Ramaphosa to address SA’s biggest board meeting, The Directors Event

President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the keynote address at this year's edition of The Directors Event, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre on June 8 2018.

Dr Jabu Mabuza, chairman of Business Leadership South Africa, will deliver this year’s Chairman’s Report.

Now in its fourth year, The Directors Event invites industry leaders to debate three issues of national importance and discuss solutions in a public forum, moderated by highly respected media personalities.

Youth employment, entrepreneurship, the use of technology to promote inclusive growth, and our political economy will be hot topics on this year’s highly focused discussion programme, which attracts participation from the country’s most prominent business and government leaders – and an audience of 300 “board member” delegates.

“We are honoured to have President Ramaphosa address this important gathering of some of the top minds in South Africa,” says Bongani Siqoko, editor of the Sunday Times.

“We invited him as a response to the call he made during his maiden state of the nation address earlier this year, calling on all South Africans, in their small corners, to help develop this country. We believe, strongly, that corporate South Africa has a massive role to play and we are very excited that everyone seems to have accepted President Ramaphosa’s 'Thuma Mina' call.” 

Nontokozo Madonsela, chief marketing officer of MMI Holdings, the JSE-listed holding company for Momentum, Metropolitan and other financial services providers, says: “We are incredibly honoured and excited that President Cyril Ramaphosa will be delivering the keynote address.

“Over the past few months, we have experienced a wave of change in the country that has brought with it much-needed confidence in what we can achieve. As a company with deep roots in South Africa, serving a broad spectrum of citizens and businesses, we are heeding the president’s call to lend a hand in addressing our challenges. We are saying #CountUsIn – we want to be there. We believe this platform creates a space where we can have constructive dialogue and come up with concrete solutions that can  contribute to improving the state our country.”

Ramaphosa will be the highest-ranking government official to address The Directors Event this year. Previous keynote speakers have included Caroline Galvan, lead economist and editor of the Africa Competitiveness Report for the World Economic Forum; and former deputy minister of finance Mcebisi Jonas.

Minister of Science and Technology Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane and Enoch Godongwana, chairperson of the ANC sub-committee on economic transformation, will represent the perspectives of the government and the governing party during round-table discussions at this year’s event.

The Directors Event programme is tailored to the needs of companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, educators and non-profit organisations that are serious about turning around South Africa’s socioeconomic crisis.

To view the 2018 agenda and speaker profiles or to book tickets, visit the website.

The Directors Event, brought to you by the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies and MMI Holdings, is supported by partners Mancosa (GSB), the Institute of Directors, and Greymatter & Finch.