Abdullah serves as the CEO of The Strategists where he plays an active role in assisting companies and organisations craft competitive future strategies. He has significant expertise in strategy, competitiveness and sector trends and facilitates a number of high level strategy sessions and breakaways for companies and governments and also speaks globally in this area. He led the team that crafted the 2017 - 2030 Gauteng Economic Development Strategy with the Premier and Executive Council. He also led the 2017 Mauritius Competitiveness foresight strategy, He also plays a lead role on the Oxford University and Gates Foundation programme on South Africa in a Digital Age.

Having presented and consulted in over 60 cities globally Abdullah has been recognised as a leading speaker, disruptor, strategist and thought leader on competitiveness and the interplay between strategy and disruptive innovation. His experience make him a sought after global speaker in these areas. In December 2017 Abdullah received a standing ovation at the acclaimed T EDx Euston in London. Abdullah was also asked to be the keynote speaker at the 2018 World Speech Day. 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 has relevance and application to companies and organisations around the world.

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Adriana is the Founder of Proudly Human, pioneering new frontiers in research and technology for a future in harmony with each other and the environment, on Earth, Mars and beyond. She has recently visited the Antarctic interior and the Oman desert on location scouts for Proudly Human’s Off-World Project. The Project is a series of off-world settlement experiments, demonstrating off grid capabilities from life-support to communication systems, as well as community spirit, in the most extreme environments on Earth.

Adriana believes in the value of living your best life in business – doing what truly invigorates you and being part of ‘proudly human’ teams. With the corporate environment in constant flux, and developments in technology taking place at an unprecedented rate, the need for continuous learning and self-reinvention is critical. Being the only woman willing to do what no man has, Adriana’s keynotes evolve into conversations about exploring technological boundaries and examining our motivations into the future.

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Alan Committie is one of South Africa’s leading award-winning comic performers. He freelances around South Africa and has also performed in the UK and the USA. This talented stand-up comedian was also part of all the Smirnoff International Comedy Festivals (Cape Town, Durban and Joburg) between 1997 and 2003! And, subsequently has MC’d 10 of the 15 Jive Cape Town Funny Festival events between 2004 and 2019.

Alan Committie is renowned for his 8-year stint as the star of the Broadway hit Defending the Caveman and racked up 963 performances around South Africa. He has subsequently written a hugely successful sequel to this show called Love Factually (already over 240 performances) which he continues to present at corporate and charity events.

Alan trained as an actor before focusing on stand-up comedy and theatre performance has always been a great passion of his. To this end, Committie returns to straight theatre at least every 12 to 15 months and has won three acting awards along the way. He continues to produce numerous theatre projects too and has had a leading producing/backing role in the last three years at Maynardville Open Air theatre.

Alexander Leibner is no ordinary futurist. And he foresees no ordinary future. It goes without saying that when he speaks, it’s not just a talk, but an exciting performance, painting in bold brush strokes, a picture of tomorrow, underpinned by powerful insights. He often points out that we need to become wiser in an ever ‘smarter’ world.

Described by The Sunday Times as a seasoned communicator, Alexander's communication skills have been honed for the past 20-years both in-front of audiences and on live television, engaging with media, the public, C-Suite leaders and government officials. He is most memorable for his energy, wit and entertaining, yet informed presentations.

Some of his career highlights include attending the Annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and in Africa. His work has taken him to over 35 major cities in 22 countries, some more than once. Alexander holds a Bachelor Degree in Communications from BOND University Australia and a Post Graduate from the Gordon Institute of Business Science.

Whilst many have focused on running commentary of the past year, Alexander has taken much time to reflect on the unfolding pandemic with a view of delivering a fresh voice in a world of panic, uncertainty and extraordinary change. In the 2020’s, we have learnt all too soon that every business has become a start-up; that if we don’t plan our way forward, nobody else will; that our health has come into a new level of focus and that we are going where no-one has gone before.

Alexander is currently based out of Johannesburg, South Africa and is a member of the World Future Society, an associate with The Futurist Institute and part of Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve.

Alexander is known for his readiness to work with clients in order to deliver highly tailored presentations that are certain to stimulate and inspire. His talks are engineered to not only assist your company to think about the future today, but profit long into the future. Alexander tailors presentations to a variety of fields, including healthcare, energy, education, agriculture, finance, manufacturing, retail and investing.

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Amanda Gore is an author, keynote speaker, business woman, CEO of The Joy Project and a Huffington Post Columnist. She is one of the few Australians inducted into the USA Speaker Hall of Fame and has won several awards, including Educator of the Year and Keynote Speaker of the Year, from the National Speakers Association.

She works with organizations of different sizes, such as Google, McDonalds, and many Associations, to help boost engagement of teams, create cultures of joy and joyful people, manage change fatigue and bring humanity back into leadership. With the rise of mental health issues, Amanda believes that joy is the antidote to burnout and has been shown to increase productivity, sales, and well-being. In her presentations, she blends humor, science, and life experience to teach practical tools and skills for personal and organizational growth.

She focuses on helping people feel good about themselves which leads to positive changes in all areas. She has a professional quality studio set up for virtual presentations and has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by deepening her empathy and sharing new concepts for adapting to change and staying well in challenging conditions. Originally a physical therapist with a major in psychology,

Amanda blends research in neuroscience, epigenetics, positive psychology, quantum physics and emotional intelligence with funny stories to help organizations achieve better performance by aligning with values and mission and creating joyful workplaces and people. Through her funny, interactive and engaging presentations, Amanda breaks down barriers, opens hearts and minds, and inspires people to action.

Her presentations are funny, energetic, entertaining, and engaging, and she is dedicated to inspiring and facilitating lasting change in her audience – while they laugh and learn. Quote from Amanda: In this age of unlearning the ways we used to work and live, and re-learning new ways to engage and connect with ourselves and our teams – and live our lives, mental health issues are sky rocketing.

Joy increases productivity 31%, sales 37% and reduces burnout 125% and is the antidote to our mental health crisis.

There are many aspects of Joy that can be taught that can transform mindsets – and hearts. Creating joyful cultures, joyful people and actually focusing on joy as a business strategy is smart! The antidote to burnout is joy.

The rapid change in how, when and where work is undertaken has had a major impact on employees and the organisations they work for. Andrew is the Chief Fundi at Workplace Fundi and the trusted advisor you are looking for to help you understand how the post Covid workplace and the experience it provides can be the #1 catalyst for organisational change, human performance, employee experience and competitive advantage. Andrew has powerful insights in to the world of work and has been recognised as a leading authority on the workplace and its role in the future of work. He will outline a comprehensive 360-degree model to view the work place and how it can be improved. This insight and his unique Return on Investment tool will lead to dramatic changes in your underlying business model that will improve your competitive advantage. The future of work needs to be a ‘one size fits one approach. Consequently, his talks will be specifically crafted to your needs not only to assist your company to think about the future today, but to profit from them long into the future. Andrew has spoken on stages in the UK, Spain, Bulgaria, Holland, UAE, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and Nigeria.

