Team size: Approx. 300  

What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

Vodacom Group acquired an additional 20% stake in Safaricom PLC, increasing our shareholding from 35% to 55%, subject to approvals. The transaction was valued at South African Rand R36 billion.

The 2Africa Subsea Cable, one of the most ambitious subsea cable projects ever built, connects over 33 countries and was structured as a consortium deal.

We also signed a framework agreement with Starlink, the world’s largest satellite broadband provider, representing a significant step in accelerating high-speed, low-latency internet access across the continent.

In addition, we successfully settled the Please Call Me litigation.

Vodacom acquired a 30% stake in Maziv for R11.5 billion. The Competition Tribunal initially prohibited the transaction, but the Competition Appeal Court overturned the ruling. Extensive competition law work was undertaken by my team, and I attended the Appeal Hearing.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

A good example of this occurred during Covid, when we prioritised compliance with core laws while closely monitoring emergency or transitional regulations. Clear record-keeping and documentation were essential for managing disputes that might emerge later. Maintaining transparent communication with all role players, both within the organisation and externally — including, but not limited to, regulators — was equally critical.

Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on that you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful of?

AI and automation will transform business operations and decision-making. Lawyers will need to keep pace with emerging legal challenges, including liability for AI-driven decisions, intellectual property issues for AI-generated content, algorithmic bias, and regulatory compliance. Businesses will face increasingly fragmented, multi-jurisdictional legal landscapes, requiring lawyers to implement advanced cross-border compliance frameworks.

As blockchain and smart contracts become more prevalent, lawyers will need to adapt contract management and drafting practices to incorporate digital and automated elements. With an increased focus on corporate governance, lawyers will be expected to play a more strategic role, integrating legal risk into enterprise risk management.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about? Why is this?

It would certainly be education and mentoring, as well as giving back.

Education: I could not afford to attend university and would like to assist others in similar positions. While on the Executive Committee at Nedbank Group Ltd, I was the Executive responsible for overseeing Goal 4 (Quality Education) of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Mentoring: I am currently mentoring five people, three of whom are lawyers. Having had no one to guide me early in my career, I believe it is important to ‘grow people’ and provide the support I did not have.

Giving Back: I am part of the government’s DEI workgroup on mentorship, a Director of the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa, and a Trustee on the Nedbank Social Development Fund. I do not receive remuneration for any of these roles.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company? Can you share an example of a recent legal-led initiative that had a significant impact?

I sit on the EXCO of the Vodacom Group and am intricately involved in setting the strategy. I attend the Board Strategy offsite and present jointly with the business on aspects such as AI, ensuring that Legal and Governance are seen as proactively integrated into the business rather than as a ‘stand-alone’ reactive function. Presenting to the Board in this manner was my initiative and was very well received.

Each Legal Head is expected to have a legal strategy and to map their activities and proactive value add to their business area’s goals and revenue generation targets, demonstrating tangibly how they will assist the business in achieving its objectives. Legal output is measured in this manner.