women and promoting harmonious gender relations within the family.
Mabatho (centre) guides a discussion with a group of
Eskom Innovation champions that were trained by SynNovation
Mabatho studied an honours degree in Economics and Marketing from the University of Wales , Aberystwyth College and an MBA from Hull University . When she joined the financial services industry in 2001 she realized that she needed specialist understanding of the Industry and decided to further study an honours degree in Financial Analysis and Portfolio Management with the University of Cape Town.
Mabatho has extensive and diverse work experience mainly in marketing, strategy and asset management. She has a lot of experience working with entrepreneurs. She worked in Industrial Development and International Trade for 3 years with a focus on assisting SMME's access international markets. During this period, she also did an internship with Zimtrade. She worked in the Oil Industry for 3 years as a New Business Development Manager. Her responsibility was to promote Total in historically disadvantaged areas such as townships, informal settlements, taxi ranks and rural areas by empowering entrepreneurs in those areas to develop businesses around Total products. This included creating new distribution channels.
For 6 years, Mabatho worked in the Asset Management Industry. Her asset management experience includes two years in Private Equity for Old Mutual Asset Managers, where she was involved in deal sourcing, analyzing infrastructure projects and training on infrastructure asset management. She then spent the last 4 years as Head of New Business Development at Cadiz African Harvest Asset Management. She was the only female Director of Cadiz African Harvest Asset Management. She was responsible for establishing the marketing and business development team and the marketing platform of the then Cadiz Specialised Asset Management; creating visibility of the Cadiz Brand in the pension fund industry, developing relationships with key stakeholders and contributed to the growth of the company's assets under management and diversity of clients. She had responsibility for R50 bn of assets under management. Mabatho was also a member of the Cadiz Staff Fund Trustee Board. She also did market commentary on Radio Lesedi. In most of her leadership roles she also had responsibility to mentor young talent. She initiated a support group for women in asset management, whose focus was on empowering women with tools to deal with their corporate challenges better and personal mastery.
In March 2007, Mabatho left the asset management industry to pursue her passion. She formed The Bridge, which focuses on teaching on and facilitating personal mastery. She is still involved in investments through her directorship on SALT Capital, a women owned investment vehicle and in her role as an independent trustee on the RMA trustee board. Mabatho is also a management consultant, currently consulting on two major transitions of government departments into public entities.
Mabatho is a trained leadership trainer. She is also trained in teaching innovation. She is an associate of Learning to Lead, which focuses on leadership training and of Synnovation, which teaches on Innovation.
Marius van Niekerk
Executive Coach Marius van Niekerk has a diverse range of skills and more than 15 years of relevant work experience to apply which since 2007, includes coaching, facilitation of change and innovation, mentoring, consulting and training.
His niche is in coaching and mentoring in SMME’s in Cape Town where his interests include change management, leadership and entrepreneurship. Using workshops and one-to-one sessions he raises awareness and develops an increased sense of responsibility in his clients, allowing them to take control of their future. Marius has developed and presented courses including project management fundamentals, time management and self-management, project management for small businesses, and leadership styles and Emotional Intelligence.
Recent client interventions include executive coaching of small business owners and executive coaches, mentoring members of an NGO transitioning to a consultancy, and facilitation for creativity and sustainability.
Marius’s approach is based on Co-Active Coaching (GROW) and is therefore goal-orientated and action-based. He also draws inspiration from modern thought leaders as well as ancient methodologies that have stood the test of time. This allows for a deeper understanding of the alignment between leadership styles and personal character traits.
His qualifications include a Diploma in Personal & Business Coaching (Dip PBC) (ILI), and a Master’s Degree in Project Management(MPM) (UL), obtained while living and working in Ireland (2001-2008) before returning to South Africa. His MPM thesis was based on the role of the Change Manager in small and medium businesses.
His qualifications include a Diploma in Personal & Business Coaching (Dip PBC) (ILI), and a Master’s Degree in Project Management(MPM) (UL), obtained while living and working in Ireland (2001-2008) before returning to South Africa. His MPM thesis was based on the role of the Change Manager in small and medium businesses.
His industry experience further includes working in roles as general, operations, project and quality manager (ISO9000: 1994 - 2008) in cutting edge R&D companies after qualifying at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 1994 with a HND in ELEC ENG L/C. Marius is also a business owner, leading IT Force in Cape Town.
Although based in Cape Town, Marius is available for travel.
Sabine, founder of Kultur & Management (est. 1998 in Cologne ) with headquarters in Longmont , Colorado , USA , and a subsidiary in Frankfurt/Main, Germany , has focused her practice in the areas of cross-cultural learning, international business and change/creativity. The motto of Kultur & Management is Facilitating Global Insight, Creativity, and Action for Leaders, Teams, and Organisations . The business model is based on entrepreneurial networks and collaborations around the globe.
