Vuslat Bayoglu is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of mining investment company Menar, which has controlling stakes in Canyon Coal, Zululand Anthracite Colliery, Kangra and East Manganese. He holds an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and has almost 20 years of experience in the mining industry. During that period, he led the group’s subsidiaries from junior to mid-tier status through organic growth and acquisitions.
Bayoglu is a hands-on investor with a keen interest in bettering the South African economy. He is actively involved in seeking solutions to key issues faced by South Africa. Bayoglu also serves on the board of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) and recently became a director sitting on the board of the World Coal Association.

Chief Executive Officer at the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), Niveshen advocates for a thriving wind energy sector in South Africa with local participation and beneficiation at the heart of its development. Enhancing SAWEA’s focus on policy advocacy and lobbying, Niveshen represents the united voice of the wind energy sector and is working towards policy and regulatory certainty while achieving social, environmental and economic impact on behalf of the SAWEA membership. With twelve years in the green economy environment, Niveshen has a diverse knowledge base and depth of experience, which ranges from carbon management and climate change to flagship energy project implementation as well as formulating and applying energy policy. Furthermore, his most recent position as COO at SAPVIA represents his passion for renewable energy and showcases his tireless dedication to advocating on behalf of members through engagement with government on various levels. Niveshen has successfully championed the development and implementation of a voluntary quality mechanism, the PV GreenCard, a programme based on skills development, standardization and documentation for small-scale embedded generation. He continues to spearhead the development of industry-led programmes to support the just energy transition. Niveshen contributes on a global level having served as a board member on the Global Solar Council and now supports the Global Wind Energy Council. He is actively involved in the African Task Force, sharing learning across the region. He further provides a mentorship role on various platforms to new businesses and entrants into the RE space.

Nikisi Lesufi is a Senior Executive: Environment, Health and Legacies at the Minerals Council South Africa, responsible for the coordination for the Coal Leadership Forum, member of the Presidential Commission on Climate Change and Council member of the South African Colliery Managers Association (SACMA). He studied for a BPharm degree at the then University of the North (now University of Limpopo), his BSc (Hons) from the University of Leicester, and his MSc from the University College London, University of London. He lectured in Medical Microbiology to Pharmacy and Optometry students at the then University of the North.  He served the National Department of Health as Deputy Director: Environmental Health, Food and Chemical Safety. He also served the then Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) in various capacities (Deputy Director: Water Quality, Director: Water Resources Management and Head of the regional office of the then DWAF in the Free State). He is a former non-executive director on the board of the National Nuclear Regulator, a former member of the management committee of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (Mine Water Division), a former member of the Environmental Advisory Board of Limpopo. He is the Premier of Limpopo’s Employment Growth and Development Advisory Council and Patron and Trustee of the Tembisa Child and Family Welfare Society.

Dan Mashigo has been with Eskom for 26 years, mostly in power generation. His senior management role in Eskom was a Power Station Manager for about 6 years before joining the Primary Energy Division in 2009 as Senior Manager Coal. In the Primary Energy Division, he occupied various roles, including Senior Manager Coal Contracts, Project Portfolio Manager, Acting General Manager Coal Operations and Business Improvement Project Lead. In 2017 he was transferred to the subsidiary company, Eskom Rotek Industries, in the role of General Manager Operations until his appointment in April 2018 as Acting Senior General Manager, Primary Energy.  In April 2019 he was appointed as General Manager, Primary Energy.

Matthew Mflathelwa is the General Manager of Strategy and Planning in Eskom Holdings and is responsible for developing Eskom’s long-term strategy, negotiating Eskom’s compact with the shareholder, developing the corporate plan and the associated capital allocation for Eskom’s line businesses. Over the past 12 years, Matthew has held multiple roles within Eskom, ranging from operating and maintenance engineering at coal power stations to providing strategic advisory support to executives, across multiple business areas within the Eskom group. He has worked on a number of nuanced projects including several organisational turnaround initiatives and, most recently, developing the business case for Eskom’s transition towards cleaner energy.

TFR Chief Executive, Sizakele Mzimela, joined the Transnet Executive Team in April 2020 and is tasked with overseeing the division that provides rail infrastructure and operates rail services over major corridors to transport commodities for export, regional and domestic markets. Sizakele is a seasoned business executive with 30 years’ global experience across diverse industries in the public and private sectors. Sizakele began her career at Standard bank and later worked for Total SA before moving into aviation. She is the former Group CEO of South African Airways, which at the time was the continent’s largest airline with presence in more than 40 international locations. Her experience in logistics also includes the chairing of a listed logistics company over and above her executive management of other regional and domestic airline carriers. Sizakele’s extensive experience in running complex logistical entities have held her in good stead as she leads the turnaround, growth and development of Transnet Freight Rail, Transnet’s largest operation division. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Statistics degree from the University of Swaziland, a certificate in Management from Henley College and  is a graduate of the Transnet Executive Development Programme (GIBS). She has completed a number of other programmes at GIBS, the London School of Economics and Cambridge University, to mention a few. Sizakele is the current Vice President of the Southern African Rail Association (SARA).

