Alumni in the spotlight in January 2022
- Wits Alumni Relations
Catch up on a roundup of Witsie awards, appointments and newsmakers from the past month.
Awards
ENSafrica chairperson Michael Katz (BCom 1965, LLB 1967, LLD honoris causa 1998) was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Chambers and Partners at its Chambers Africa 2022 virtual ceremony, held on 13 January 2022.
Professor Leslie Michael Irwig (BSc 1967, MBBCh 1970, PhD 1986), personal chair in epidemiology at Sydney Medical School, received the Member of the Order of Australia for his significant service to tertiary education as an epidemiologist.
Appointments
Kramer Levin in New York appointed Mendel Trapedo (BCom 2000, LLB 2002) to special counsel.
Ann Leepile (BCom 2002) was appointed Alexander Forbes CEO. 
She has previously served as the Alexander Forbes Investments head of global manager research and deputy chief investment officer. She joined Alexander Forbes after heading Absa Asset Management for six years during which she grew the business to one of the largest asset managers in South Africa.
Broll Auction and Sales CEO Norman Raad (BCom 1995) will serve a five-year term on Wits’ Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Industry Advisory Board.
Justice Jody Kollapen (BProc 1978, LLB 1982) was sworn in as a judge at the Constitutional Court.
Chris Griffith announced the appointment of Richard Butcher (GDE 1999, MSc Eng 2001) as gold miner Gold Fields’ chief technical officer.
The Department of Water and Sanitation appointed Dr Sean Phillips (MSc Eng 1992, PhD 1994, MM 1998) as director-general.
Gennao Bio announced Dr Joseph McIntosh (BSc 1994, MBBCh 1998) as its chief medical officer. He has more than 16 years of drug development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.
ReViral announced that Brett Haumann (MBBCh 1994) has joined the company as chief medical officer.
Nonkululeko Boikhutso (MBBCh 2005, MMed 2012) was officially appointed as CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.
Veteran educator Ilana Zar Picker (BA 1992, PDipEd 1992, BSc OT 1996) has been named the incoming director of the Rabbi Mark and Linda Karasick Shalem High School at Ma’ayanot High School for Girls in Teaneck in the United States.
A few Witsies were appointed as members of the third 20-or-so strong National Planning Commission (NPC): Tanya Cohen (BA 1992, LLB 1993, LLM 1996), Professor Mark Swilling (BA 1982, BA Hons 1983), Nikiwe Bikitsha (BA Hons 2010, MA 2017), Professor Mohammed Jahed (LLB 2014, PDM 2018, LLM 2020) Dr Tshepo Feela (PhD 2020), Pearl Pillay (BA 2013, BA 2014, MA 2017), Sue Bannister (BSc TRP 1994), Mary Metcalfe (DipEd 1982, Med 1990) and Joanne Yawitch (BA 1978, BA Hons 1979, MA 1984). The NPC is a government agency established in 2010 responsible for strategic planning. The third Commission, according to Minister Mondli Gungubele, “is expected to provide thought leadership, evidence-based advice, foresight and futuristic planning as well as sustainable solutions that inspire and guide the national development trajectory”.
Themba Maseko (BA 1982, LLB 1993) was appointed as new executive education director of the Wits School of Governance. He told BizNews that he felt vindicated by the release of the State Capture Report (Part 1) on 4 January 2022.
Lael Bethlehem (BA 1990, BA Hons 1991, MA 1994) was appointed senior executive responsible for environmental, social and governance affairs at Sedibelo Platinum Mines. She will focus on renewable energy and decarbonisation of operations. She is former director of economic development at the City of Johannesburg, chair of City Power, and CEO of the Johannesburg Development Agency.
Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (DLitt honoris causa 2019) was appointed as Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg.
Newsmakers
CEO of Teraco Jan Hnizdo (BCom 1992, BAcc 1995) discussed the boon in the data-centre business in Africa.
He has been at Teraco Data Environments for most of its 13 years of existence and has been the CEO for about the last three.
Gavin Rochussen (BCom 1981, BAcc 1983) CEO of Polar Capital, shared how he has managed to grow the company’s assets organically, despite the pandemic.
Shau Mafuna (BSc Eng 2016) joined the Mercedes-Benz High Performance Powertrains team that works behind the Formula One motor racing outfit as a mechanical engineer. Read more about him here.
Fulufhelo Nelwamondo (BSc 2005, PhD 2008), CEO of the National Research Foundation, was profiled in the January edition of the South African Journal of Science.
Dr Ingrid Avidon (MSc PhD 2008) ascended and descended the Westcliff stairs in Johannesburg 177 times marking the beginning of her 12-month extreme adventure challenge. Through her efforts, the former physiology lecturer from Wits, will sponsor endurance women athletes who do not have sufficient access to infrastructure, resources, and support.
Kimberley Taylor (BSc Eng 2016) made headlines with the launch of her own company Loop, which started as a third-year chemical engineering assignment at Wits in 2015. Her app optimises better interaction for those involved in the supply chain – the business, the driver and the customer.
Wits alumnus Patrick Soon-Shiong (MBBCh 1975) launched a vaccine plant that will produce a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses a year in Cape Town by 2025, which would make it the biggest such factory in Africa and could help the least vaccinated continent tackle the pandemic. Professor Glenda Gray (MBBCh 1986) shared the significance of the new factory with CapeTalk and how the investment will help the economy and the country’s health status.
Taynita Harilal (BA 2019, BA Hons 2020, MM 2021) launched the Evolution of Youth Entrepreneurship development programme. The project targets grade 11 pupils for mentoring, training and educational projects.
Shudufhadzo Musida (BA Hons 2021) is among the contestants who have been invited to return to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 12 March 2022 to continue her quest to be crowned the 70th Miss World on 16 March 2022.
Yandiswa Xhakaza (BEd 2010, PDM 2017), the University of Cape Town’s Online High School director and principal shared her vision and impact it is having in the secondary schooling market.