The distinguished
gentleman
Bongani Khumalo, CEO of Gidani, is the epitome of the businessperson with a
conscience. Nikki Temkin sat down with him
One thing is clear the minute I sit
down with Professor Bongani Khumalo:
he’s articulate, polite and engaging.
His list of accomplishments before
becoming the chairman and CEO of
the privately owned BEE company
Gidani, the national lottery operator,
is extensive, yet he is inordinately
humble and without arrogance – he
seems to genuinely care about social
upliftment through the distribution of P
lottery funds. I also notice the beaded
R
AIDS ribbon proudly pinned to the lapel
O
of his jacket. The more we speak, the
more I begin to discover that this is a
F
man with humanitarian causes close to
I
his heart, but – with (among others)
L
a diploma in broadcast journalism,
E
a master’s degree in corporate and
|
political communications from Fairfield
University in the USA and an MBA from
b
Henley University – he’s also a solid and u
exceptionally experienced businessman.
s
Khumalo speaks slowly, deliberately
i
and softly, acknowledging,” I am a n
business person, a business leader
e
and have been lucky enough to have
participated in the transformation of
ss
business in the country.”
But luck has nothing to do with
it – it’s clear from Khumalo’s CV that
he spent solid time acquiring business
acumen at some of South Africa’s
leading companies. He joined Eskom
as corporate communications manager
in 1991 and subsequently became
human resources director and later
deputy chief executive of public affairs.
Yet, as someone committed to making
a difference, he also once worked for
the Council of Churches as the head of
communications, and there was also a
short stint with the Red Cross. There,
during the mid 80s, he also became
involved in the fight against HIV/
AIDS, which makes him call himself a
“lifetime conscript” in the fight against
the pandemic.
He explains,”Even if you’re not
infected, you are affected.” To this
end, Khumalo is, among others, a
Professor Bongani Khumalo
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