Our conference theme – Ethical Leadership Beyond Profit | Organisations as Catalysts for Ethical Societies – suggests that organisational leaders may have an increasing responsibility (and opportunity) to play a positive formative role in society. Throughout history, our greatest leaders have been those who made an indelible positive impact on the world, often contributing to the creation of more just societies.

In an era marked by increasing insecurity and global uncertainty, the future direction of our societies is increasingly unclear. Global political tensions, climate change, artificial intelligence, and corruption add to this uncertainty, with governments unable to solve these issues alone.

At this ethics conference, we will invite leaders to reflect on their personal journeys and consider the contributions they, and others, can make at leadership level. We will explore how organisational leaders can take on this growing responsibility, driven not only by benevolence but by the necessity of ensuring the sustainability of both our organisations and our society.

The conference consists of two parts: an Ethical Leadership Symposium followed by a Practical Ethics Workshop. The event is presented in a hybrid format, offering the option to attend either in person or virtually.

Conference Chair | Dr Liezl Groenewald

Ethical Leadership Symposium

10:00 – 10:20 Welcoming and opening | Dr Liezl Groenewald: CEO TEI

10:20 – 11:35Arising from the ashes – stories of ethics restoration and moral courage

12:00 – 12:00Panelist: Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka (Public Protector of SA)
12:00 – 12:00Panelist: Mr Stephen van Coller (Former CEO of EOH)
12:00 – 12:00Moderator: Prof. Deon Rossouw (Chairperson of Banknote Ethics Initiative)

11:35 – 11:45Public launch of the Conflicts of Interest Handbook

12:00 – 12:00Mr Kris Dobie: Senior Organisational Ethics Expert at TEI

11:45 – 12:00Symposium closure | Dr Liezl Groenewald

12:00 – 12:0012:00 – 13:00 LUNCH

Ethics Workshop

12:00 – 13:00How to positively influence employee behaviour – moving beyond theory into practice

13:00 – 13:10 Opening | Mr Lulama Qabaka: Ethics and Anti-Corruption Specialist at TEI

13:10 – 13:50Positively influencing employee behaviour

12:00 – 12:00Ms Masego Haile Solomon: Head of Ethics Office at Public Investment Corporation

13:55 – 14:35Storytelling as means of positively influencing employee behaviour

12:00 – 12:00Dr Paul Vorster: Senior Research Specialist at TEI

12:00 – 12:0014:35 – 15:00 Comfort break

15:00 – 15:50Sustaining positive employee behaviour

12:00 – 12:00Ms Phumelele Zwane: Group Head of Ethics at Absa Bank

15:50 – 16:00CLOSING | Dr Liezl Groenewald

Dr Liezl Groenewald

Dr Liezl Groenewald is the CEO of The Ethics Institute (TEI), and she recently concluded her term as the President of the Business Ethics Network of Africa (BEN-Africa). In 2022, she successfully completed her PhD in Applied Ethics.

With a wealth of experience, Dr Groenewald takes on the role of a seasoned facilitator for The Ethics Institute, as well as for the Institute of Directors South Africa (IoDSA). Additionally, she serves as a guest lecturer at a business school in Innsbruck, Austria (MCI), and at various business schools in South Africa.

Dr Groenewald is a sought-after speaker at both local and international conferences. She contributes her insights as a media commentator on matters related to ethics and whistleblowing, and she adeptly moderates discussions. Her expertise extends to being an author of articles on business and military ethics. Notably, she has authored The Whistleblowing Non-retaliation Toolkit, Whistleblowing First Responder Guide, along with the Whistleblowing Management Handbook. She has also co-authored the Ethics and Compliance Handbook, as well as the Institutionalising Ethics Handbook.

In terms of her affiliations, Liezl actively participates on the Council of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and is chairperson of its Governance and Ethics Committee. She holds a membership on the Inaugural Committee of the International Society of Military Ethics for Africa (Afro-ISME), the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Ethics Committee and is a valued member of the Advisory Boards for BEN-Africa and Visslan, a whistleblowing service provider based in Sweden. Her dedication to research is evident as she serves as a research associate at the Stellenbosch University’s Philosophy Department. On a global scale, Dr. Groenewald represented South Africa in the global technical working groups responsible for ISO 37000, the ISO Standard for the Governance of Organisations, as well as ISO 37002, the ISO Whistleblowing Management Standard. Her multifaceted involvement showcases her deep commitment to advancing ethical practices within organisations and across industries.

Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka

Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka resumed her career as an aspirant prosecutor in 2004 and left the National Prosecuting Authority in 2016 as a Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions after 10 years of her 12 years prosecutions and executive management at the High Court level.

She thereafter was employed as the Special Advisor to the Ministers for the Department of Public Service and Administration; Department of Home Affairs and Department of Finance in the republic of South Africa respectively – with a specific focus in the areas of administration, legal, legislation and policy development, strategy, compliance and governance. Adv. Gcaleka, served on the Committee of Enquiry probing the state of affairs of municipalities across Gauteng.
She has also served on various boards and is currently a board member of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), a member of the United Nations Working Group of the International Ombudsman Institute and is the Chairperson of the African Ombudsman Research Centre (AORC). She is also the co-drafter of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism South African, Charter of the National General Council. Advocate Gcaleka, the Public Protector of South Africa now spans just over 19 years legal experience.

She is the former first black female National Chairperson of the Society of State Advocates. Adv. Gcaleka holds a LLB Degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a LLM with her dissertation titled “Impact of the financial intelligence centre act and the risk-based approach on the closing of bank accounts” in Commercial Law from the University of Johannesburg. She is currently doing her second Masters in Cyber Security. She is now the Public Protector of the Republic of South Africa.

Mr Stephen van Coller

Stephen assumed the role of Group CEO at EOH on September 1, 2018. Prior to joining EOH, he held the position of Vice President at MTN, where he oversaw Digital Services, Data Analytics, and Business Development. During his tenure at MTN, Stephen played pivotal roles as a member of the MTN Group Executive Committee, the Group Transformation Board, and the Group Operations Committee.

Stephen boasts a wealth of experience in the banking sector, where he accumulated expertise over two decades. His distinguished career path includes a significant tenure at Deutsche Bank South Africa, spanning from 1996 to 2006. He served as Managing Director, Head of Investment Banking, and held positions on the Executive Committee, as well as serving as a trustee on the foundation.

Subsequently, from 2006 to 2016, Stephen held the position of Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) at Barclays Africa Group. His contributions extended beyond executive leadership as he chaired the Citizenship and Innovation Committees across Africa, participated as a member of the Barclays Plc Global Investment Committee, and contributed to the Barclays Social Innovation Fund. Furthermore, he held the prestigious role of Chairman of The Absa Foundation Trust during his tenure with Barclays Africa Group.

Prof. Deon Rossouw

Prof Deon Rossouw previously served as the CEO of The Ethics Institute (based in Pretoria) and currently holds the position of governance associate. He is an Extraordinary Professor in Philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch, and Chairperson of the International Banknote Ethics Initiative.

Deon studied at Stellenbosch University where he also was chairman of the student representative council. His academic career started at Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg where he became Professor and Head of the Philosophy Department and served on the Executive Committee of the University. In 2004, he moved to the University of Pretoria where he was Head of the Philosophy Department and Director of the Centre for Business and Professional Ethics. During 2008 to 2009, he spent a year as Program Executive for Business Ethics at the Globethics.net Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland.

Deon is an internationally recognized expert in Business Ethics and the Ethics of Corporate Governance, and published several books as well as academic articles in leading international journals.

He was the Founding President of the Business Ethics Network of Africa (BEN-Africa) and served as President of the International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics (ISBEE).

Deon is a member of the King Committee for Corporate Governance in South Africa. He also chairs the Social and Ethics Committee Forum of the IoDSA.

He has been recognized as a Chartered Director by the Institute of Directors of South Africa, and serve in executive and non-executive positions on a number of governing bodies.

Ms Masego Haile Solomon

Masego’s leadership was instrumental in the comprehensive revision of PIC values, culminating in a successful launch in January 2024 and reinforcing organizational integrity.

Masego serves as the Head of Ethics at the Public Investment Corporation, boasting over twenty years of esteemed service within the financial services sector. Her extensive experience encompasses diverse areas such as Enterprise-wide Risk Management, Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption initiatives, and Ethics Risk Management Programmes. Her academic background includes prestigious education from the University of the Witwatersrand, complemented by a Senior Executive Programme Africa Certificate from Harvard University, providing her with a blend of scholarly excellence and hands-on expertise. Additionally, she holds certification as an Ethics Officer and a diploma in Financial Crime Prevention.