Andy Preston is an international expert on sales and selling. Initially a professional buyer, Andy also became the top salesperson in his industry.  

He speaks globally, recently addressing audiences in North America, Europe, Middle East and South Africa. Companies like IBM, American Express, Nissan and McAfee work with Andy to improve the performance of their sales teams. Andy has spoken at more than 2,500 events (in 40+ countries) as a Sales Motivational Speaker since 2004, with a wide range of groups, ranging from small groups of leaders, to thousands of salespeople and staff members at large conferences worldwide.

Whilst Andy has a number of specific speeches, he prefer to tailor my speeches to each client, and their individual needs. That results in better feedback for the event organisers, and more sustainable results for the delegates afterwards! As a specialist Sales Motivational Speaker, he’s usually booked to speak at Sales Conferences, or a general conference when the company wants their staff to be more ‘sales focused’.

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Antoni Lacinai, The Workplace Communication Expert, adds his value at the cross-point of Leadership communication, Customer focus and Employee engagement. He supports conscious leaders and teams who want to be world class communicators, utilizing a unique blueprint called Communication Insights, based on deep psychology and years of research. This facilitates high engagement, peak performance and more fun at work. Antoni is a global speaker, executive communication coach, author of more than a dozen books and a columnist at various leadership magazines.

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Bev is a  Conversational Catalyst, Strategic Facilitator and Interactive  Presenter who uses conversational strategies and  technologies, to stimulate dialogue,  interaction and engagement resulting in  actionable strategies for the future.   Her positive energy in  room draws people into the conversation.

She  uses her 20 plus years in  strategy, learning design, leadership, coaching conversational intelligence to build trust,  accountability and inclusive leadership into every conversation.  Her master's research work on interactive engagement in the  virtual environment makes her well placed to advise on this new world of work. This approach puts delegates at the centre of  the action where they use their technology to be part of the  conversation in real time, to ask the courageous questions, give feedback  and participate in a fun and interactive  experience. 

These data drive conversation can be turned into stories, reports,   infographics and internal conversations that feed into the strategic and cultural growth of the organization. Bev works closely senior executive teams across a range of industries facilitating leadership conversations  on strategy, digital transformation, culture and learning.

Bev has worked extensively with the BWA’s Mentoring Programme and is available for workshops and speaking engagements. She also works with individual business owners, leaders, emerging leaders and teams to build capacity, self-awareness, leadership strength, thinking skills and resilience so that they emerge as the best leaders they can be.

Bilal is an EdTech entrepreneur, and is the founder of IT varsity, he is a multi award-winning app developer. He also runs Xander, a company that develops educational apps for kids. The Xandr apps have been downloaded more than a 1 million times from the app stores. He is a software engineer by profession, and is also an author, keynote speaker, newspaper columnist, strategic business and education digital transformation advisor. He has lectured at a number of notable institutes, such as the University of KwaZulu Natal, the Durban University of Technology, and the University of Johannesburg. He was featured in the book. “Developer, Advocate!” by Geertjan Willenga for his work in promoting software development as a career in South Africa.

Bilal is a columnist for the Cape Argus, the Star and the Daily News. He writes about technology trends and education. He has a podcast entitled “Tech Watch” which covers the latest developments in technology and the social implications. The podcast is available on a number of local and international platforms. Bilal is a regular speaker at a number of notable events, such as GovTech, he also consults a number of educational institutes and businesses on transformation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He believes that education is the key to ending South Africa’s crippling youth unemployment problem. His approach is to make learning accessible to all South Africans via e-learning.

To this end, he has established two companies: IT varsity: a fully-online technology institute accredited by the MICT SETA. IT varsity aims to prepare students for the highly lucrative and ever-growing global IT services sector and Xander: EdTech app company dedicated to teaching school kids key subjects like maths and languages.

Bob Roitblat founded or co-founded and successfully exited 12 different companies that, combined, generate over $45 million in annual billings. 

Bob has 30+ years of hands-on P&L responsibility running companies at every phase of a business' life cycle. He also has considerable experience helping organizations across a range of industries be more creative and produce more innovative and disruptive ideas.

Audiences easily connect with Bob because he is interactive and fun. He is able to think on his feet and engage the audience with thought-provoking stories, examples and humour. When he’s not speaking at organizations or association events throughout the world, you can find Bob at the top or bottom or the ocean as a sailor and scuba diver.

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Almost every “Professional Speaker” on the planet claims they’re number one in what ever topics they speak on. It’s not how many books you’ve written that matters, but rather what best practices you can transfer to the audience, based on a proven track record. This is where Brian Parsley isn’t your ordinary presenter. He began his career selling door to door over 30 years ago. Since then he’s been a serial entrepreneur, building three highly successful organizations and selling two over the past two decades. Of course, we could bore you with his numerous accolades and awards, but those will not impact your upcoming event. Brian takes a holistic approach with each talk, spending time with both stake holders and attendees prior to each event. This creates a relatable, bespoke program that doesn’t just entertain, but delivers strategies your delegates will takeaway and use as soon as they walk out the door. He teaches behavioral science around why people do what they do and how to manipulate challenging scenarios with good intent. His messages are powerful, but ­led with humor and stories so they resonate and can be recalled. He is a Founding Principal of the global organization The Constance Group based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Buhle Dlamini has risen and beaten the odds to become one of the top South Africans on the global stage today where he speaks to top companies and conferences around the world on the future of work, leadership, organizational culture and managing diversity. As a professional speaker Buhle always delivers a gripping and memorable experience with his genuine sense of humour, smile, and great content. He is as comfortable speaking to a group of top managers and CEO's in a virtual setting as he is speaking to teenagers in a school prize-giving. One of his most common accolades is that he is able to connect with anyone and make them feel like they've always known him. He has met iconic leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, worked with youth in Germany, USA, and the UK and spoken to business audiences the world over. He holds a Fundamentals of Strategy Certificate from Harvard University in Massachusetts and is a fellow with the Cultural Intelligence Center in Michigan, USA. Buhle is also the founding member and served as the project manager in the development of Heartlines and its 2006 Award-Winning 8 Films on Values for which he, alongside Garth Japhet (founder), received an award from Arch-Bishop (emeritus) Desmond Tutu. He is an author of six books in business and personal growth including his latest book "Unleashing Your Greatness" An award-winning entrepreneur who has founded and run multiple ventures including his consulting firm Young & Able which he ran for 14 years in South Africa, and his Canadian firm MindGro Consulting, as well co-founded social enterprises like ForGood.co.za and Columba Leadership.

Chris Steely is the Founder of GPS Business Group, on Organizational Development and Management Consulting firm established in 2005, specializing in business development, strategic planning, team building, and results-oriented execution. Engaging decades of leadership and experience from various industries and serving global markets, Chris has a reputation for his ability to help growth-oriented businesses that want to increase their sales, profits, and cash flow, as well as develop focused performance optimization strategies. Chris has been a professionally certified business coach and facilitator since 2003. He's trained business coaches in 26 countries, worked with Fortune 500 and major business consulting companies, and has a reputation for his ability to help growth-oriented businesses develop focused strategies that work for them. Chris' background includes international management consulting, business ownership, corporate vice president in the technology sector, extensive corporate business development, operations and project management, service as an active duty United States Marine Corps logistics officer, NCAA national rowing championship and coach, and MBA. Chris’ personal mission is to positively influence others through open communication, empathetic understanding, idealism, and contagious commitment to success.

Chris Salem is an accomplished CEO, business executive coach, world-class speaker, corporate trainer-advisor, award-winning author®, certified mindset expert, radio show host & media personality, and wellness advocate mentoring business leaders and organizations toward solutions for enhancing corporate culture, improving workplace communications, and increasing employee engagement. In addition, he mentors business leaders and organizations to scale their brands and business by raising their level of influence as trusted advisors. His book Master Your Inner Critic / Resolve the Root Cause – Create Prosperity went international best seller in 2016. He also co-authored the recent edition to "Mastering the Art of Success" with Jack Canfield. His weekly radio shows, Sustainable Success is part of the Voice America Influencers Channel and Business Influencers with Tal Radio, part of the Touch-A-Life foundation. Chris has worked with organizations such as JP Morgan – Chase, Ralph Lauren, Microchip Technologies, Anthem, Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney, UnitedHealthcare, GE Research, US Senate, FDA, US Census Bureau, Hubbell Corporation, and NYPD Forensics Department including universities such as University of Hartford, Bay Path University, Westchester Community College, Worcester State University, and spoke on overcoming limited beliefs for peak performance at Harvard University’s Faculty Club.

Conrad Koch is one of South Africa’s most in demand comedy talents. He combines hilarious comedy with world-class puppetry, and has won numerous awards, including Entertainer of the Year award, a Standard Bank Ovation Award from the National Arts Festival, The Times Comic’s Pen Award, has been nominated for the Comic’s Choice Comedian of the Year and is a double International EMMY nominated comedian. He has worked all over the world, been featured on local and international television and is a frequent guest at some of South Africa’s biggest comedy events.

His most famous character, the puppet political analyst, Mr. Chester Missing, is a highlight on news channel eNCA, and was recently described as the star of the ANC’s Nasrec conference. The first puppet in history to win a court case, Chester has even written a book, and was named one of New African Magazine’s Most Influential Africans.

Conrad’s hit one-man shows have received standing ovations around South Africa and globally. He has performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He toured Canada during 2018, receiving 5 star reviews at the Winnipeg International Fringe Festival from both the Winnipeg Free Press and the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, selling out almost his entire run. The CBC said “my face hurt from laughing so hard”, describing Conrad’s work as “absolutely delightful and technically brilliant”, “Koch throws away more laugh lines than many shows have in the first place”.

Conrad has studied psychology, and is a social anthropologist – he has a master’s degree in the subject from WITS University (Cum Laude), focusing on corporate and African culture. He has had extensive experience implementing culture change programmes for the likes of FNB, Goldfields, Sun International, SAA, etc.

Conrad has audiences in stitches by talking to himself through a variety of extremely eccentric characters.

Cyrus Rogers, best known in South Africa as the man with the ‘velvet voice’, has been celebrated for years as an impressive Master of Ceremonies, programme director, TV presenter and voice-over artist. But his remarkable knowledge on sporting codes and the leadership qualities of the world’s greatest sporting heroes has been somewhat underutilised. Audiences on the international conference circuit can now access the inspiration that lies within unique perspective by listening to ‘Leading in the Winner’s Circle’, his entertaining keynote address on leadership, success and greatness.

Over the last 17 years Cyrus Rogers has been producing television across Summit TV, The Home Channel, Supersport Blitz and Kwesé Sports. Scripting, directing, recording voice overs and presenting a wide range of programming have been a few of his core skills. Working on products from business shows to property programmes and sports stories. One of the stand-out productions he worked on was African Thought leaders in Business screened on Summit TV, in which he interviewed such political luminaries as former statesmen F.W De Klerk and Sir Ketumile Masire the former president of Botswana about their views on great leadership in business and in politics.

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Daniel Silke is recognized as one of South Africa’s leading political economy analysts, futurists and most passionate keynote speakers. His success lies in blending both economic and political trends in highly accessible yet insightful presentations. 

Daniel Silke offers an exceptional range of bespoke physical and online presentations on current political and economic trends affecting the world, Africa and South Africa - all packaged into a compelling, yet highly insightful keynote. Noted for the latest available research data, these presentations uniquely blend both political and economic analysis and are customisable for a range of industries, regions and countries world-wide including financial/legal services, travel, retail/consumer and the industrial sector amongst many others. 

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Derek discovered a knack for being 'on show' in front of people early on in life while performing on stage at the age of seven. Derek strongly believes in coming across in an interesting, entertaining, and informative way. He always brings three important elements to any talk - energy, enthusiasm and enjoyment. He has spoken to hundreds of individuals and teams, helping leaders, entrepreneurs and young people accelerate their personal and professional success through developing effective communication and interpersonal skills.

By helping them promote these emotional intelligence, leadership, communication and executive presence skills he has greatly increased their earning potential. Derek knows the highs and lows that come with trying to become the best version of yourself and has the receipts to prove it! “I love passing on tried and true advice I’ve picked up along the way to help others become the success story they were destined to become.” His background as a professional trainer and speaker led him to begin working as a corporate host, emcee and conference moderator in2012. He believes in thorough preparation which is the key to success.

Deshun Deysel is best known to the South Africa public as the only black female high altitude mountaineer in the world. She was a member of two South African expeditions to Mount Everest – the first South African expedition in 1996 and the Discovery Everest expedition in 2003. 

She holds a Higher Diploma in Education from Rand College and Rand Afrikaans University and spent five years as a schoolteacher during which time her dream to climb Mt Everest was realised. After returning from her first Everest expedition, Deshun joined the I Can Foundation - running youth development workshops and women specific programmes for two years. Deshun spent six years with The Pacific Institute SA as a process facilitator and accreditor, as well as a conference speaker at The Pacific Institute USA.

