Industry Experience

Our extensive experience ranges across a number of core verticals.

financial services

Prof Hlengani Mathebula has spent over 23 years in the financial services industry. This included serving on a board of a multinational company, chairing a board of one of the largest self-administered retirement funds in South Africa, serving on boards of various asset management companies, serving as a Strategy and Communications Advisor to the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, serving as a member of the central bank’s Financial Stability Committee (FSC), an attendee of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and Member of the Governor’s Executive Committee (GEC). 

His prolific stakeholder engagement expertise stems from having led private banks of two of the four major banks in South Africa and was enhanced by a variety of Senior Executive and management positions in retail, corporate, merchant, private banking and government institutions. His global exposure in central and private banking, coupled with tax and customs matters has provided both depth and width in his understanding of international benchmarks in regulatory and compliance areas in central banking and the broader financial services sector. Beyond central banking, tax and customs, these exposures provided insight into thought processes and system improvements for large institutions. The various leadership positions he has occupied and continues to occupy have strengthened his ability to develop networks for partnerships and collaboration and to enable the co-creation, collaboration and multi-party execution of strategies. 

Some of the positions he held are:

  1. Chief Executive Officer: FNB Personal Banking Unit
  2. Managing Executive/MD ABSA Private Bank
  3. National Director Government Business: FNB Corporate
  4. Managing Partner and Senior Advisor – Cornerstone Capital Partners
  5. Chief Officer: Governance, Strategy, Risk, International Relations and Communications – South African Revenue Services
  6. Group Head: Strategy and Communications – South African Reserve Bank
  7. Strategy and Communications Advisor to the Governor
  8. Chairman of Eskom Pension and Provident Fund

automotive industry

Prof Hlengani Mathebula has vast experience in the automotive industry which led him to be appointed to the board of BMWSA Group.

communications & marketing

Prof Hlengani Mathebula has been the Group Head of Communications and Strategy for the South African Reserve Bank. In this role he led the conceptualisation and launched the new rebranded Mandela notes campaign in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. He has also served in the Board of DDB South Africa – an advertising agency. He was also the Chief Officer responsible for communications at the South African Revenue Services, where he spearheaded many successful campaigns.

pension funds & investments

When he began as Chair of the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF), the fund had assets under management of only R59.2bn. During his tenure (2010 – 2016), the fund’s assets increased to approximately R129.9bn. This growth was achieved under extreme financial constraints in the assets management industry and tough economic performance in South Africa and globally. The growth of the fund was also occasioned by his seasoned visionary corporate leadership, which made him capable of creating an energised executive management team that worked in concert to achieve a shared vision. 

Prof Hlengani Mathebula has also served in the boards of ABSA Stockbrokers, ABSA Fund Managers, ABSA Investment Management Services, and as Chairman and Trustee: North West Growth Fund.

agriculture and tourism

Prof Hlengani Mathebula is the Founder and Chairman of Mathebula Tourism and Agriculture, an enterprise that has owned a game retreat farm and fast-growing crop producer outside Polokwane in South Africa since 2013.

telecommun-ications

Prof Hlengani Mathebula was recently appointed, by the President, to the Board of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA).

mining

leadership, mentoring & coaching

Prof Hlengani Mathebula is a Fellow of the Centre for Leadership and Public Values – The Southern Africa – USA based at Stanford University. He also chaired the African Leadership Group which focuses on promoting a 21st century rebirth of African Leadership, promotes an appreciation of democratic values within Africa, develop and train principled, competent, collaborative and adaptive leaders. The group promotes constructive dialogue among South Africans and Africans at large.

Reputation Management

Now more than ever, there is nothing more powerful than a good reputation, especially online. In our digital age, reputation management – the management of relationships between an organisation and the constituencies on which it depends – has become a critical facet of every successful business.