Appointed CEO of Naspers, South Africa in July 2019, Ms. Phuthi Mahanyele became the first Black African to run the century-old South African media company in its home market. With a breadth of investing experience having co-founded and served as Executive Chairperson of Sigma Capital, Ms. Mahanyele exemplifies strategic business acumen in technology investments. Resultantly, she has received global recognition by CNBC Africa’s All Africa Business Leaders (AABLA) ‘Business Woman of the Year Award 2019’, ForbesWoman (2014), The Wall Street Journal and most recently Forbes ‘Africa’s 50 most powerful women’ in 2020.

Ms. Mahanyele began her career in 1993 at a youthful age, quickly rising her ranks. She holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University and an MBA from De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, and completed the Kennedy School of Government Executive Education programme ‘Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century’ at Harvard University in 2008.