With her diverse experience in self–image psychology, business performance management, corporate social responsibility and conference facilitation, she co-founded SINIRGI International with her UK Partner – Vandana Cowley, previously director of the European Union Development Programme. She has addressed audiences in and from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Russia, Kenya, Mozambique, Ghana, etc. with accounts of her inspirational rise from obscurity to mountaineer and businesswoman.

Devi is a South African award-winning investigative journalist who has spent 27 years in the media with detailed experience in radio, print, online and television.  Armed with an MBA, she anchored herself for 18 years at M-Net’s Carte Blanche, South Africa’s leading current affairs television programme where she became a house-hold name. 

Devi is a firebrand and South African icon who is loved for her fearless pursuit of truth, boldly holding corporates and government to account.  Despite finding herself in numerous life-threatening situations, she remains determined to expose corruption wherever it may exist.  

Devi is now both Executive Producer and Anchor or her own television show, Devi, which airs on eTV and eNCA.  Devi’s viewership is currented securing a million viewers, per episode on eTV alone.

Devi is a sought-after MC for corporate events and has been involved in awards ceremonies, product launches and panel discussions for a number of years.  Devi is (surprisingly) entertaining and is able to handle a wide variety of events.

She has a special interest in finance, which together with an MBA ensures she will be an asset to your event.  Some of her clients include:  Sanlam, Nedbank, Old Mutual, SAB, Barloworld Logistics, SAMRO, Transnet and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Diane uses 55000 business hours of unique, diversified, professional business experience to add practical implementable business knowledge and help business owners in their decision making and guide them for business growth.

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Retiring at 40 and selling businesses helped her step into the space of business growth for other business owners, getting a product based business to export as well as funding are all areas of her expertise. Diane will explain why working ON your business is so important To remain focused and know the direction of your business growth To highlight opportunities and possibilities To remember to build a business worth investing in or selling Going back to basics could be an option but definitely working ON your business will be a must to get improved profits, achieve a business of value and growth beyond your wildest dreams. The Diamond Plan™ is a 9 month journey Diane walks with you, The Diamond Academy™ an online platform for business owners, The Diamond Den™ is a platform for investors to meet business owners for investment and growth – All these are IP’s developed by Diane and her team. Diane is the founder and CEO for Brand Analytics. And a global thought leading speaker on Business Growth for SMMEs. As well as, Accountability Accelerator to Circle of Excellence 2021/2022, Global business. As well as member of EEPT, Global Specialist, Ishishini – team of specialists2022 – this will help taking business global Diane is a past board member of Cape Chamber of Commerce and a past director to Orion Organisation NPC, she is the past president for BNI Edge. As well as past Chairperson for Small Business Development at Cape Chamber of Commerce. Member of AdeleSearll100 Club, mentor for National Mentorship Movement and a Mentor for Female Foundry 2021 and Mentor or SA Innovation Summit 2021.

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Donovan David Goliath (true!) is a Caucasian-looking coloured guy from Mthatha (formerly Umtata) who speaks Xhosa. As strange as it may sound this is how this multi-talented artist rounds off who he is.

Born in the Eastern Cape, Goliath left his lucrative advertising job for a full-time career in comedy. Goliath’s act is based on insightful storytelling and simple truths using various characters and impersonations. He has performed on multiple big stages and festivals including the International Comedy Central Africa Festival, Shoko Festival (Zimbabwe), Montreux Comedy Festival(Switzerland), Blacks Only, Soweto Comedy Festival, 99% Xhosa Comedy, African Kings Of Comedy and completed a 51 show, 3-month comedy run at Gold Reef City.

His successful debut one-man show Live Series With Donovan Goliath at The Lyric Theatre sold out over 2 nights and went on to premiere on DSTV Box Office. He is no stranger to television appearing as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, co-hosting The Great South African Bake Off, writing and acting in the popular SA sketch show Bantu Hour and various cameo appearances in top SA sitcoms.

Donovan hosted the weekly show on M-Net “The 101” and was also one of the founding members of the comedy club, Goliath and Goliath.

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Dr Azar Jammine is Director and Chief Economist of Econometrix (Pty) Ltd, South Africa's leading independent economic research consultancy and forecasting company, established in 1982.  He has been in his current position since December 1985 and has established a significant profile in South Africa as an analyst and commentator on domestic and international economic affairs. Dr Jammine has conducted more than 5000 presentations to leading client corporations and other institutions as well as at conferences dealing with the local and international economic environment.  In this capacity he has also been invited over the years by several corporations to serve as independent non-executive director.  

Dr Jammine recently retired as a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation, a body of experts appointed by the Department of Science and Technology but still assists NACI on an ad-hoc basis as an expert on various tasks. 

Academically, Dr Jammine obtained a BSc (Hons) in Mathematical Statistics and a BA (Hons) in Economics at Wits, followed by an M.Sc in Economics from the LSE and a PhD at the London Business School.

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Our natural instinct is wired for basic survival. Darren unpacks the magnificence of the human mind and body connections with enlightening references in cutting edge neuroscience and reflects on how we are designed for a destiny beyond the primitive needs of merely surviving and shifting mindsets into a mode that facilitates THRIVING though a pandemic. This is the essence of wellness.

VARIATION THEME: LOCKDOWN AND THE SOCIAL BRAIN

In view of the status quo and our Pandemic response – WHERE does it all lead and how are we influenced by this phenomenon.

Positioning wellness in this new era demands a conscious awareness of how brain performance and resilience works. 

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Dr Graeme Codrington works with organisations across the globe, delivering insights, leadership development and future skills so that his clients improve their ability to manage disruption, develop scenarios for future change and future-proof themselves. 

Based on his work with over 50 clients in 2020, and preparing for 2021, Graeme’s focus is currently on the following:

• Scenario planning for leadership teams (whether this is done adhoc, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually) where Graeme works with your teams to develop clear and useful scenarios for your industry and marketplace, during and after Covid.  Make sure your team is as prepared as it can be for what is to happen this year and in the rest of the 2020s.

• Responding to Disruption and becoming Adaptable – this refers to the new processes and systems that need to be put in place for what is going to happen, how to create more adaptability in the organisation, the blueprint for adaptable leaders and adaptable organisations and how to maintain resilience throughout this process.

• Don’t just rebuild, reimagine – this is the title of Graeme’s new book (due to be released in Q1 2021), and his most sought-after presentation in 2020. Building on research and practical experience with some of the world’s most adaptive and innovative organisations, Graeme shares case studies, inspirational examples and practical principles that will help you and your organisation not merely survive disruption, but take advantage of it to build something better than you had before.

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Dr. Jerome Joseph is ranked No. 2 in the World as Global Brand Thought Leader and is a Best selling author of 8 books on Branding. He is an award-winning Brand & Customer Experience Speaker focused on Brand Strategy, Brand Experience, Internal Branding, Personal Branding, Digital Branding, and Branded Customer Experience. With his past experiences as a CEO & Board Member of a public listed brand agency& group, Dr. Jerome brings real-life brand expertise to the stage. He has over 25 years of experience, worked with over 1000 brands, including many Fortune 500 companies, in 35 countries. The combination of real-life consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies, global expertise, and proven speaking skills makes Dr. Jerome a sought-after speaker in the market. With his highly infectious personality, fast-paced and interactive style of speaking &storytelling, audiences can expect to be entertained while attaining a wealth of great insights. His keynotes and workshops are simply not to be missed! Dr. Jerome holds the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP designation which is held by the top 12% of speakers in the world as an award for speaking expertise. He was awarded the prestigious Global Speaking Fellow in 2015 as the 2nd Singaporean to earn this award and the 30th speaker in the world to achieve this. Currently, less than 1% of speakers globally hold this designation. He also holds the Practicing Management Consultant (PMC) designation awarded to experienced industry veterans in consulting. In 2018, Dr. Jerome was recognized as a Top 30 Global Brand Guru and is the only Asian based in Asia to make the list. He is currently ranked No. 2 in the world.

Dr. Dambisa Moyo is a Zambian economist and author who analyses the macroeconomy and global affairs. She is a pre-eminent thinker, who influences key decision-makers in strategic investment and public policy. She is respected for her unique perspectives, her balance of contrarian thinking with measured judgment, and her ability to turn economic insight into investible ideas. Dambisa was named to the list of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World; has published in the Financial Times, WSJ, Barrons, Harvard Business Review and has travelled to 65 countries. 

In particular, her work examines the interplay of international business and the global economy, while highlighting the key opportunities for investment; capitalizing on her rare ability to translate trends in markets, technology, politics, regulatory matters and economics into their likely impact on global business.

• Dambisa was named by TIME Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”.
• She is the author of four NY Times Bestselling books.
• As an economist, her work focuses on the global economy, geopolitics and financial markets.
• Her work has taken her to over 65 countries.

Iraj Abedian is the founder and Chief Executive of Pan-African Capital Holdings (Pty) Ltd. He is a graduate of University of Cape Town(UCT), and holds a PhD in economics from Simon Fraser University, Canada. He taught at UCT for over 18 years and was professor of economics at UCT before joining Standard Bank as Group Chief Economist in 2000. He was extensively involved in economic and financial policy as well as institutional restructuring of South Africa’s public finance policy after 1994. 

Alongside active involvement in private equity investments in Africa, Iraj maintains a keen interest in public policy issues and is proactively engaged in professional discourses related to the evolving socio-economic system worldwide.

Iraj frequently appears in numerous financial journals and magazines. He writes a monthly  column in the African Business Times Magazine entitled “Frank Talk”. He is regularly interviewed concerning financial and economic news as well as other matters of public policy facing South Africa at large. Visit the Blog page regularly to keep abreast with all his latest published interviews and articles.

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Dr. Justin Cohen is one of the world's leading experts in human transformation. He is a bestselling author and global speaker, who has hosted multiple, personal development television shows.

Dr. J is a speaker hall of fame inductee, and holds a doctorate in human transformation from Middlesex University, London.

He has spoken, trained and coached tens of thousands of people in over forty countries, providing them with powerful tools and insights to achieve lasting breakthroughs in their lives and businesses.

Dr. J hosted a CNBC Africa television talk show where he interviewed some of the world's leading experts on success. Along with Harvard Professor, Matt Killingsworth, Dr. J was the positive psychology expert on the global, Joy takes you further, happiness campaign.

Dr. J has written multiple bestsellers. His internationally acclaimed, signature program, is the Breakthrough Training. He has shared the stage with many luminaries including Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, John Maxwell and Richard Branson.

With cutting edge research, humour, entertaining stories and practical take-home tools, Dr. J will inspire and equip your people to unleash their potential.

Whether it is motivation, sales, service, leadership, culture or wellness, Dr. J has a program that will be customised to your audience and objectives. He also emcees, facilitates and conducts interviews.

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“Justin electrifies his audience. He was the best speaker.” – Sir Eric Peacock, Chair, Academy for Chief Executives, UK

“Justin is the best keynote speaker we have ever had. We will definitely be using him again.” - Christopher Bentley, CEO, Royal Kensington.

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"I have seen a lot of speakers and sat through a lotof breakout sessions. Justin Cohen is the most informative, entertaining and inspiring that I’ve seen. He is the key reason that this year’s annual convention was rated the best in our chapter’s history." - Dave Goranson, President, American Society for Training and Development

“Justin delivered a powerful message that will have a long lasting effect on our people. We are experiencing early returns on our investment with a clear increase in sales numbers.” - Raymond O’Neil, MD, HSBC, Dubai

"This was our best tour in 22 years largely because Justin Cohen was our emcee and facilitator. He has an incredible ability to engage the audience, getting them to share their own inspirational stories and masterfully drawing out the key messages that we had briefed him on." - Scott Friedman, President TWCCTW

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Michael Mol is a medical doctor, an executive TV producer & presenter, social entrepreneur and founder of a multi-national company called Hello Doctor.

A trauma doctor turned TV personality, Mol traded the casualty room for the small screen and anchored Top Billing, South Africa’s longest running prime time television magazine show, for more than a decade, scooping up several critically acclaimed awards along the way.

Mol’s passion for discerning what makes people tick then led him to co-founding TomorrowToday – helping organisations navigate the new world of work followed by The Revolution Group – helping people unearth what they were born to do through discovering their innate strengths.

Business aside, Mol also launched Expresso, SABC’s live morning show, as anchor presenter. Then as Executive Producer and presenter he melded his passion for medicine and media and produced two new TV series: Hello Doctor and The Dr. Mol Show with a vision to educate, entertain and inspire people to live their best life, by being the healthiest they can be. Watched by over a million people weekly, the show was part of a bigger vision to give every South African access to personal, affordable and quality healthcare through immediate access to doctors via their mobile phones.

That vision became a reality with Hello Doctor – a mobile healthcare company of which he is a founding director. Hello Doctor’s game-changing approach to healthcare, using mobile technology to give anyone access to doctors anytime, anywhere, on any phone in any language – has spread globally, operating in several countries.

Dr. Miriam Altman is a recognised thought leader, strategist and economist.  She has deep experience in economic policy research, and, unusually, also at the coal face of major transformation initiatives. Her current work focuses on strategy to revitalise the economy in a context of Covid-19. This is done under the hat of being an NPC Commissioner and also through private channels. As a Commissioner in the National Planning Commission, she was a contributor to the National Development Plan and now leads work on the economy, digital readiness, infrastructure, SOE performance and education. 

As convenor of the Covid-19 Economists Group, a “thuma mina” initiative, she provides rapid, constructive and implementable solutions to the design of economic response during Covid-19. This group includes policy and financial economists. To date, proposals have been released on areas ranging from macro-fiscal strategy, bond raising, loan guarantees, wage support, employment priorities and a sovereign social bond. The work is at: www.covid19economicideas.org 

As an Executive Director at the HSRC from 2002 – 2013 her work focused on economic and employment strategy. For over 5 years, she convened top leaders from business, labour, government and academia to engage in the HSRC Evidence Based Employment Scenarios. 

Dr Rutendo is a Business Development Leader at Deloitte Africa and is responsible for taking the firms multi-disciplinary value proposition to market with a primary focus on working with multi-lateral and multi-national companies in their pan-African strategy. Over the last 20 years Rutendo has done business in over 20 African countries and has in-depth understanding and experience of helping businesses navigate through the African continent. 

With the African continent at a critical inflexion point caused by Covid-19 that is fostering it into promoting local industrialisation as well as integrated continental trade (i.e.ACFTA) that leverages off the global trade Ecosystem, Dr Rutendo works closely with a host of clients and their c-suite in advising them on how to navigate through the opportunities and threats on the continent.

Prior to joining Deloitte , Rutendo was part of the Sage Plc Africa and Middle East executive leadership that had a successful ‘grow Africa’ strategy. Rutendo is also a Founding Faculty member and Programme Director for the Deloitte Alchemy School of Leadership that provides executive leadership programmes leveraging off Deloitte’s global advisory capabilities and IP.

Rutendo has an insatiable desire to see the exponential growth of business in Africa through Africa’s greatest resource – Its People

Dr. Suresh Devnani is an award-winning speaker and internationally recognized global expert in leadership, and workplace culture. For over 28 years, he has been teaching entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders, professionals, and over-achiever show to build innovative, thriving organizations and design the dynamic life they desire. As a successful entrepreneur, former corporate executive, he is both an academic and a practitioner, incorporating his continual research in today-to-day business he’s taught thousands of individuals in over 123 countries through his books, videos, online courses, and keynote speeches.

After advising some of the world’s most prominent individuals and companies, ranging from best-selling authors to emerging start-ups and innovative multinationals, Suresh designed a framework for creativity that helps individuals and organizations achieve exponential growth. His clients have included AC Delko, Continental, Qualcomm, Fitness First, Commonwealth Bank & Trust Company, ITC Hotels, Famous Amos, Kawasaki as well as high profile 1-on-1 coaching and counselling clients.

As an in-demand positive psychology expert, he has been featured in countless media outlets and has been invited to speak at TEDx on four separate occasions. Dr. Devnani has been awarded the "101 Top Global Coaching Leaders", Awarded by World HRD Congress 2019, 101 Most Fabulous Global Training & Development Leaders”, and “51 Most Fabulous Global Happiness Leaders”, Awarded by World HRD Congress 2020. Suresh is also a Cultural Transformation Tools (CTT) Certified Consultant (Barrett Values Center), Project Happiness Global Ambassador, Global Goodwill Ambassador (GGA),and author of 4 Best-Selling books.

He is here today to share his creativity principles and techniques with you.

Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, a human resource development consultant, motivational speaker and a success coach committed to enabling organizations and individuals to maximize their potential. A training consultant for British Council between2004 - 2014, he has successfully consulted for other organizations like Barclays Bank, World Vision, MTN, UN agencies, World Bank and Coca Cola among others.

He represented Ugandan at the Common Wealth Youth Forum in 1997 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He worked with The International Leadership Institute as the Deputy Country Director. He has been running a transformational business since September 2003 as a motivational speaker, Human Resource Trainer and life/career and executive coach. He has authored transformational books like Public Speaking Secrets Exposed, Confidence and Self Esteem Secrets Exposed, Get Motivated in 30 Seconds or Less and Wisdom and Success Quotes(co-authored).

A pioneer of the Motivational speaking industry in Uganda, He has produced 41 video-based training programmes with an emphasis on soft skills areas like exceptional performance, business and social etiquette among others. Ethan has developed, facilitated and delivered trainings in 25 countries for corporate and non-governmental sectors in the areas of leadership, communication, sales, personal development, stress management, public speaking, work-life balance, customer service, confidence and self-esteem.

Since 2008, he has been writing a weekly column in Monitor Newspaper titled Succeeding whose sole purpose is to expose the potential within all of us and how to unleash it for greatness. He appears on NTV (Uganda) every weekday with his inspirational programme – a 3-minute power pump.

He is a mentor and coach for the Africa Entrepreneurship Award. He is a Paul Harris Fellow Rotarian and vice team leader for Rotary Vijana Poa in district 9211 (Uganda and Tanzania) whose vision is to have “every youth working” by equipping them with employability and entrepreneurship skills. Ethan loves travelling, playing with his family, reading, celebrating the gift of life and having a good laugh.

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Speaking topics: Motivation Customer Service Leadership

Fifi is a Financial Journalist who specialises in African markets. She is an anchor and content producer at CNBC Africa.

An economist at heart, Fifi obtained here BA Degree in Economics & Journalism from Rhodes University in 2010. She also holds certificates in Finance, Law and Media from the SA Institute of Financial Markets (SAIFM), the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), respectively. Fifi has worked in some of the most reputable financial newsrooms in South Africa including the Business Day and Financial Mail.

As a conference facilitator and MC, Fifi has moderated discussions for government entities and private sector companies such as MTN, IT Web, CABRI, Phillips SA, S&P Global and has facilitated discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She is currently studying towards a CFA Level 1 certificate.

Fifi Peters is an anchor on CNBC Africa’s flagship markets shows, Power Lunch and Closing Bell. Her journalism career began in 2011 after graduating from Rhodes University with a degree in Economics and Journalism.

She holds a Registered Persons Examination (RPE) from the SA Institute of Financial Markets and a certificate in Law and Politics from the London School of Economics. Fifi has interviewed some of the world’s leading businessmen including African billionaires Patrice Motsepe, Christo Wiese as well as technology entrepreneur John Collison.

As a seasoned MC, Fifi Peters has moderated panels with businessmen and Ministers from across the African continent. She has also interviewed former Heads of State Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and former Tanzanian Prime Minister, Frederick Sumaye. Fifi is an alumnus of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa Financial Journalism training Programme that is run in conjunction with the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)

She has also worked as a writer for the Business Day and Financial Mail (BDFM) where she reported on the markets, economy and several sectors including manufacturing, construction, financial services, retail and banking.

He has been blind since birth… Despite this Hein Wagner has many accomplishments to his name. He has completed the Absa Cape Epic, ran the Antarctica Marathon, the Two Oceans and New York Marathons, completed full Ironman, completed the Cape to Rio Yacht Race, holds the World Blind Land Speed Record at 322.52 km/h, and recently received a golden key from the university of Stellenbosch for his ongoing efforts towards social upliftment.

