The Board Profiles

Mr Bheki Shongwe  Board Chairperson

Dr Patricia Hanekom Non-Executive Director

Dr Hanekom was an Accounting Officer in the Gauteng Provincial Government for 12 years and has extensive experience, skills and knowledge with respect to governance and accountability. She has served on a number of Boards and Audit Committees as well as various Panels and Advisory Committees. She currently serves on the Boards & Committees of the Medical Research Council, the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, the Cradle of Humankind Trust and Maropeng  a’Afrika (Pty) Ltd.

Mr Lionel Brenner | Non-Executive director

Member of Audit & Risk Committee

Mr. Brenner was appointed as non-executive director to the Pikitup Board on 14 April 2011. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession, he holds a BComm from Wits and a Bcompt Honours from Unisa. He is the founding member and director of Dalist (Pty) Limited, a financial consultancy hat provides corporate advisory, business management and enterprise development services to a range of JSE listed and other businesses. Prior to establishing Dalist, Mr Brenner was Chief Financial Officer to a number of JSE listed companies. Before joining Pikitup, he was a non-executive director and Audit Committee chairperson of the Johannesburg Roads Agency and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Bus Services.

Dr Washington Nyabeze  Non-Executive director

Chairperson of Operations & Service Delivery

Dr Nyabeze was appointed as non-executive director to the Pikitup Board 14 April 2011 holds a PhD in engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand and is a registered Professional Engineer and a member of the Water Institute of Southern Africa, the South African Committee on Large Dams and the South African Black Technical and Allied Careers Organization. He has over 20 years of practical experience in energy, water resources, and infrastructure development, gained in assignments for various clients including the Department of Water Affairs and the Department of Minerals and Energy in South Africa, the Department of Water in Swaziland and the SADC Water Division as study leader/team leader and/or specialist engineer.

He has published research papers in refereed journals, several guidelines and technical bulletins. He has served as a guest editor for the Journal of Physics and Chemistry of the Earth Parts A, B and C published by Elsevier. He reviews articles for international journals and examines for different universities in Southern Africa. He was a Board member of the Johannesburg Roads Agency from 2006 to 2012 and from 2011 to 2013 he was a member of the National Water Advisory Committee. Dr Washington is chairperson of the Operations and Service Delivery Committee.

Suren Maharaj

Financial Director

Mr Maharaj joined Pikitup in 2013 as Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed to the board as Financial Director on 25 February 2014. He is a highly accomplished, results-driven professional with more than 16 years of progressive experience in finance and operations management within start-ups and global organisations in both private and public sectors.
Mr Maharaj is a seasoned chartered accountant and has streamlined business operations that drive growth and increase efficiency and bottom-line profit. He is also a Green Belt Digital Six Sigma graduate with demonstrated ability in developing and implementing financial controls and processes in additional to productivity improvements, and change management. Mr Maharaj possesses solid leadership, communication and interpersonal skill to establish rapport with all levels of staff and management.

Mrs Setshego Bogatsu   Non-executive director

Member of Audit & Risk, Operations & Service Delivery and Social, Ethics & Human Resources Committees

Ms. Bogatsu was appointed as non-executive director to the Pikitup Board on 18 March 2015, she holds degrees in B.Com and MBA. She is a member of the Group Remuneration Panel at the City of Joburg. She currently holds the position of Senior Manager in Corporate Contracts and Procurement at Fluor South Africa (Pty) Ltd. She is also a Non-Executive Director for TRS Staffing Solutions South Africa.

She was a Chief Financial Officer at the National Nuclear Regulator and has previously worked as a Finance Manager for several companies like Transnet, Sasol and BMW South Africa. Setshego has extensive experience in Finance and Procurement and has served on several Boards in a different capacity; i.e. Chair of the HR Committee and member of the Audit committee at the Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo.

Ms. Bogatsu is a member of the Operations and Service Delivery Social and Ethics Committees at Pikitup.

Adv Daniel Rampai | Non-Executive Director

Member of Operations & Service Delivery

Advocate Rampai was appointed as non-executive director to the Pikitup Board on 25 February 2014.  Advocate Dan Rampai is currently employed at Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) as the Executive Manager in the CEO’s office. He is the founder of DR Ethics Conversations (Pty) Ltd, a company established to offer consulting services to client companies in every industry. He is also serving on the board of Pact SA and on the Council of Tshwane North TVET College. He is a corporate governance, ethics and negotiations specialist and an aspiring publisher in these areas. He has published a book on ethics titled “Beyond the Moral Maze.” Advocate Rampai has obtained BJuris, LLB, MBA (Negotiations), and MPhil (Ethics) degrees. He is the advocate of the High Court of South Africa. He had presented a paper on “The State of Ethics within the South African Local Government” at a Conference on Local Government in Thailand. Advocate Rampai is a member of the Operations and Service Delivery Social and Ethics Committees at Pikitup.