Sabine's perspective is deeply influenced by more than 20 years of international living and working experience, including several long-term international relocations, and by being an immigrant in the United States . Her formal education includes a B. A. from London University ( School of Oriental and African Studies) and Beijing Normal University in Chinese and History, and an M.A. from Brunel University in European Marketing Management. She is also a certified Public Relations consultant.
One of her key professional interests is creating room for creativity and innovation, especially in the context of cultural diversity, and supporting sustainable learning and change. This has also led her to become certified as a coach by the International Coaches Federation (ICF). She is a graduate of corporate and global executive coach training programs, and has developed a skill set that allows her to use individual, in-depth learning partnerships with leaders and change agents in addition to and often in combination with training, team development and facilitation methodologies.
Sabine has served clients in North America , Europe and East Asia . These clients have included large international corporations in the automotive, chemical, engineering, IT, pharmaceutical and professional services industries, as well as medium-sized and small businesses, city governments and non-profit organizations. In addition, she is guest professor on the MBA program at Jones International University , and has been involved in curriculum development at universities in the US and in Germany .
She is a former European Board member of SIETAR, the world's largest professional association for interculturalists, and enjoys dance, movement, the outdoors, and the arts.
Lize Booysen is professor of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at Antioch University (USA) teaching on the PhD program in Leadership and Change. She does research and consults in the fields of leadership, culture and diversity, and has published numerous articles and chapters nationally and internationally. She holds an MA in Clinical Psychology, (University of Johannesburg), an MA in Research Psychology, and an MA in Criminology (University of Pretoria) - all three cum laude. She completed her Doctorate in Business Leadership at University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1999 on The influences of race and gender on leadership attributes of South African managers. Lize is registered as both a Clinical and a Research Psychologist and has extensive practical experience.
Lize is also adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, as researcher and executive coach. She is Chair elect for the Business Leadership Member Interest Group of the International Leadership Association (ILA). She has been involved in the 12-nation Leadership Across Differences (LAD) research project steered by the CCL, since 2003 and was a LAD visiting scholar at the CCL from 2004 to 2008. From 1994 to 2003 she participated in the GLOBE 65-nations research project on leadership, national culture and organizational practices, steered by Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Lize has worked with Truida Prekel and Stella Nkomo for many years in consulting on gender, diversity and change issues, and is trained in the SynNovation process. As a facilitator, she has an unusual ability to actively involve participants, and to make complex and sensitive issues accessible and even enjoyable.
Prior to her positions at Antioch University and the CCL, Lize was full professor at the School of Business Leadership (SBL), UNISA, where she lectured to MBA and DBA students since 1992. She also held several management positions at the SBL. She served on the SBL Board of directors from 1999 to 2006, and over time held the portfolios Director Human Resources Development, Academic Director and Research Manager at the SBL. She was editor of the South African Journal of Labour Relations from 2006 to 2008.
She has received numerous national and international awards for her work, including the Globe Research Award, 1997 for her contribution to social science study of International Leadership and Organisational Behaviour, Best paper award, at the 25th Organisational Behaviour Teaching Conference, 10-13 June, 1998. La Verne University, California. USA, SBL Researcher of the year 1999, and merit awards 2000 and 2007. She is included as one of 50 role models for South African women and as leadership expert in the book Inspirational Women @ Work, (2003). Lize was the joint recipient, with Stella Nkomo, of the Best academic career achievement at Unisa awarded during the Unisa 150 year celebrations honouring its women, August 2004, and won the Excellent Teamwork Award: Global Leadership & Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research project (GLOBE) for the publication Culture Leadership & Organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 Societies, which was awarded the 2005 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace. Lize has also has won the 2010 Best Professor In Organisational Behaviour Award to be conferred at the World HRD Congress & Innovation Summit 2011, Mumbai, in February, 2012.
Lize serves as external examiner at masters and doctoral level for most South African Business Schools, and Economic and Management Faculties. She is a member of review panels of numerous scholarly journals and panels, and currently serves on the editorial board of the SA Business Review, SA Journal of Labour Relations and Management Today. Besides extensive consulting in South African public and private organisations, she regularly works with international organizations, such as IPFA (Institute for Public Financial Accountants), ESAAG (East Africa Association for Accountant Generals), the Swedish Institute for Development in Africa and Catalyst, a North American Gender and Leadership Research Institution.
