Our Team – Outward Bound South Africa

Jonathan Hanks – Chairman

Jonathon has over 25 years of advisory and advocacy experience, working with companies, intergovernmental bodies, investors and NGOs in more than 30 countries. He is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Incite, a global advocacy-based consulting network located in South Africa. He also chaired the multi-stakeholder negotiations on the text of ISO 26000, securing consensus – from more than 95 countries, 45 global organisations and 450 experts – on the international guidance standard on social responsibility. Jonathon holds a Masters in Law Degree and a Masters in Environmental Policy, is a teaching fellow on various executive and MBA programmes, and a regularly invited conference speaker and facilitator. He is also a keen kite-surfer, skier, and aspiring trail-runner.

Jonathan Heinamann – Treasurer

Jonathan has a passion for entrepreneurial development in Sub Saharan Africa. He co-founded Eden Campus (the country’s first free rural entrepreneur university) and has significant investment and board experience spanning the Infrastructure, Health, Financial Services and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors. He founded Athena Capital in 2003 and directs the business with a focus on building sustainable relationships. His previous experience includes several years in IBM’s financial services business in London, where he later founded an IT business before returning to South Africa. He played an instrumental part of the UK team that introduced the first online applications for credit cards and travel insurance and completed an AMP at INSEAD in 2000.

Martin Scholtz – Safety Committee

Martin’s working life, which has spanned some 30 years, has been dedicated to development of the potential of young people in Southern Africa through his role as a teacher in three diverse schools in South Africa and Eswatini, as well as his role as the chief executive officer of The President’s Award for Youth Empowerment - The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in South Africa – and as a project management consultant in the education and health development arena. He is a strong programme and project management professional and was awarded the Top Student Award in the University of Pretoria's prestigious Gordon Institute of Business (GIBS) Social Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme in 2012.

Jacqui Dixon - Human Resource Committee

Jacqui is an expert in corporate social responsibility (CSR) specializing in seafood & food supply chains. She has been working in the development, CSR and sustainability profession across Asia, the UK and South Africa since 2000. She was the Sustainability Director for one of the largest global seafood companies listed in Hong Kong and Singapore and co-founded the Hong Kong Sustainable Seafood Coalition. She holds a MProf in Leadership for Sustainable Development, a BSC (Hons) in Environmental Sciences and recently completed a part-time postgraduate diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies. She is also an associate consultant at Incite and a breath-based mindfulness instructor.

Mongezi Mtati – Fundraising & Marketing Committee

Mongezi is passionate about helping brands to connect the dots from social media, digital data and human interactions outside the web. He graduated from Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development, where he participated in an Outward Bound expedition. Today Mongezi is the founding Managing Director of WordStart, a word-of-mouth, digital and social media firm that connects brands with conversation. WordStart was founded to help companies generate buzz around their products and services among South African influencers. Mongezi is also a digital analyst, a speaker and a contributor on some of South Africa's leading platforms.

Pearl Maphumulo - Fundraising & Marketing Committee

Pearl is an entrepreneur with a passion for business development and has an eye for branding. She's an alumni of the Raymond Ackerman Academy for Entrepreneurial Development and has been a nominee at the African Achievers Awards under the category 'Excellence in Leadership'. Pearl founded a branding company called Prolific Interactive Designz in 2011 which has since assisted over 100 SME's in developing a winning brand. She's also head of Africa80, a business speaker, business TV show host, the 2015/16 Global Shaper Soweto Hub Curator and the founder and Managing Director of a private company called 'The Business Development Agency.