Sam Rolland is the Network Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at EICN, specialising in understanding the complexities of the South African economy. He holds a masters degree in economics from Stellenbosch University and studied further at the Institute for Social Studies in The Hague, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College in New York state.

Sam has worked in both the public and private sector, first as an economist within the Economic Policy division of the National Treasury, and then as a consulting economist at Econometrix and Deloitte.

He spent time in Switzerland as an economist for airline industry body IATA and sits on the sub-committee for Education and Training at Business Unity South Africa. He is passionate about tackling South Africa’s socio-economic challenges.

Bridgitte Backman has worked in both the public and private sector, across industries, sectors and functions.  She is the past Deputy Commissioner at SARS responsible for Corporate and Enterprise Services.  

She holds an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University with an exchange semester at the Haas Business School at the University of California at Berkeley. She also holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a postgraduate HDE from the University of Cape Town. She is a Visiting Fellow at the SAID Business School at the University of Oxford. She is a past board member of the UN Global Compact South Africa.  

Expanding horizons for herself and others is a key tenet of her make-up and hence her focus on the development of young professionals who embrace the ethos of making a difference. She is passionate about fostering a better understanding of the Global South, its unique challenges as well as opportunities in order to build a better future and foster the common good for all citizens and especially the youth.

Germinah Nyikana is the HR Executive for Clicks Retailers. She plays a key role in fostering a culture of inclusivity and growth across the organisation. With over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, her strong commitment to learning and development, building empowered, resilient teams and shaping HR strategies has supported organisational success. She is an advocate for community development and is passionate about giving back.

Germinah previously held senior roles at Shoprite Group, HomeChoice SA and The Foschini Group.

Sinazo is a qualified Chartered Accountant with a B.Comm (Accounting) degree from the University of the Western Cape and postgraduate diplomas from UNISA. With 11 years of corporate, public sector and auditing experience, she started her career at the Auditor General South Africa and other private audit firms. She later joined Woolworths Holdings and currently holds the position of Risk, Governance & Compliance Manager at Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages.

Mascha holds a BA Degree from Free State University and a Secondary Teachers’ Diploma from UCT. She taught languages in Bloemfontein and Cape Town.

Her career path led her to the Urban Foundation, where she began working with Anne Griffiths, founder of the PSP. Mascha subsequently led PSP for over 25 years, which provided her with valuable insight into South Africa’s evolving educational landscape, allowed her to contribute meaningfully to a pioneering teacher development organisation, and grew her passion for excellent education in collaboration with numerous influential educationalists and organisations.