July Ndlovu is the CEO of Thungela Resources and a coal miner at heart. He was previously the CEO of Anglo American’s Coal business before it was demerged and listed on the JSE and LSE. After starting at Anglo American as a graduate trainee, in 2001, he transferred to Anglo American Platinum, where he was first appointed Business Manager of the Polokwane Smelter, then Executive Head of processing. He spent some time at Anglo American subsidiaries in Zimbabwe in several senior managerial positions in metallurgical operations, and technical services. While working to make a difference, July demands high standards and delivering on commitments; his leadership style is respectful and fair, serving and supporting the people he works with. July graduated with honours in Engineering and Business Leadership from the Universities of Zimbabwe and South Africa, respectively. He also completed the Columbia Business School's Senior Executive Programme. In 2020 July was appointed as the Chairman of the World Coal Association (WCA), tasked with ensuring that the organisation meets both customers’ needs and society’s expectations of it, including working together to deliver a new era of clean technologies.

Steve Nicholls is the recently appointed Head of Mitigation at South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission.  In this role Steve works with a range of stakeholders to reach consensus on net-zero pathways for each sector of the economy built on a strong fact base, while supporting capacity building and cooperation within the modelling community in South Africa.  Understanding future competitive economies and what kind of investments are required to enhance South Africa’s economic competitiveness while creating employment and reducing inequality and poverty is his key focus.  Steve maintains an ongoing advisory role to the National Business Initiative supporting their Just Transition Pathways work. Steve’s past experience is in connecting climate issues with economic impact and therefore building the strategic case for integrating climate considerations into economic planning, strategy, risk management, investment planning, policy development and implementation. Prior to joining the PCC, Steve led the environment and society programmes at the National Business Initiative.  In this role, Steve ran the programmes that harnessed the collective effort of South African businesses across the areas of energy, climate change, and water.  Steve has worked in the consulting industry in the United Kingdom and South Africa and has worked on projects in Europe and Southern and East Africa.  He has worked across several sectors including mining, telecoms, government, electrical energy, oil and gas, financial services and retail. 

Dr Nombasa Tsengwa started her career in the mining industry in 2003 when she joined the then, Kumba Resources as the General Manager Safety Health and Environment. With the unbundling of Kumba and the inception of Exxaro Resources, she was appointed as Executive General Manager Safety and Sustainable Development. In 2010 she was appointed as Regional General Manager Coal Tied Collieries, overseeing three underground and four opencast operations. In 2015 she was appointed as acting Executive Head Coal Operations before formally taking hold of this position in May 2016. In this position she was responsible for oversight in the operations and functioning of the Coal Business and its ventures managed by Exxaro Coal. In this position she was also responsible for the marketing and logistics of all products. In July 2020, Dr Tsengwa was appointed as Managing Director Minerals, a new division, which was an expansion of her Coal and FerroAlloys portfolio to included new low carbon minerals. In March 2021 Dr Tsengwa was appointed CEO Designate, until she moved into the role of CEO from 1 August 2022 with the retirement of Mxolisi Mgojo. Before she joined Kumba, Dr Tsengwa worked in various South African Government departments, amongst others, as Deputy Director General of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Dr Tsengwa is a member of the Exxaro Board and serves on the Board of the Minerals Council of South Africa. Previously, Dr Tsengwa served on the Astral Foods Pty.Ltd. Board of Directors as a non-Executive Director for nine years (2008-2017), during the last two years, she was also the Chairperson of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nominations Committee. In 2017, Dr Tsengwa was awarded the coveted Standard Bank Business Woman of the Year Award. This was followed by the Winner of the “Africa ‘s Most Influential Woman in Business and Government - Mining Industry Category” at the Pan African Awards in 2018. Exxaro Resources applauded her outstanding leadership and her role in advancing women in the workplace by awarding her an Evergreen Award in the category CEO Special Nomination in 2018. Dr Tsengwa believes in a balanced lifestyle with regular exercises. She is a keen runner and finished nine Comrades marathons.

Mark is a founder of Infra Impact Investment Managers, a specialist investment management company focusing on waste, water, renewable energy and digital infrastructure. Mark was previously founder and Head of Mergence Investment Managers’ unlisted investments business where he launched and managed numerous impact investing funds in a number of different jurisdictions.  He has more than 22 years of experience in capital and investment markets. Mark has received numerous ABSIP awards for his role as a leader in alternative asset management.