2017 – Present: Founder of Aarya Legal – a 100% black women owned and staffed – legal, B-B BEE and transformation consultancy providing commercial legal, labour law and governance services to entrepreneurs, non-profit companies, corporates and schools. Wenwork with a number of incubator and accelerator programmes.

2013 – July 2017: Novate Legal – I co-founded a law firm based on providing innovative fixed fee legal services to entrepreneurs and non-profit companies. We focussed on commercial legal services, labour law, transactional work and broad-based black economic empowerment strategies. I pioneered the Board Ready Woman program in conjunction with the 30% Club of South Africa.

2011: Researcher in the Business and Human Rights unit of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights. This
position involved in-depth research and case preparation.

2008 – 2011: Associate at Webber Wentzel, a corporate law firm. I worked in the labour department and insurance and aviation
litigation department.

2006 – 2007 Candidate Attorney at Webber Wentzel.

2005 – 2007 Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand in the laws of Succession and Family Law.

2005: Legal Researcher to the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Arthur Chaskalson and, later, to the Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Dikgang Moseneke.

An experienced accountant with over 15 years in the audit and accountancy space in both the private and public sector stemming from her roles at Xolani Phumeza & Associates and later KPMG South Africa. Linda holds a Bachelor in Commerce (Accounting) Degree and Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Fort Hare – Nkuhlu Department of Accounting.

Linda completed her South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) accredited articles at KPMG Johannesburg. She stayed on as an audit manager in Financial Services before establishing her consulting company, Nomatshawe Group, in 2020.

Linda is a Fellow of the 4th Class of the Young African Leadership Initiative – South Africa (ALI – YL), an extension of the Aspen Global Leadership Network fellowship.

Linda has an inherent passion for business, people, development and transformation.

Nompumelelo Sibalukhulu (formally Runji) is a socio-political analyst, researcher, entrepreneur, and published author.  She is the founder and managing director n of Critical ThinkAR, a consulting firm specialising in social research, policy analysis, stakeholder and project management, technical assistance, and training. She also provides moderation and facilitation services.

In addition to founding and running a research consulting company, Nompumelelo has worked as a researcher, project coordinator and project manager. She has worked at various organisations including the Institute for Security Studies, Forum for Public Dialogue, Friederich Ebert Stiftung South Africa, the Sowetan (South Africa’s second biggest daily newspaper) and Democracy Works Foundation. She also lectured at the University of Pretoria Department of Political Science, in the subjects of Political Science and Security Studies for several years. She is a life and leadership coach, having completed the Ubuntu Training Course for coaches, which is accredited by the International Coaching Federation, and serves on the board of trustees of the Indlulamithi Scenarios 2030.

She holds a Master of Philosophy in Multidisciplinary Human Rights, a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Political Science, and Bachelor of Social Science in Industrial Sociology and Labour Studies from the University of Pretoria

Lukhona Mnguni is a governance, politics and development specialist. He currently serves as the Acting Executive Director and Head of Policy and Research. He has also played in the politics broadcasting space, having hosted a flagship show: Power Talk on POWER987, a commercial radio station in Gauteng Province and recently, On the Spot with Lukhona Mnguni on eNCA.

Lukhona is a conference speaker, locally and internationally, invited by a variety of organisations from the banking sector to investors and various organisations in the civil society space. He dedicates some of his time to availing himself as a board member to a few organisations that align with his values and vision for society, such as Oxfam SA, Democracy Development Program, McCord Trust. Lukhona is currently a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

He holds a Bachelor in Community and Development Studies and an Honours degree in Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies, both achieved cum laude from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Lukhona completed his MSc in Africa and International Development at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2015. Mnguni is a published scholar whose research has benefited several institutions, including the film industry.

Tessa Dooms is a Director at the Rivonia Circle, political think-tank and author of the recently released book ‘Coloured’ that explores identity politics in South Africa.

Trained as a Sociologist, development practitioner and political analyst, Tessa started her career in academia. She has worked in diverse sectors including government, NGOs and the private sector, where she did work that aligns the objectives of various institutions and programmes with developmental objectives for the advancement of Africa.

She has 15 years’ experience as a development worker, trainer and researcher with expertise on governance, youth development and innovation, and has worked in over 10 African countries. In 2015 she was appointed to the National Planning Commission to advise the President on the implementation of the National Development Plan of South Africa.

Tessa is a Trustee of the Kagiso Trust. She holds a Masters of Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand.