Henley Centre for Leadership UK and Africa Joint Learning Event: Beyond the Ballot - Reasons for Leadership Optimism in Business During Political Change

Both South Africa and the UK are going through times of significant political change following the recent unveiling of the new coalition government by South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa and the general election in the UK resulting in a Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer for the next five years. Both countries, but also business, second sector or NGOs, will undoubtedly feel the impact in the short and long term.

What does this change actually mean for organisations? Does it matter at all? How do leaders in South Africa and the UK successfully navigate the political landscape, utilising the impacts in a positive way?

This is an ideal opportunity to harvest global leadership insights, with voices from the southern and northern hemispheres coming together. Join the first joint online learning event by Henley Centre of Leadership UK and Henley Centre for Leadership Africa, working in tandem to discuss this crucial issue for business leaders and instil leadership action.

This webinar will be held on 18 September 2024 at 12:30pm (UK time) via Microsoft Teams and is open to all.

Helen Gordon has served as the President of Council at the University of Reading since August 2022, having been a member of Council from 2017. She is also a leadership coach and has coached senior leaders in the not-for-profit, charity and commercial sectors for over 16 years. In addition, she is a trustee of the charity Arts Enterprise for Social Purpose and was appointed a non-executive director of International Data Group in January 2024. She has contributed to higher education governance for some time, having previously served for nine years as a governor at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, which is now a university. She graduated with an MBA from Henley Business School in 1997 and is a keen supporter of the alumni community.

Originally training as a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, Helen progressed through a number of clinical and managerial positions in hospitals in the NHS before moving to board-level positions. Helen held a variety of Chief Executive Officer roles over 24 years, first in NHS hospitals and then in national professional bodies in heath and science, before moving onto focus on her portfolio of non-executive work, coaching and musical interests.

Brian Mhlanga is a leadership coach, facilitator and mediator, with expertise in the fields of diversity, equity and inclusion, leadership, personal development, culture, business management, strategy and conflict management. A trained expert in social justice, conflict resolution, design thinking, leadership and personal mastery, Brian is passionate about making a positive contribution to Africa by supporting leaders, organisations and communities in overcoming past obstacles and creating exponential impact. His vision is to provide sustainable solutions to companies and support individuals and teams in understanding others at a deeper level.

Brian facilitates team coaching and leadership development training for management teams, which entails one-on-one coaching, strategy development, leadership training and implementing change management processes. Working deeply with issues of diversity, exclusion and marginalisation in developing connection, purpose and community, he creates nurturing spaces for enquiry and self-understanding.

In March 2017, Brian was awarded an accolade from the South African Human Rights Commission for the promotion of human rights using radio as a medium. He serves a member of the Multi-Sectoral Working Group (African region) on combatting corruption, an associate body of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption. In addition, Brian works closely with the Moral Regeneration Movement on numerous campaigns with government/political leaders in South Africa.

He currently holds visiting positions at Henley Business School Africa, Johannesburg Business School and St Augustine College of South Africa. Brian's articles have appeared in numerous publications and platforms, including Sowetan, HR Pulse, Business Brief, HR Future and SME South Africa.

Khanyi Mlambo is a senior associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and the Managing Director of KM ESH Consulting. She is a certified executive and management coach and a mental health wellness practitioner who is passionate about driving sustainability and shared value principles for businesses to purposefully pursue sustainable growth, while positively impacting customers, society and the environment. Her career spans over 30 years across multinational businesses, with roles including Head of Responsible Business at Old Mutual, various director roles at Standard Bank Group and executive director and board member at Corobrik.

Khanyi is a non-executive director at Southern African HIV and Aids Collaboration and Legacy Africa Publishing. She is a committee member of the Institute of Directors SA (Social and Ethics Committee) and an associate of the Shared Value Africa Initiative. Previously, she was a board member of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact Network South Africa, the National Business Initiative, Nozala Trust and Motheo Construction Group, a well as holding the position of the chair of Centre for Statistics in Ecology, the Environment and Conservation and the Construction Industry Development Board. She co-founded and chaired the South African Women in Construction and is key in assisting stakeholders in delivering the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Currently a candidate for a Masters in Community Psychology, Khanyi holds an Honours degree in Psychology, a Bachelors degree in Applied Social Sciences, a national diploma in Architecture and a postgraduate diploma in Marketing Management. She attained certificates in Business Management (University of Cape Town) and Executive General Management (Gordon Institute of Business Science) and attended the University of Cambridge's CISL Prince of Wales' Business and Sustainability Programme.

To register to attend this webinar, please visit our signup page here.

This webinar is hosted by Professor Claire Collins, Emerita Professor at Henley Business School, in collaboration with Henley Centre for Leadership Africa.