Hans Strydom is one of South Africa’s most celebrated actors and a pioneer of national television. His career, spanning nearly five decades, has made him a household name, while his principled defence of performers’ rights has left a lasting impact on the arts and entertainment industry.
After completing his BJuris degree at the then Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education in 1968, Hans began his career as prosecutor and magistrate with the department of Justice.

In 1976, he followed his true passion for the performing arts, becoming one of the first continuity announcers on SABC TV at the launch of South African television. This marked the start of his extraordinary journey on stage and screen.

He has delivered standout performances in landmark films such as The Gods Must Be Crazy II (1989) and popular Afrikaans film productions such as Môre-Môre, Diamant en die Dief and Iemand soos Jy. On television, he captivated audiences in Die Mannheim-Sage and Die Manakwalanners and, for nearly two decades, as At Koster in Binnelanders, a role that solidified his place in the hearts of viewers nationwide.

His contributions have been widely recognised, earning him many Best Actor Awards over the years a well as an honorary medal for cinematography in 2020 by Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns and the Silwerskermfees Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. Beyond acting, he has championed performers’ rights, successfully challenging the SABC on royalty payments in 2000.

Since then he has utilised his legal background to assist actors and writers in claiming their contractual repeat fees from the SABC for the repeat broadcast of their work. Principled, pioneering and deeply respected, Hans exemplifies excellence, integrity and societal impact, and his values will continue to inspire future generations.

Adv. Dr Johan Kruger SC served as chairperson of the NWU Council from 2014 until 2017, providing steady leadership through one of the most challenging chapters in the university’s history.

Under his guidance, the NWU navigated a complex restructuring process and adopted a new institutional strategy that reshaped the university for the future.

Reflecting on his tenure, Adv. Dr Kruger described it as one of the most enriching experiences of his life: “The quality of the people with whom I worked and served filled me with hope for the future of our country and the NWU.”

Praising his wisdom, fairness, and steadfast stewardship, his Council colleagues noted his ability to balance firmness with flexibility. They described him as a leader who listened, remained just, and guided with integrity, even under turbulent circumstances.

Adv. Dr Kruger obtained his LLB (cum laude, 1970) and LLD (1990) from the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE), marking the foundation of a distinguished legal career built on expertise, integrity, and service. He served as professor of law at the PU for CHE from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he was also the director of the Legal Aid Clinic as well as a committee member of Lawyers for Human Rights. From 1995 to 1996 he was a fulltime member of the Panel of Experts at Parliament that contributed to the drafting of the final South African Constitution. He later returned to legal practice and from 1999 to 2017 served during various terms as Judge in the Gauteng judiciary.

A seasoned senior counsel, Adv. Dr Kruger brought to the NWU not only legal expertise, but also a profound sense of responsibility to the academic community. His leadership strengthened the university’s resilience, unity, and vision. His contributions continue to resonate within the NWU and beyond.

Lesego Motlhankane is one of South Africa’s promising young literary talents, combining education, poetry and cultural advocacy. At only 25, he has already made his mark through published works and his commitment to preserving and promoting indigenous language literature.

Lesego’s contributions highlight a new generation of voices shaping the future of South African arts.

He is currently a lecturer at the NWU in the Faculty of Education’s School of Languages for Education, and is pursuing a master’s degree in language education.

After completing his BEd in Intermediate Phase Teaching with Mathematics, Sciences and Technology at the NWU in 2022, Lesego obtained a BA Honours in Setswana with a focus on Linguistics and Literature in 2023.

His passion for language and culture extends to the classroom, where he serves as a teacher at Lesego Primary School, inspiring learners to embrace both knowledge and creativity.

As an author, he has published notable works, including the poetry collections Pitsana Ya Poko (2020) and Bololo Jwa Poko, as well as his 2024 book Beneath the Dust. Praised for their authenticity and ability to connect traditional sensibilities with contemporary themes, these works have earned him recognition.

