LeadUP Podcast

Abdullah Verachia is CEO of The Strategists, Head of Faculty for Strategy and Sustainability at the University of Pretoria’s business school, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and Programme Director of the Harvard Senior Executive Programme For Africa, among other accolades. 

He is also a globally renowned public speaker and the author of Disruption Amplified: Reset. Rewire. Reimagine Everything.

On this episode, he chats to us about:

• How his childhood Model UN experience led him to his future.
• His pivot from law to other fields of expertise. 
• How he helps companies face a disruptive world.
• His strategies for turning challenges into opportunities. 
• How education can adapt to the current environment. 

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your mobile device. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Tuesday of every second month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications, with language and marketing services from Brightlight SA Communications.

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UP is gearing up for its third annual UP Giving Day which takes place on 22 July. Giving Day forms part of UP’s three-year Giving Matters campaign, launched in July 2022 and designed to raise funds for students in the 'missing middle' category. The campaign aims to raise R100 million over three years and has raised more than R82 million in new funds since its launch, providing bursaries and scholarships to more than 407 students and supporting various projects at UP. Let’s help UP to hit the R100 million target and make a difference in the lives of students who need it most. Donate today: www.givingday.up.ac.za

Sipho Ngwenya, formerly known as Psyfo, was a child star before becoming a household name playing Ajax on Generations. After a successful period as a musician, he received his MBA from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), and is now a senior manager at Showmax.   

On this episode, he chats to us about:

• Lessons he’s learned from achieving fame and success early on. 
• How he’s transitioned between different parts of the entertainment industry.
• Dedicating a lot of time and effort to his studies.
• Supporting the entertainment industry from a management perspective.
• The future of content that targets African audiences. 

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications.

Robyn Oates is a Sustainable Development Officer in the United Nations Secretary General’s Office in New York City. After completing her BCom Honours in Accounting Sciences at the University of Pretoria, she worked in the private sector, including at Deloitte and Barclays Capital.

On this episode, she chats to us about:

• How her family’s support helped her find the courage to explore internationally. 
• Finding her voice in the private sector.
• Living her dream in New York City.
• How she holds on to hope and focuses on taking action to improve things.
• Learning patience and compromise in working to bring about change.

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications.

Munozovepi Gwata is the founder of Kukura Capital, and an entrepreneur passionate about teaching Africans about financial literacy. She completed her LLB at the University of Pretoria before moving to Webber Wentzel, and is currently a Principal Consultant at IQbusiness. 

She has been involved in the World Economic Forum’s Global Shaper Entrepreneurship Programme, delivered a TEDxTalk, and has written for a variety of financial media outlets.

On this episode, she chats to us about:

• What drives her passion for financial literacy.
• How she taught herself to invest in shares when she was a teenager.
• Growing as a content creator through teaching others about finances. 
• Balancing the worlds of entrepreneurship and her corporate career.
• The basics of becoming financially free.

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications.

Professor Shakila Dada is the Director of the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Her work focuses on improving the lives of people with severe communication difficulties. She is a powerful example of UP alumni becoming staff and building long-running relationships with the institution that ultimately help change lives on a large scale. 

On this episode, she chats to us about:

• How improved communication can help people live better, fuller lives.
• What she has learned through working with vulnerable communities.
• What it has been like to be at UP as it transforms and changes.
• Why inclusion of marginalised people is key to progress.
• How each of us can help make our society a more inclusive and happier place.

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications.

Laurie Dippenaar is a South African millionaire, businessman, investor, and banker with a wealth of knowledge who co-founded the FirstRand Financial Group, which includes subsidiaries WesBank, FNB, and RMB. He graduated from the University of Pretoria with a Master of Commerce degree, and was recently awarded an honorary doctorate. 

On this episode, he speaks to us about:

How he started out in banking. 

• Creating a business environment based on trust.
• How he’s encouraged other entrepreneurs. 
• His views on wealth and progress. 
• His long relationship with the University of Pretoria.

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications.

Ndavi Nokeri is now the third consecutive Miss South Africa to have graduated from the University of Pretoria. She received her Bcom Investment Management degree a few months before she was crowned Miss South Africa and instantly became a role model to young and older people all over the country.

On this episode she speaks to us about:

• How and why she decided to study at the University of Pretoria.
• How little things contribute towards achieving a big goal.
• Entering the Miss SA competition to make a difference in her community.
• Her work in battling education inequality and the impact it’s creating. 
• What she would love to do after her time as Miss South Africa. 

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our technical engineers are Meropa Communications.

Carmen Reddy started her journalism career at TuksFM while studying at the University of Pretoria, and has since worked for the likes of 5FM, Primedia, eNCA, and Newzroom Afrika. She is currently a media consultant. 

On this episode she speaks to us about:

Starting out on campus radio.

• Taking risks and proving herself in commercial radio.
• How her ideas about success have evolved over time. 
• The importance of helping others in the industry. 
• Learning to take no as an answer and adjusting.

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our sound engineers are Louis Cloete Productions.

To get tips on success and leadership from other prominent UP alumni, find more episodes of the LeadUP Podcast by going to http://www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. You can also listen via your favourite podcast app, or on YouTube. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our sound engineers are Louis Cloete Productions.

Dr Anton Meyberg is a specialist physician and pulmonologist, working in clinical medicine as an ICU physician and intensivist at Linksfield Clinic in Johannesburg. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic he faced the disease in wards – and educated the public about it through podcasting and more.

On this episode he speaks to us about:

• Studying in Afrikaans while growing up in English.
• How COVID-19 taught doctors humility and collaboration.
• The emotional and psychological effects of the pandemic.
• How his views on success have changed.
• The long journey to becoming a specialist.

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our sound engineers are Louis Cloete Productions.

To get tips on success and leadership from other prominent UP alumni, find more episodes of the LeadUP Podcast by going to http://www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. You can also listen via your favourite podcast app, or on YouTube. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our sound engineers are Louis Cloete Productions.

WeBuyCars was founded by two brothers and quickly became one of the biggest car-buying companies in South Africa. Faan van der Walt, one of the co-founders, has learned a lot about success on this journey of growing and evolving a business.

On this episode he speaks to us about:

• How his childhood fascination with cars turned into a long-term career.
• What it is like to build a business with his brother.
• How their success was built on determined focus.
• The story behind buying The Dome in Johannesburg to turn it into a vehicle showroom.
• The future plans for the business. 

Find us by going to www.up.ac.za/leadup and clicking on Podcasts. To listen, you can stream, download, and subscribe online or on your favourite podcast app on your phone. Help us out by rating and reviewing us. New episodes are out on the last Monday of the month. 

LeadUP is a production of the University of Pretoria’s Alumni Office. Our host is Lennox Wasara and our team includes Elna Schütz and Samantha Castle. Our sound engineers are Louis Cloete Productions.