Hein Wagner is living proof that despite the challenges that come our way, anything is possible. He does not allow his blindness to stand in the way of his dreams and people often refer to him as the blind man with exceptional vision. 

As a keynote motivational speaker, he holds audiences’ attention. His motto: “Anything you believe is not possible, is actually possible; you just have to change the way you look at things. If you do that, the things you look at will change.”  With so many accomplishments under his belt, he always states: “My excuse is that I’m blind, what’s yours? By opening my mind to turn the unachievable into the achievable, I moved myself from being filled with pain to being filled with joy, from negative to positive; from unhappy to happy, from uninspired to inspired, a taker to a giver, a loser to a winner, from unsuccessful to successful, from ungrateful to grateful and from just being blind to being blinded with possibilities.”

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Driven by innovation, Ian Hatton curated a successful IT career - that saw him in a senior marketing leadership role at Microsoft South Africa. In 2002, his fascination with people and leadership led him to reinvent himself as a facilitator, speaker, and writer, resulting in grooming thousands of business leaders in over 80countries. An expert in conscious leadership and authentic connection, Ian's unique style assists people to understand, influence, and succeed beyond just the numbers. In 2022, Ian won the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa's Educator Hall of Fame (SAEHoF) Award for his contribution to the significant topic of conscious leadership. As the creator of Morpheus Genius and Lead Like Morpheus, he is a leading authority on living and influencing from your truest self. Also known as Morpheus, he empowers personal mastery by tapping into authentic essence.

Ian Hawkins has gained a reputation as a quick-witted and energetic event moderator able to deliver value, get audiences involved and create a warm inclusive atmosphere. An author and business journalist whose work has appeared on CBS, Reuters and BBC World, Ian has hosted events in Europe, the USA and Australia, and coached Olympians, cabinet ministers and CEOs. On leaving university, Ian wrote for BBC comedy shows including The News Quiz and Loose Ends. On the stand up circuit, he honed his presentation skills in front of live audiences around the UK. Ian’s abilities as a storyteller led to him taking on senior editorial roles in content creation and business journalism, reporting from the ground on subjects as diverse as pharma labs in Gothenburg to water purification in Nicaragua, whilst dodging muggers in Panama City and filming from a helicopter over an active volcano. Now available for corporates, Ian is a strong presenter for roundtables, audience Q&A, boardrooms and firesides. His inimitable style is ideal for dinners and awards. Ian says: “I’ve worked alongside the events business for 15 years and understand how to use humour as a tool to engage audiences, delight sponsors and add value to an event. At a time when the events industry is under pressure, we need to work harder than ever to make live and online events deliver connection, meaning and ROI to stakeholders.”Client Feedback: “Ian’s moderation was impeccable and his subject matter expertise remarkable.” Roberto Maranca - Schneider Electric “Ian kept the evening exciting and open.” Ryan Collier - Spy Cloud “My first choice if I need someone to facilitate.” Jered Merkoff - CTO, World Health Organisation “A no brainer to invite him back following rave reviews from attendees.” Brendan Moran- Cloudera

In July 2015, Jason Goliath was recognised as one of Africa’s best comedians and invited to represent Africa in Montreal, Canada, at the Just For Laughs Festival. Fast forward to 2016; Jason is celebrating his 5 year industry milestone, is the host of his own late night talk show on SABC 3 – Larger Than Life, brainchild of one of the most recognisable entertainment brands in South African comedy, Goliath & Goliath and the proud co-owner of Africa’s first premium comedy club in Melrose Arch, The Goliath Comedy Club.

With a commanding stage presence, ridiculous amounts of energy and a character based set focused on making audiences laugh at life’s uncomfortable truths, he has performed successfully at numerous corporate events and leading comedy rooms and events such as Blacks Only, Kings and Queens of Comedy, Johannesburg International Comedy Festival, Comedy Central International Comedy Festival, BET Experience, Melville Under Ground, AWEdnesday Comedy Jam, Comics Choice Awards Winners Lap, and many more. Jason also performed to full house audiences at the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland in December 2014 and 2016.

With more than 12 years professional MC experience Jason also takes on facilitation roles and has done so for Standard Bank, FNB, Bidvest, Stanlib, Deloitte, Vodacom, DSTV / Multichoice and SAA to mention a few.

Comedian, Jason Goliath is back on television screens as a member of the cast of the second season of the South African Film and television award (SAFTA)-winning Celebrity Game Night.  

Jason is considered one of the funniest on the continent previously scoring him an invite to represent the continent at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, Canada both in 2015 and 2017. 

Jeremy Maggs is a South African journalist, radio host and television presenter, best known for hosting the South African version of the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and for his anchoring roles on top South African 24 hour news channel eNCA on DStv over the past ten years. He has also co-hosted the quiz show Test The Nation and currently hosts his own show "Maggs On Media" - also on the eNews Channel, where he continues to watch the industry. 

In radio, Maggs co-presented SAfm's weekday afternoon current affairs programme, PM Live, as well as being the host of the Sunday morning media and advertising show, Media @ SAFM which focused on the advertising and communications industry. The programme ran for ten years and Maggs refers to it as his "great joy". He also is an editor, publishing The Annual; a hardcover of the yearly business in the media. In 2014, Maggs joined POWER 98.7 as a radio host of a new slot called Best of POWER - which shines the spotlight on media innovation, technology, trends, culinary inspiration and world.

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Jim Jermanok is an award-winning author, filmmaker, executive coach and success expert based in New York. He is a world-renowned expert on entrepreneurship, networking, creative success, and creativity. He recently co-wrote The Way Up: Climbing the Corporate Mountain as a Professional of Color for Wiley. This advisory and inspiring book is highly anticipated and will be launched in December 2022. Jim Jermanok’s recent bestseller, BEYOND THE CRAFT: What You Need to Know to Make A Living Creatively! was published in 2017 to great acclaim. Its second edition was released in September 2022. It is a current and insider’s guide to doing what one needs to do to make a living creatively. Famed British actor Stephen Fry recommended it as “a concise, easy-to-read and fabulously serviceable guide to finding your way round the apparently complex, baffling and unwelcoming world of the creative media. Few people are in a better position than Jim Jermanok, who has done it all, to guide the novice and even the experienced practitioner.” Mr. Jermanok has co-written two books with real estate expert and golfing enthusiast, Fred Gelfand, DIVE IN: Real Estate Investment Advice From A Pro and GOLF LIFE: Confessions of an Average Golfer. Jim is currently writing and directing AN ACTOR’S ACTOR, a feature documentary about the life and art of Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau featuring interviews by Chris Rock, Dianne Ladd, Jon Voight, Woody Allen and Ellen Burstyn, among many others. Jim has written over two dozen screenplays including PASSIONADA, a sophisticated romantic comedy that was released in over 120American cities in 2003. It was later released in 2004-2005 by Columbia Tri-Star in over 150 countries. The film stars: Jason Isaacs (HARRY POTTER),Sofia Milos (CSI: MIAMI), Emmy Rossum (SHAMELESS), Theresa Russell and Seymour Cassel. PASSIONADA was the prestigious closing night film of the Seattle International Film Festival. Upon its release by The Samuel Goldwyn Company, the film received high praise from prominent American film critics. Ebert and Roper gave it “TWO THUMBS UP!” on their weekly television program and syndicated column. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote: “Jim Jermanok strives for and achieve a romantic comedy with humorous, fanciful plotting yet shaded by genuine tenderness and passion.” Rex Reed of the New York Observer added that “Passionada is a charming and luxurious romantic interlude carefully constructed and greatly enhanced by fresh dialogue.” Mr. Jermanok went on to write and direct a feature PBS documentary, AGGANIS, about the extraordinary and beloved New England sports legend of years past, Harry Agganis. Jim previously wrote and produced a highly praised film, CLEAR CUT, starring Calista Flockhart. He has also written HIGH MOON, a full-length screenplay commissioned by Just Betzer, the Academy Award-winning Producer of BABETTE'SFEAST. Jim Jermanok wrote and directed “Homophonia,” a political comedy film on gay marriage rights which appeared at The Palm Springs Short Fest and over 50other film festivals while winning several dozen of them. Also active also in TV and New Media, Jim’s revolutionary new web series “LIFEADVICE.TV” has drawn tremendous praise since going live globally on in late 2015. LIFEADVICE.TV gives our oldest and wisest people a voice and the rest of us some guidance in our lives. Jim was an Agent at International Creative Management for nine years. Within a year of starting in the mailroom, he was promoted to a full-fledged agent at the age of 25. He helped to represent: Alan Arkin, John Chancellor, E.L. Doctorow, Helen Hayes, Ben Kingsley, Shirley MacLaine, Arthur Miller, Dudley Moore, Harry Reasoner, Andy Rooney, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf and Henry Winkler, among others.

Joey Evans has always been a keen sportsman and up for an adventure. He’s run several marathons and ultra-marathons, hiked the fish river canyon, finished the Roof of Africa enduro, raced in the Botswana Desert 1000 and ridden his dirt bike throughout South Africa as well as in Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Lebanon and Morocco. 

Joey Evans inspired people across the world when he pulled off a near impossible dream, dragging his battered motorbike along with his broken body over the finish line of the 9000km Dakar Rally. Finishing the longest, most gruelling and dangerous off-road race in the world, was the dramatic end to his extraordinary journey after breaking his back and being paralysed 10 years earlier.

John has spent over40 years in Silicon Valley and has experience as a management consultant, entrepreneur, speaker and author. He is driven by a desire to help individuals and institutions around the world to increase their impact in a rapidly changing world. After recently retiring as a partner from Deloitte, McGraw Hill will be publishing in May John’s new book, The Journey Beyond Fear, which addresses the psychology of change and he is developing a series of programs to help people navigate through change at many levels. John has founded a new company, Beyond Our Edge, LLC, that works with companies and people who are seeking to anticipate the future and achieve much greater impact.

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While at Deloitte, John was the founder and leader of the global Center for the Edge with the mission of identifying emerging business opportunities that should be on the agenda of CEO’s, but are not, and doing the research to persuade them to put them on their agenda. He has also worked with McKinsey & Co. and Boston Consulting Group. He also served as senior vice president of strategy at Atari, Inc., and is the founder of two Silicon Valley startups. He currently is on the Board of Trustees of the Santa Fe Institute, an organization that conducts leading edge research on complex adaptive systems. He also serves on the faculty of Singularity University. He has also led a number of initiatives regarding business transformation with the World Economic Forum. In addition to his new book, John is the author of 7 books, including The Power of Pull, Net Gain, Net Worth, Out of the Box and The Only Sustainable Edge.

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He is widely published and quoted in major business publications including The Economist, Fortune, Forbes, Business Week, Financial Times, and Wall Street Journal, as well as general media like the New York Times, NBC and BBC. He has won two awards from Harvard Business Review for best articles in that publication and has been recognized as an industry thought leader by a variety of publications and institutions, including the World Economic Forum and Business Week. John has spoken at a wide variety of leading conferences including the Davos Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum and the TED conference. He also speaks at many leadership gatherings of major corporations and other institutions. His personal blog for15 years was Edge Perspectives but now his more recent personal blog posts can be found on this website. He is active in social media and can be followed on Twitter and LinkedIn. John holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, a B.Phil. rom Oxford University and a JD and MBA from Harvard University. 2020 – present Founder of Beyond Our Edge, LLC that helps companies and individuals to anticipate and address opportunities for exponential growth.

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2007 –2020 Founder and co-chairman of Deloitte LLP‘s Center for the Edge, a research center based in Silicon Valley with branches in Amsterdam, Melbourne, and Singapore. In addition to leading the research into emerging business opportunities that are not yet on the CEO’s agenda he also worked with clients to help them get more impact as they pursue these opportunities 2001 – 2007 Independent management consultant working with companies around the world on business strategy and opportunities to improve performance. 2000 – 2001 12 Entrepreneuring, Inc. –Chief Strategy Officer San Francisco-based operating company focused on building businesses in the Web services technology arena. Led a team responsible for: evaluating new investment opportunities, providing strategic counsel to 12 Entrepreneuring’s partner companies and synthesizing perspectives on the likely evolution of Web services technology and the implications for business value creation. Helped to launch and build two promising Web services providers, Grand Central and NorthStar.

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1984 – 2000 McKinsey & Company –Principal Global Leader of McKinsey’s Electronic Commerce Practice (which he founded and led from 1993-2000) as well as a leader in McKinsey’s Strategy Practice. Served a broad range of clients across the world, focusing on strategic management and operational performance improvement. 1982-1984 Atari, Inc. – Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning Helped lead successful turn around of Atari’s Home Computer Division; helped to build profitable application software business 1980-1982 Sequoia Group, Inc. – Founder and CEO Founded and led value added reseller providing turnkey computer systems to physicians. Built start-up to $5 million in revenue, becoming the largest provider in its vertical market. Sold the company to MetPath, the largest clinical lab company in the U.S. 1978-1984 Boston Consulting Group – Consultant Served senior management of a broad range of large enterprises on business strategy issues Academic Background MBA – Harvard Business School – 1978 JD –Harvard Law School – 1978 B.Phil. – Oxford University – 1974 BA – Wesleyan University – 1972 Awards and Honors Accenture