Team

Leadership and Team

The Leadership

Ms Linda Vilakazi

Independent Trustee 
(Chairperson)

Ms Linda Vilakazi

Independent Trustee  (Chairperson)

Ms Vilakazi is an alumnus of the University of Witwatersrand, a qualified teacher, a gender activist, and development champion. Her work experience covers various institutions including the private sector, state-owned entities, development sector, local government, and academia.

Most recently, Ms Vilakazi worked with the Zanele Mbeki Trust as its Managing Director to coordinate local and continental feminist programmes that supports the upliftment of women across all levels. She is a UN Development Fund for Women Youth Award winner, a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative and Aspen Global Leadership Network (ALI), and sits on various boards, including the Telkom Foundation.

Dr Yvonne Dladla

Independent Trustee 

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Dr Yvonne Dladla

Independent Trustee 

Dr Dladla holds a PhD, specialising in Organisational Behaviour and Social Policy. She has pioneered the transformation of South African National Parks as the Director of Social Ecology and the Chairperson of the Transformation Task Group.
Passionate about enhancing the productivity of people, enterprises, economic sectors and the empowerment of people, Dr Dladla brings unique sets of competences that are an outcome of executive management, consulting management experience and non-executive board memberships.

Mr Jacques De Wet

Trustee 

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Mr Jacques De Wet

Trustee 

Mr de Wet is a Chartered Accountant with more than 20 years’ experience in the general finance, corporate finance, and project finance areas.

Mr de Wet, is currently the interim CEO at Timrite, is formerly the Head of the Business Development and Strategy Unit (BDS) at Thebe Investment Corporation. He’s primary responsibility was investment transaction origination and execution, capital raising, establishment and development of new businesses and strategic guidance to companies within the Thebe group.

Before he was appointed, Mr de Wet was the interim CEO of Thebe Mining Resources (TMR), which houses Thebe’s mining and mining services interests.

Ms Neliswa Booi

Chief Executive Officer 

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Ms Neliswa Booi

Chief Executive Officer  

MBA and postgraduate diploma in General Management from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), BSc Honors degree in Statistics and a BSc degree in Applied Mathematics & Statistics from the Nelson Mandela University (formerly University of Port Elizabeth).

Neliswa has over 17 years of working experience in people management, brand management, transformation management, sustainability management, investment management, corporate finance and pension fund advisory. She serves as a non-executive director of Batsumi Airport Ventures (Pty) Ltd, is the Founding Chairman of Thebe Foundation Trust Investments, and has previously served as a non-executive director on a number of boards.

Neliswa has over 17 years of working experience in people management, brand management, transformation management, sustainability management, investment management, corporate finance and pension fund advisory. She serves as a non-executive director of Batsumi Airport Ventures (Pty) Ltd, and has previously served as a non-executive director on a number of boards.

The Team

Dinah Mashamaite

Education Programme Manager 

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Dinah Maropeng

Education Programme Manager 

Dinah has a Primary School Teachers Diploma, BA, BED as well as an MBA. She joined the Thebe Foundation Trust in June 2024 as the Senior Education Specialist. Prior to this, she was working at JET Education Services, managing the Gr R Maths and Language Improvement Program. Her expertise lies in planning, organizing, communication, presentation and facilitation, research, policy development, report writing, computer literacy, problem solving and ability to establish sustainable relationships with stakeholders. She worked in the education and development sector as a Teacher, Lecturer, Project Coordinator, Program Manager, Specialist Manager and currently as the Education Program Manager leading all education programs.

Mamiki Masilo

Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist 

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Mamiki Masilo

Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist 

Mamiki holds an MA in Public Management and Governance from the University of Johannesburg, with a focus on Tech-integrated Policy and research in Monitoring and Evaluation of Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs).

Her diverse educational background also includes a certificate in Lowcode App Development, technical writing, writing for the web, and a certificate in Data Analysis. She is an alumna of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI-RLC) and the Activate Change Drivers Programme. With over three years of experience as a Recruitment Administrator and youth facilitator at Afrika Tikkun NPC, Mamiki has demonstrated her commitment to youth development.

Zanele Ngqola

Office Administrator

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Zanele Ngqola

Office Administrator

Zanele comes to the Foundation with experience as a dedicated professional with a background in Politics and International Relations from Wits University. She has worked in media coordination and document editing with Rakanaka Media where she managed media bookings and developed press materials.

At Career Wise she worked as a Bursary Manager supporting and mentoring beneficiaries for the National Skills Fund.

Her tenure at the Department of Higher Education and Training spanned a decade where she worked in student development and support focusing on financial aid in TVET Colleges working closely with NSFAS, she supported the establishment of college councils and was responsible for developing and refining key policy documents amongst other things