Sola David-Borha, CEO (Africa Regions), Standard Bank Group, and Kuseni Dlamini, chairman of JSE-listed Massmart Limited, a leading African retail group operating 436 stores in 13 sub-Saharan Africa countries, have been confirmed among speakers at the African Business Convention (ABC) being organised by BusinessDay in February.
The confirmed speakers join a line-up of business leaders and policy makers across the African continent, who will offer insights into the prevailing challenges confronting businesses on the continent as well as emerging opportunities and how to leverage them.
Prior to her appointment as Standard Bank’s CEO, David-Borha was the CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc, and currently serves as the vice chairman of the board of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
She started her banking career at the NAL Merchant Bank (now known as Sterling Bank), where she worked in the Credit and Marketing Department from 1984 to 1989, before joining Investment Banking and Trust Company (IBTC), which later merged with two commercial banks to become IBTC Chartered. When the Standard Bank Group acquired IBTC in 2007, she was appointed to serve as Deputy Chief Executive of the bank and head of IB Coverage Africa, and she rose to become CEO of Stanbic IBTC Bank in 2011 and CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc in 2012.
Her outstanding achievements in these executive roles earned her the ‘Business Woman of the Year’ award for the West Africa region, and the ‘Business Woman of the Year for Africa,’ both from the All Africa Business Leaders Awards in 2016.
Shortly after receiving these awards, she resigned from her position as CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings to assume her current position. She leads the Stanbic Group’s African financial operations, executing duties that range from governance to risk control and expansion.
On his part, Dlamini, apart from being the chairman of Massmart Limited, is also the chairman of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited, a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer headquartered in South Africa, with operations in over 50 countries. He is the chairman of The American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa and a member of the board of the Southern Africa-Canada Chamber of Commerce.
Dlamini is a former CEO of Old Mutual South Africa and Emerging Markets. Prior to this he was the head of Anglo American South Africa, a member of the Executive Committee of Anglo American in London, and was the director of Anglo Platinum.
He is also the former Executive Chairman of Richards Bay Coal Terminal Company (RBCT) Limited and a former chairman of Anglo Operations (Pty) Limited. As part of his career in mining he held a number of senior positions at Anglo Gold Ashanti and De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited in South Africa and the UK.
Between February 9 and 10, BusinessDay will convene (virtually) some of the continent’s business leaders, who will over the coming years be relied on to deliver unmet business needs across the continent.
The two-day session is also expected to provide government leaders across the continent a platform to share their plans for the year, with respect to enabling businesses in their countries and encouraging business relationships within the continent. It will also enable government leaders and policy makers take feedback on impact of policies from business leaders across the continent.
