Sibongile ChiumyaBusiness Unit Head of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, Coca-Cola Southern Africa

Providing Strategic and Operational Leadership and Expertise to the Business in the areas of Regulatory Advocacy & Compliance.Creating a Regulatory and Consumer environment conducive to the business and its partners.

Implementation of strategies and procedures in order to remove regulatory barriers to trade , enabling expansion of new product categories.Provide Regulatory support for product innovations.

Her precious role, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs Manager, The Coca-Cola Company. Provided Regulatory guidance, support and expertise to Commercialisation, Marketing , Packaging and R$D in the following counties: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Seychelles, Reunion and Seychelles.

Professor Karen HofmanExecutive Chairman & CEO of Basetsana Woman Investment Holdings (Pty)Ltd

and subsequently served as Policy Director at the US Fogarty International Center. She has consulted for WHO/PAHO and is widely published on global health in peer reviewed local and international journals.

Karen is the Director of PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons for Systems Strengthening) based at the Wits School of Public Health. She leads policy research both within the health system and across other sectors to evaluate interventions that provide the biggest return on investment. for health.

Over the past 8 years, under Karen’s leadership, PRICELESS research has impacted policy and future life expectancy in SA. This includes regulations in 2016 on the salt content of processed food and the recent announcement of a sugary beverage tax slated for2017. The Min of Health also adopted PRICELESS evidence on Best Buys for Maternal and Child Health for the MDG countdown.

A Wits medical graduate and a board-certified paediatrician, Karen spent a decade on faculty at Johns Hopkins and subsequently served as

Lullu KrugelChief Economist, KPMG

Lullu Krugel is a Partner in Financial Risk Management the Chief Economist of KPMG South Africa. She has been employed at KPMG for 9 years as a consulting economist. Lullu is a frequent presenter at conferences and a regular commentator in the media, where she shares her insights about developments in the South African economy. She assists clients such as SAB, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, the Gautrain Management Agency, British American Tobacco, the South African Petroleum Industry Association, the City of Johannesburg, Vodacom and the City of Tshwane, amongst others, to understand the impact that their business decisions and investments have on the South African economy, which investment choices and expansion decisions they should make and how regulatory changes will impact on their future and the future of their stakeholders.

Mpho LegoteDirector - VAT, Excise Duties & Sub-National Taxes, National Treasury

Mpho Legote is Director of Value Added Tax, Excise Duties & Subnational Taxes in the Tax Policy unit of the National Treasury. He has worked on tax policies on alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and the soon-to-be implemented tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

Previously he was a Senior Economist in the Environmental and Fuel Tax Directorate and participated in the team implementing environmental fiscal reform policy, including designing the carbon tax policy.

He joined the National Treasury in 2007 as an intern, rising through the ranks to his current position, Mpho holds an Honours degree in Economics from the University of South Africa.

Dr Neva MakgetlaSenior Economist: Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS)

Dr Neva Makgetla has been Senior Economist: Trade and Industrial Policy at Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) from November 2014. She was Deputy Director General for Economic Policy in the Economic Development Department from 2010 to 2014. Before joining EDD, Makgetla worked for the Presidency, the DBSA and COSATU as well as other government departments. Prior to 1994 she worked in various universities in Africa and the United States. Makgetla’s publications centre on socio-economic challenges facing South Africa, especially around employment creation, equity and investment. She has participated in a number of high-level policy processes on these topics.

Brett NaidooChief Executive Officer at SoftBev

A professional with 25 years of experience, Brett Naidoo efficiently serves as the chief operating officer of SoftBev. Located in South Africa, the company manufactures, sells and distributes non-alcoholic beverages, including Mountain Dew, 7-Up, Pepsi and Capri Sun, among other brands.

As COO, Mr. Naidoo is able to develop commercial architecture and price channel strategy, as well as go-to market strategies. Adept in operations, he has rich experience with business startups, launches and turnarounds, and general management. He provides leadership and oversight of operating companies in major centers of South Africa, specifically in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

Looking toward the future, Mr. Naidoo intends to create a business that is admired for its values above all else. He also aspires to foster a company that has a positive impact on its key constituents.

Hilary Joffe Senior Associate Editor of the Business Day

Hilary Joffe is undoubtedly one of South Africa's most talented financial journalists. Throughout her extensive career and in her current position as the Editor at Large at Business Day, she has sought to provide her readers with insightful and informative economic journalism, for which she has been nationally recognised. She returned to Business Day in 2013 after spending three years at Eskom, as National Spokesperson. Focusing on issues way beyond her realm of expertise such as Eskom's energy crisis; Hilary Joffe has pushed the boundaries of journalism in South Africa and as a result is a highly respected South African journalist.

Although Hilary has worked as an economist, an academic and a full-time mother, she is best known for her input in South African journalism.

Although Hilary has worked as an economist, an academic and a full-time mother, she is best known for her input in South African journalism. Her career began when she joined the Rand Daily Mail newspaper in 1980. A year later she became an economics reporter at the Financial Mail where she would stay for two years. She began working as a lecturer at the University of Cape Town in 1983 as a lecturer in Sociology and Industrial Sociology. She returned to the media four years later as the Business Editor of the Weekly Mail after which she was appointed as a senior economist at Standard Bank. In 1995 she joined Business Day on a part-time basis after having taken some time off from her career to be a full-time mother. Currently she holds the position as the Senior Associate Editor of Business Day and she also writes a weekly column which focuses on economic and social policy as well as the political economy.

Recognitions and awardsHilary has been recognised for her work in terms of Eskom and the 'power crisis' as she received the Energy Journalism Award this year (2009) from the SA National Energy Association. She has also been a winner in The Sanlam Financial Journalism Awards: in 2005 she won the economics section and in 2007 she won the development economics section. Her highest accomplishment thus far however could be her selection as a Ruth First Fellow in 2008. A very prestigious award only given to those who have achieved highly in the field of journalism. In addition to all of these she also received a US embassy award in 2007.

Other professional activitiesHilary was involved in a public debate discussing the impact of the financial crisis in South Africa at Wits University this year(2009), organised by the universities Humanities faculty, it's Business School and The Financial Times. Hilary also has a keen interest in the 'power crisis' that was felt by the whole of the nation and has devoted much time to exploring and writing on this issue and Eskom. Her views have made a huge contribution to the situation.