Ms Letsoalo  - Supply Chain Coach, thought leader and currently a Chief Executive of Sincpoint

Sincpoint is an organisation focusing on sustainable supply chain advisory, logistics and capacity development solutions. Lebo has above 21 years of experience in supply chain, having held various executive portfolios within the energy, chemicals, transport and mining industries. Her roles included that of Vice President of Supply Chain at Sasol.

Lebo founded the African Women in Supply Chain Association (AWISCA), tthe first and only association in Southern Africa focusing on functional mentorship and coaching in supply chain to build skills and capacity in the sector.

She currently serves in 6 boards and also continues to be a thought leader advocating on all portfolios of supply chain, from procurement to logistics (various modes of transport), influencing positive change in supply chain within organisations.

Rae Vivier - Head: Accreditation and Licensing:SARS

Rae has had a varied career with the SARS, most of it in the Customs Division. Rae’s current portfolio includes Customs Accreditation, and she is currently spearheading the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme with specific focus on developing a Single Regional AEO Programme in the South African Customs Union (SACU), a Single Government AEO Programme and, more recently,  AEO opportunities within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) that brings together 54 African countries with a combined population of more than one billion people and a combined gross domestic product of more than US $3.4 trillion.

She is an accomplished leader experienced in large business operations in more than 30 localities. She is passionate about trade facilitation and building a tax and customs system based on voluntary compliance. Rae is skilled in maintaining positive relations with stakeholders and working with and through them to build the customs ecosystem.  She is committed to excellence and making a difference.  

She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Canberra, Australia. 

Dr Juanita Maree, PhD  - Chief Executive Officer: The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAF)

Juanita Maree B.Com (Hons cum laude, NWU) M.Com (UJ) and PhD (NWU), was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the South Africa Association of Freight Forwarders from 1 September 2021, relinquishing her position of Executive Director of Savino Del Bene South Africa (SDBSA), a position that she held for 13 years.

Juanita is regarded as a passionate ‘Captain of Industry’ in the logistics field and is active at all levels of Customs-related organisational entities, nationally and internationally. Her PhD subject “An impact analysis of the customs risk management processes in South Africa”, is evidence of this passion.

She headed up the Customs Fraud and Illegal Imports Task Team for Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) (2018/2019) and has served as Vice-Chair of the Sub-Committee on Trade, Transport and Logistics since 2019. In February 2021, she was appointed to the Trade and Industry Chamber (TIC) in the Nedlac Structure (National Economic Development and Labour Council).

Juanita presently represents SAAFF at the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG). She leads the WCO-ESA-RPSG (Regional Private Sector Group).

Juanita is held in high regard by her peers in the industry, who recognise her unique abilities to bring together public and private partnerships initiatives, including changes in statutory legislation such as Customs Modernisation; the Authorized Economic Operator Programme (AEO) and Scientific Risk Management systems with supply chain movements and activities.

Devlyn Naidoo - Executive for SARS & Other Government Agencies (OGAs) at the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF)

Devlyn is passionate about skills development, capacity building and adding value for the benefit of our industry. Prior to joining SAAFF, Devlyn served as the Head of Customs Compliance and Freight Forwarding at the Maritime Business School and is a certified Cargowise professional. Devlyn is an avid reader and an established author. He has a passion for writing, having written and contributed toseveral research papers, text books and articles on various platforms.

Devlyn has a love for education and helping others achieve greater heights in their careers, having successfully mentored many students and guided their career development. He is currently completing his postgraduate diploma in management and is pursuing the pre-registration phase for his Master’s degree in management. The areas of interest that Devlyn is actively involved in include customs compliance matters, policy writing, skills development, curriculum development, mentorship and motivational speaking. He subscribes to the philosophy of “People before Profit” and this is inspired by teachings of his late father, George Naidoo. Devlyn looks up to the collective leadership of SAAFF as his role models and aligns his purpose with the murmurs of his heart: “serve selflessly with resilience for the benefit of our industry, economy and country at large”.

Jackie Chippendale - Human Resources Director - Africa, Middle East & India for Hillebrand Group Global Beverage Logistics

Jackie started off in the company in 2002 as the Office and Human Resource (HR) Administrator. She has subsequently held senior roles within the organisation, including Human Resources Manager – Africa, Middle East and India June, Human Resources Manager – Africa and Human Resources Manager – South Africa, before being appointed to her current position in 2016.

Jackie holds an BA Honours degree in Applied Psychology for Professional Contexts, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce Industrial Psychology Honours degree. She is also a certified coach, with the International Coach Federation and holds numerous certificates in skills development, training and human resources.

Jon Harris - Fellow of CILT and a chartered town planner

Jon has been working for the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) for the last 8 years and currently leads on international education strategy and business development. He is a Fellow of CILT and is also a chartered town planner.

Jon has been instrumental in the development of the CILT Kazakhstan and Central Asia education, training and skills programmes and partnership working with the USAID CTJ project, and is responsible for delivering similar collaboration elsewhere in the world.

Jon’s background is in transport planning, and since 1989 his career has covered planning, accessibility, inclusion, sustainable transport, freight logistics and public transport planning. He has specialised in travel behaviour change, with highlights including advising on the London 2020 Games, advising the UK government on freight delivery matters, and working on a number of rail franchises.  Jon is also a qualified business coach and is a co-Director for a community rail partnership promoting local rail use.

Thomas Sim - Senior Vice-President, FIATA (Geneva, Switzerland); (International Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations)

Thomas Sim is the Group Chief Executive Officer of International Freight Consultants (S) Pte. Ltd. (a member of ‘The Topocean Group’, USA), an integrated international logistics service provider with its corporate head office in Los Angeles, USA. The company’s portfolio includes warehousing and distribution, multimodal transport, cross-border requirements and trade compliance.

Thomas joined the Singapore Logistics Association (SLA) in 2000 and served as the Deputy Chairperson of the SLA from 2004 to 2020. In addition, he also chairs its Human Capital Development Committee and is the Academic Director of The Logistics Academy (TLA).

He has also been elected as Senior Vice-President of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA, Geneva/Switzerland), after serving over 18 years as the Chairperson of ABVT, FIATA (Advisory Body Vocational training), which oversees FIATA National Associations’ training programs in over 118 countries.  

Thomas holds a BSc. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering), and a Master’s degree in  Science, Logistics & Supply Chain Management. He completed his recent research on Educational Psychology, Curriculum Development, with Instructional Design as majors for his Master of Education (Training & Development) with Griffith University, Australia.

Jerann Naidu - Managing Director of Synergy Transformation Solutions and a socio-economic development consultant

Jerann is passionate about entrepreneurship and creating shared value strategies that create long term value for business and society.J erann holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Anthropology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Jerann also holds certificates in Project Management and Facilitation. Jerann has worked on Socio-Economic Development (SED) and transformation initiatives for organisations such as The Institute for Democracy in Africa (IDASA), Tiger Brands Foundation, The Commonwealth Foundation, Honda, USAID and CIDA. At present, Jerann leads strategic interventions in Southern Africa focused on accredited training, capacity building for people with disabilities, improving the comprehension of disadvantaged high school learners in Mathematic sand Science and Entrepreneurship Development. Jerann is a founding member of United Way South Africa and a former provincial cricketer.

Xolani Sithole - Chartered Accountant

Xolani Sithole is a Chartered Accountant with 16 years of corporate experience, 5 of which have been in senior management and 8 in executive management. He has worked in the international logistics sector for 12 years. Xolani has experience in financial management, executive management, mergers and acquisitions, strategy and B-BBEE strategy. He also serves on various boards. Xolani served his articles at Deloitte and later joined Sebenza Forwarding and Shipping. He has worked as FP & A Manager for Otis Elevators SA, Chief Financial Officer for for Makana Investment Corporation, Financial Director for Sebenza, Managing Director for Sebenza, as well as International Logistics Executive for Bidvest International Logistics. He is currently the International Logistics Director of Bidvest International Logistics.

Nadia Starr - Executive NQF Operations: South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)

Nadia Starr has more than 10 years’ senior management experience in education and training management and policy development. She  is currently the Executive NQF Operations at the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and previously served as CEO of the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA). Nadia holds an Honours degree in Psychology from UCT and an Masters of Education from Wits

Dr Shirley Lloyd, PhD -  educator, a public servant, an activist and a social entrepreneur

Shirley Lloyd has been an educator, a public servant, an activist and a social entrepreneur. She views her work in education and training, and particularly related to the NQF and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as part of fulfilling her life’s work. She retired from the position of Director of the NQF Directorate in the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in 2019. She has worked in the regional and international space with numbers of organisations. She holds a PhD and the title of her thesis is “Recognition of Prior Learning: A Social Entrepreneurial Praxis”. She is a published scholar and researcher and supervises Master’s and Doctoral students. She is energised by applying the principles of Ubuntu, Batho Pele and Thuma Mina.

Nachi Mendelow - Vice-President of Business Development - Africa

Passionate about people, processes, technology and value creation. Having studied Psychology and been in the I.T. industry for over 15 years, I ensure that I.T. projects are fused with organizational learning, development and change management. My MBA enables me to ensure that business strategy drives I.T. strategy and that I.T. delivers its gains via measurable business performance. The topic of my MBA thesis was; “Ensuring IT investment drives business value.”

For over 10 years, I’ve been involved in building and managing teams assisting companies to collaborate using technology in one of the most diverse regions of the globe. I have been required to navigate some of the major institutional voids prevalent in Africa and have seen that collaboration is key and the innovative use of technology often plays a major role in bridging these gaps.

I have built and led teams assisting 3rd Party Logistical Providers, Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers in South Africa and Sub-Saharan to setup Low Touch, High Visibility supply chains.

I have worked with Multinationals, as well as local agents across Africa using shared technology to assist people across all borders to be more accurate, more productive, and ultimately more successful.