MANAGING FOR EXCELLENCE (PTY) - Key Persons


Ahmed Laher

Job Titles:
  • Senior Associate
Ahmed has considerable experience as a financial consultant. In 2002/03 he worked for Ernst & Young in the company's Entrepreneurial Services Division. Ahmed has also worked as a Senior Manager for Nashua and a Financial Director for the Bambanani Consortium. Most recently he has acted as Director for Bond Approve. Ahmed brings valuable financial analysis and accounting skills to M E's team.

Alex Benkenstein

Job Titles:
  • Researcher
You are here: Home > Our Community > Alex Benkenstein Researcher Alex graduated from the University of Stellenbosch with a Masters Degree in International Studies (cum laude). He is currently completing a M. Tech in Project Management at the Cape Town University of Technology. Alex has built up considerable research experience in ME; he has provided research services to, amongst others, the Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority (THETA), the parliamentary Task Team on Oversight and Accountability and more recently was appointed as the researcher to support the Independent Panel for the Assessment of Parliament. Alex has also acted as a senior protocol officer for a number of events, including the 118th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly hosted by the South African Parliament in 2008. His research interests include Corporate Social Risk Analysis, Corporate Social Investment, Public Participation, Monitoring and Evaluation, Small Enterprise Development, Protocol, and Legislative Structures and Processes.

Clinton Elliott

Job Titles:
  • Director
Clinton is a Director of Managing for Excellence and holds a JD and LLM in law from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a BA in Political Economy from Williams College in Willamstown, Massachusetts. In past years he has been Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ford Foundation Fellow for the Study of International Public Law at the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, France, where he engaged in the promotion of several international conventions, including various Council of Europe treaties relating to human rights, international trade and economic relations and the preservation of trans-frontier wildlife. Between 1992 and 1997 he was an Associate Lawyer practicing corporate and securities law for the New York and London offices of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, where he acted on behalf of US, European, African and Asian clients and investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Salomon Brothers, Credit Suisse, TAG Heuer and Avis. Between 1997 and 2002, he was an Assistant Director and Director in Equity Capital Markets for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London, where he effected a range of global equity offerings in sectors as diverse as oil and gas, telecommunications, banking and financial services. These clients included Orange, BHP Billiton, Sanlam, Polkski Koncern Naftowy (Poland), Banco Hypotecario (Argentina), Telewest, T-Mobile, Hoescht Clariant, Deutsche Telekom and Publicis (France), among others. Clinton has wide experience in international financial transactions, international law and trade. He emigrated to South Africa in 2002 and before joining Managing for Excellence, was in engaged in a range of private real estate projects in the Cape Winelands and the Atlantic Seaboard.

Fathima Ballim

Job Titles:
  • Senior Associate

Heindri A. Bailey - Managing Director

Job Titles:
  • Managing Director

Igor Boonzaaier

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Igor has thirteen years' experience in land reform, nine of which were spent as project officer and manager in the Department of Land Affairs. He has been consulting for the past four years on rural development and land reform projects of differing scope and size. Igor has extensive experience in and knowledge of matters related to land reform, water resource management and rural development. His most recent projects included the design and/or facilitation of 2 of the largest share equity projects in the Western Cape to date, i.e. Langrivier Boerdery (R42m) and Vergelegen (R47m). He specializes in group facilitation, project management and business plan development for share equity projects. Due to his broad land reform and rural development experience, he has been contracted by APL Cartons (Pty) Ltd as their Land Transformation Manager since October 2008, with the brief to develop a strategy for its shareholders that would lead to the establishment of Agri-businesses with their workers as co-shareholders. He also provides First National Bank with project assistance and advice regarding investments in land reform. Igor holds a Masters degree in South African History, writing a dissertation on tenure reform in the so-called Coloured Rural Areas. He also has qualifications in the fields of Education (Diploma), Project Management (Certificate), Mediation (Certificate) and Tourist Guiding (Certificate).

Louis Barkhuysen

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Louis has been consulting in the agricultural and social development sectors for more than three decades. Director and management committee member of the Waitrose Foundation, a non-profit organisation empowering farm workers and their families producing and packing fruit for Waitrose Supermarket Group, UK. Founding member of the Roselight Foundation a non-profit organization providing counselling and life skills to sexually abused children from disadvantaged communities. Louis has been consulting in the agricultural and social development sectors for more than three decades. His experience includes: Director and management committee member of the Waitrose Foundation, a non-profit organisation empowering farm workers and their families producing and packing fruit for Waitrose Supermarket Group, UK. Founding member of the Roselight Foundation a non-profit organization providing counselling and life skills to sexually abused children from disadvantaged communities. Active in Black Economic Empowerment since 1997 Land Reform and AgriBEE projects in the Western Cape for the Wine Industry Trust - 3 completed projects and 5 in various stages of planning. Land Reform and AgriBEE projects in the Western Cape for the Dept of Land Affairs, Land Bank of South Africa and individual groups of previously disadvantaged people - 43 successful projects to date and an additional 20 projects in various stages of planning. Food safety net and poverty relief vegetable garden projects in the Western Cape for the Provincial Depts. of Economic Affairs and Social Services - 7 projects to date. Local Economic Regeneration Study for the Ceres Municipality. Projects in farm planning and management for commercial fruit farmers in the Free State and Western Cape.

Tumi Mogorosi

Job Titles:
  • Researcher
Tumi holds a Masters in Political Management and a Bachelor Degree in Social Sciences both from the University of Stellenbosch. Tumi has solid research experience in youth development through her involvement in projects with both the Northern Cape and Western Cape Youth Commissions. She also has extensive experience in research and project coordination within the heritage sector through her work for the Parliamentary Millennium Programme, Parliament's nation building project. Her research interests include Education Policy Implementation, Public Policy analysis, Project and Strategic Management and Planning, as well as Monitoring and Evaluation. She serves as a researcher and professional assistant to the Managing Director of Managing for Excellence.

Viljoen Roux

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Viljoen holds an Honours Degree in Social Sciences and an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch. He has more than 18 years of business consulting experience in various industries - both in the corporate and SME sector. His experience includes: