23 November, 2017. The Wits Business School (WBS), exclusive academic partner for the South African Premier Business Awards (SAPBA) 2017, has announced the judges for this prestigious gala event on 7 December as:

Mr Nhlanhla Nene, Interim Director and Head of School at WBS, Dr Renee Horne, senior lecturer of business in Africa at WBS, and Dr Timothy Hutton, Director of Executive Education at WBS.

WBS will be sponsoring approximately R1 million worth of executive education courses to this year’s winners. “We are delighted to be working with the South African Premier Business Awards. We believe they highlight the best South Africa has to offer while showcasing how so many innovative businesses across all sectors are positively contributing not only to job creation in South Africa, but to the country’s global reputation as a hub of business excellence,” commented Hutton.

Mr Nene, a former Finance Minister who joined WBS as Interim Director in July 2017, is a non-executive director at Allan Gray and Chair of the Supervisory Board of Arise, a Norway-based company focused on supporting growth in Africa through investments in African financial institutions. Nene is also resident advisor to Thebe Investment Corporation, one of South Africa’s leading investment companies.

Dr Horne is not only a senior lecturer and academic, but is also an award-winning political journalist, war correspondent, editor and political economist. She is a lecturer and speaker on political economy and international relations in Africa and the Middle East, and is passionate about enterprise and skills development. Dr Horne has advised governments, media and businesses on the political and economic policy of South Africa, Iraq, Kenya, the Democratic of Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Uganda.

Apart from his current role with WBS Executive Education, Dr Timothy Hutton is a director of short courses at Wits Enterprise, as well as an experienced executive management and leadership coach, consultant and lecturer. He has headed up several Management Development programmes at Wits University.