COUNCIL MEMBERS

WARWICK VAN BREDA: GLOBAL CHAIRMAN -GOVERNANCE-COMPLIANCE 

APPOINTED TO COUNCIL: 2011

QUALIFICATIONS: BEcon LLB; LLM (STELL); MPHIL (UP)

NATIONALITY: South African

Warwick was invited to join the St Alban’s College Council as an Old Albanian representative in March 2011. An attorney by profession, he trained and worked in corporate finance in London for several years. Warwick returned to South Africa as a general counsel and subsequently moved into executive management and leadership roles within various JSE listed entities. In 2013, Warwick founded Reed Edge, a specialist consultancy providing corporate advisory services to multinational entities in Africa.  He is the CEO of Sirdar Group, a multinational governance advisory firm, serving on several non-executive and advisory boards in Europe, Africa and Australasia.

MIKE KNOLL: PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECT

APPOINTED TO COUNCIL: 2018

QUALIFICATIONS: B. Ach. (PR. Arch) SACAP

NATIONALITY: South African

Mike is a qualified Professional Architect, registered with the appropriate statutory bodies, with 49 years’ full-time experience. He retired from BILD Architects, one of the oldest architectural practises (115 years), in South Africa and is now in private practice at home. He has extensive experience in the broader field of architecture – from concept design, detail design, technical documentation and contract administration.

Mike has fulfilled the role of either Principal Agent or working under a Project Manager on a very diverse range of building projects encompassing retail, corporate, commercial, educational, research, medical, residential, industrial and specialised buildings.

MICHAEL GUY CROFTON HOPKINS: MANAGING DIRECTOR

APPOINTED TO COUNCIL: 2018

QUALIFICATIONS: NHDIP (CIVIL ENG.)

NATIONALITY: South African/Irish

Guy is currently the Managing Director and a Shareholder of Trollope Mining Services. The company operates in the Roads & Earthworks, Heavy Civils, Open Cast Mining and Crushing & Screening sectors, predominantly in the South African and Botswana markets. Guy also looks after the operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea Conakrey in West Africa through a Mauritian owned entity called Brute. Brute is a contract mining company operating in the open cast copper and bauxite sectors of the industry.

His previous experience is 18 years with Group Five in the Roads, Plant and Mining sector and 5 years with LTA Civil Engineering on the Heavy Civils side.

LEAH LEDWABA: MANAGING DIRECTOR  

APPOINTED INTO COUNCIL: 2019

QUALIFICATIONS: BSc (UNISA); MBL (UNISA)

NATIONALITY: South African

Leah has held a variety of senior positions in Management Consulting as well as Information and Communication Technology at multinational corporations. She is the current Managing Director of Lema Industrial Solutions, a company she established in 2017.

GRAHAM WHITTY: CEO EMVAFRICA PTY LTD, CHAIRMAN OF HTE OLD ALBANIAN CLUB 

APPOINTED TO COUNCIL: 2020

QUALIFICATIONS: BCOM (UCT), BPHIL Sustainable Development (STELL)

NATIONALITY: South African

Graham assumed his role as the Old Boys representative on council upon taking up the chairmanship of the Old Albanian Club in March 2020. He is an entrepreneur and business owner who, since 2003, has built a modest family business into a well-established competitor in the distribution of industrial stainless steel as well as valves and actuators. Graham has served as a Director of the South African Stainless Steel Association for many years and currently holds the position of Vice-Chairman.

OBED M.O. MOTSEPE: FINANCE OFFICER 

APPOINTED INTO COUNCIL: 2021

QUALIFICATIONS: BCom (UL); MBL (UNISA); Associate General Accountant (SAICA)

NATIONALITY: South African

Obed was invited to join the St Alban’s College Council as a representative of The Anglican Diocese of Pretoria after elected by its Synod in December 2021. He is a distinguished finance professional with over 25 years of experience in the financial sector. His career began as a banking clerk, and he has since ascended to executive management and leadership roles within various large and global organizations.

Currently, Obed serves as the Finance Officer at the World Bank Group, where he plays a pivotal role in managing financial operations and strategies. His expertise and leadership have been instrumental in driving financial stability and growth within the organization. Obed serves in various capacities within the church and his appointment to the Council reflects his commitment to education and community service. His extensive experience and academic background make him a respected figure in the finance and governance sectors.

DR ABBEY MATHEKGA: DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENROLMENT AND STUDENT ADMINISTRATION   

APPOINTED INTO COUNCIL: 2022

QUALIFICATIONS: UDE, BA Ed (North-West University), B Ed (Hons), MPhil, PhD (University of Pretoria).

NATIONALITY: South African

Dr Mathekga was invited to join the St Alban’s College Council as a higher education specialist and administrator in 2022.  He has vast experience in the education sector and is currently the Director of the Department of Enrolment and Student Administration at the University of Pretoria. He is experienced in international school qualifications and served as a council member for the International School Council and is still an active board member of the local examination board.

MELANIE HUMPHRIES: HEAD OF INVESTEC SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS   

APPOINTED INTO COUNCIL: 2022

QUALIFICATIONS: CA (SA). B.Comm (Law), University of Pretoria. B. Comm (Honours) CTA, University of Johannesburg. Programme for Leadership Development, Harvard Business School.

NATIONALITY: South African

Melanie joined Investec in 2000 and is the Head of Investec Sustainable Solutions.

Previously she was the Regional Head of Investec Pretoria. Before joining the Private Bank, she headed up Structured Asset Finance in Investec Corporate and Institutional Banking, which included Investec’s Aviation Finance, Export and Agency Finance and Supplier Finance Businesses.

In her time at Investec, she has been involved in all aspects of lending, including structured finance, aircraft finance, other asset-based finance, cross border transactions and debt origination and, more recently, Private Banking and Sustainable Finance.

DON MILLAR: CHARTED ACCOUNTANT  

APPOINTED INTO COUNCIL: 2024

QUALIFICATIONS: Chartered Accountant (SA)

NATIONALITY: South African

Don is a senior executive of Nimble Special Opportunities, a special situations investment vehicle investing across various industries in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on unique circumstances, including distress, but with appetite for traditional opportunities.

Don has a focus on M&A and corporate finance advisory mandates in Africa with extensive experience across a number of Industries. Don founded Clarity Advisory, an independent advisory business, in 2001. Prior to founding Clarity, Don completed articles at Deloitte and then moved to Deloitte Corporate Finance.

Don has a great person passion for wildlife and had been involved in numerous safari tourism and related safari businesses locally and across the continent and has an extensive experience in the sector.

Don is a director and Chairman of a number of boards including Saryx Engineering, Clotan, MCG Industries, Inzinc, Callforce, Ntsheli Nature Reserve and sits on the investment committees of a private equity and venture capital fund, The Ridge School Trust and the St Alban’s Council where he has two boys.