Christine is a former HR Director with
over 20 years' experience. Based in the United Kingdom, she now works
mainly in the areas of innovation facilitation, change management and
creativity training. Until recently, Chris also spent several years
first in South Africa, and then in Australia, where she also broadened
her experience in the areas of innovation and human resource management.
She has many years experience working with the Synectics body of knowledge.
Then also based in the UK, she worked all over Europe, in the United
States and as far afield as Japan. Synectics is a very powerful process
facilitation used when people or companies want to create something
'new' - and make it happen.
Some typical applications are:
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Developing and communicating ‘big' messages, for example a new strategy |
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Winning commitment (like to a new strategy!) |
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Getting an organisation's people to work together to achieve results |
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New product development and Innovating with your consumers (market opinion and invention all rolled into one) |
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Naming products and services |
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Conflict resolution, particularly after mergers and acquisitions |
As well as having a lot of experience designing and delivering these methodologies in many organisations (working in such diverse areas as xeolitic calciners through insurance to chocolate bars!), she has also held management and senior HR positions in the hotel industry and emerging technology companies. Chris has also worked as an assistant to the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs.
Currently Chris is developing her new idea of bringing life coaching to those who are not able to afford private sessions. This involves working in groups and includes a "coaching club" in which delegates "buddy up" to support each other's progress. She has found ways of using the Synectics BOK to enable people to think creatively about how to achieve their dreams.
Dr Retha Scheepers 's main areas of expertise are innovation in large organisations, corporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in the SME sector. She completed her PhD in 2007, which focused on the tendency of South African businesses to engage in innovative and entrepreneurial activities, as well as their internal processes and organisational cultures. She has written several academic articles and conference papers on this topic.
Her other areas of expertise and interest are entrepreneurship and small business management, especially as organisations move through different stages of growth. She was also involved with Global Entrepreneurship Monitor for South African enterprises in 2005.
Retha is currently employed at the University of Stellenbosch , where she lectures in entrepreneurship, small business management, innovation and corporate entrepreneurship. She also serves as the Director at the University of Stellenbosch of the “Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Programme in South Africa” (EESA - see www.sun.ac.za/eesa), where the University of Stellenbosch together with Syracuse University, New York, assist emerging entrepreneurs around the Cape Town area, based in Khayetlitsha, Kayamandi, Phillipi and Bellville to grow their businesses through educating students as business consultants. The EESA programme has been running since 2005 and more than 60 emerging entrepreneurs have been assisted by improving their business operations in four tangible ways.
Dr Scheepers completed a BCom (Communication), Honours BCom (Business Management) cum laude and MCom (Marketing Management) at the PU for CHE in 1994, 1995 and 2000 respectively. After working in the private sector for five years, Retha returned to work for the University of Stellenbosch to complete her doctoral studies in 2007. She was awarded a Thuthuka bursary to complete her PhD-studies and has also received further grants to continue post-doctoral research on the Management of Innovation for the next three years.
Claudia, founder of Cologne-based Cenandu Learning Agency, is a partner in a wide European network of experienced change and knowledge management consultants and facilitators. She is a specialist in learning and communications and previously worked for Celemi in Sweden for several years. Since 1997, Claudia developed a deep interest in both change and knowledge management from 1997, focusing particularly on the human aspects of knowledge sharing and communities of interest and practice.
Using Celemi simulations like Tango and
Programme and Project Management, she has worked in Germany , Switzerland
, Belgium and the UK . She has excellent marketing and communications
skills, having worked as director of communication and as media spokesperson
for several large organisations.
In the 1990's she gained experience in a wide range of marketing and
communication assignments including corporate identity, PR and internal
communications - including Mannesmann Arcor in telecommunications, plastics
recycling with “Green Dot”, going public of the German Postbank,
and environmental communication at the German automobile Club ADAC.
Claudia has a background in Anthropology
and Sociology and is interested in living systems and system theory.
She is a certified economist.
She is deeply involved in economics training for non-economists and
gives people a holistic view about value and key indicators to measure
success. She has done hundreds of trainings with Celemi simulations,
all exploring business acumen and the wealth of an organisation.
She believes that every person can learn if s/he wants to. The most
important piece is the understanding of a ‘big picture'. All her training
is interactive. She uses simulations to let people gain the experience
by themselves and, getting a common basis of business in this way, they
can transfer the learning into their own situations.
She is currently working with large corporates to improve their skills to communicate their strategies to their own people. As a change consultant, Claudia partners Celemi AB in Sweden , and together they create customised change and value programmes. The many networks in which Claudia is involved include the European Management Development Network, where she now serves her second term as EWMD international president. The focus is on women in leadership, diversity, gender and cultural issues.