With a keen focus on strategic foresight and an unwavering commitment to integrity, Masego specialises in developinge and executing impactful Ethics and Anti-Corruption strategies. She has notably contributed to the establishment of Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption programmes and Ethics Offices for both Barclays Africa and Absa Bank. Moreover, she spearheaded the creation of the Ethics Office at the PIC from its inception. Her leadership was instrumental in the comprehensive revision of PIC values, culminating in a successful launch in January 2024 and reinforcing organisational integrity.

Dr Paul Vorster

Dr Paul Vorster is an accomplished Industrial Organisational Psychologist who has dedicated his career to training and development programmes and research that promote ethical decision-making and conduct in the workplace.

He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial-Organisational Psychology from the University of Johannesburg with his primary topic involving the psychometric measurement of personality. Additionally, he obtained an Ethics Officer Certification from the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) and The Ethics Institute. He has also consulted with the United Nations funded International Anti-Corruption Academy and is also a member of the International Test Commission which evaluates psychometric validity of survey measurement techniques (psychometrics).

With over 11 years of experience in training and development, and psychometric measurement, Dr Vorster has expertise in a range of content areas. He has facilitated programmes in leadership profiling, ethics and business ethics, ethical culture and climate, ethical decision-making, behavioural ethics (combating social forces that may undermine ethical decision-making), ethics ambassador training, resolving ethical dilemmas and challenges, and professional ethics. He has also made a substantial impact in the measurement of ethical culture and climate and is one of the custodians of the Ethics Ambassador Programme. Dr Vorster has written the Ethical Culture Handbook as well as the Ethics Ambassadors’ Handbook both of which try to help organisations to improve and understand their ethical culture. In addition, he has also been the custodian of the South African Business Ethics Survey as well as the Social and Ethics Committee Trends Survey both of which illuminate the state of the governance of ethics, ethics management, and ethical culture in organisations across South Africa. Dr Vorster’s efforts have had a significant impact, and he is credited with the development of the Ethics@theMovies concept, which has been implemented in South Africa since 2013. He is also credited with assisting organisations to engage in behavioural ethics programmes helping them to improve their ethical culture maturity.

Dr Vorster is a respected thought leader and has been invited to speak at various events. He has shared his insights at conferences, workshops, and webinars. He has also been a guest on several TV and radio shows, where he has discussed the importance of promoting ethical decision-making in the workplace.

Ms Phumelele Zwane

Phumelele Radebe Zwane is a Certified Ethics Officer and a Certified Risk Management Practitioner. Currently serving as the Group Head of Ethics for Absa Group, she has played a pivotal role in the company’s ethical initiatives.

Under Phumelele’s leadership, Absa achieved its first Ethics Industry award in 2022 and maintained its position as one of the top three shortlisted companies for the 2023 Ethics Industry award.

Phumelele brings a wealth of experience to her role, having served in various capacities such as internal auditor, operational risk manager, Chief Risk Officer, and Group head of compliance across both public and private sectors. She has assisted organisations with establishing their Ethics, Risk, and Compliance Programmes and provided advice and guidance on a broad range of governance issues in across diverse sectors including banking, energy, forestry, health laboratory services, aviation, and the financial industry.

Phumelele earned her undergraduate degree in Business Finance (with a focus on Investments and Corporate Finance) and Marketing from the University of the Witwatersrand. She furthered her education by obtaining a master’s degree in business administration from Unisa. Additionally, she holds certification as a Certified Airport Professional from the Airports Council International and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Lulama Qabaka

Lulama Qabaka joined The Ethics Institute in February 2020 as an Ethics and Anti-Corruption Specialist, and he is the TEI Subject Matter Expert for State-owned Entities.

Lulama was employed at Armscor (2016 – 2020) as a Compliance and Risk Officer. During this time, he was tasked with implementing ethics in the organisation as well as the Anti-bribery Management System ISO 37001. These activities led to him conducting ethics training for employees, drafting ethics documents such as the code of conduct, fraud risk plans, as well as being involved in managing the whistleblowers line.

He is an Ethics and Anti-Corruption Specialist at The Ethics Institute. His role includes advising clients on ethics-related matters, conducting and compiling ethics risk assessments, and conducting ethics training for all levels across organisations.

Lulama is a certified Ethics Officer, has a BCom Law qualification, and is part of TEI’s faculty for the Ethics Officer Certification Program (EOCP).

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