He is also a member of the National Writers Association of South Africa and the Academic and Non-fiction Authors Association of South Africa.

As a visionary and rooted in his heritage, Lesego balances scholarship, creativity and service. His dedication to Setswana literature and his drive to inspire others will continue to resonate for generations to come.

Taubie Tebogo Motlhabane is a distinguished strategic executive with over 30 years of senior management experience.

As chief executive officer of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), she directs the operations and strategic vision of a worldclass,
five-star venue, establishing herself as one
of South Africa’s foremost business leaders.

Her expertise spans destination marketing, business events, communications and media, honed through leadership roles across conference centres, destination marketing organisations, banking institutions, associations and media organisations.

Under her guidance, initiatives such as the CTICC Cares Campaign and the CTICC Youth in Action Expo have provided relief to communities in need across South Africa, and reached over 14 000 young people, providing education, bursaries and career exposure, respectively.

She has fostered partnerships with local businesses, financial institutions and community organisations, promoting youth development, disaster relief, and inclusive growth. Nationally, her leadership has positioned South Africa as a premier destination for international conferences, contributing over R8 billion to the economy and tourism sector in the past year alone.

Internationally, Taubie served as the chair of the African Chapter of the International Congress and Convention Association. She is currently serving as vice president of the Board of the International Association of Convention Centres and has been recognised among the Top 50 Most Influential Venue Professionals globally.

She holds a BA in Communication from the NWU and a master’s degree in Global Marketing from the University of Liverpool. A speaker, mentor and executive board director, she has received the 2022 CEO Africa Award, the 2024 Women in Leadership Award and recognition in the 2025 Future of Leadership Book.

Taubie combines professional excellence with community impact, inspiring growth, opportunity and lasting change across South Africa and beyond.  

Dr Kutlwano Mukokomani has served as chief executive officer of the Botswana Red Cross Society since September 2018, advancing sustainable and impactful humanitarian services nationwide. His leadership focuses on empowering communities, strengthening resilience and supporting vulnerable populations in Botswana and the southern African region.

With over 19 years of experience in the non-profit, humanitarian and development sectors, Dr Mukokomani is recognised for building inclusive teams and forging strong partnerships. His work spans community empowerment, emergency response, resilience building and targeted assistance to vulnerable groups.

A social economist by training, he holds a BA in Economics from the University of Botswana, a postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Project Management from the University of Cape Town, an MBA in Operations and Decision Management, and a PhD in Economics and Management Sciences with Business Administration from the NWU. He is completing a Master of Advanced Studies in Humanitarian Leadership at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland, and has participated in executive programmes at leading international institutions.

Dr Mukokomani has contributed to key regional initiatives, including the USAID-funded Integrated River Basin Management Project in Angola, Botswana and Namibia, and the UNDP-GEF project that developed Botswana’s National Integrated Water Resource Management Plan. He also supported the Botswana Harvard AIDS Partnership and the International Training and Education Centre for Health.

He served on Botswana’s presidential COVID-19 task force and led regional responses through national emergency committees. He directed the Africa CDC–Mastercard Foundation “Saving Lives and Livelihoods” project across ten southern African countries.

A dedicated educator, he has tutored at the Botswana Open University for more than 12 years and serves on several boards, including the IFRC Compliance and Mediation Committee and the Botswana Public Health Institute.

In 2025, he received the Botswana Top 100 CEOs Leadership Excellence Award.

Prof. James Avoka Asamani is a distinguished health economist and health systems decision scientist whose pioneering work has transformed health workforce policy across Africa and beyond. He serves as Health Workforce Team Lead at the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office for Africa, where he coordinates technical support to 47 countries.

Throughout his career, Prof. Asamani has developed innovative models and planning tools guiding health workforce investments exceeding US$150 million, creating thousands of jobs and expanding care in underserved regions.

His doctoral research at the NWU informed the WHO Health Labour Market Analysis Support Tool, now used by at least 12 African ministries of health and influencing global policy.

He has mobilised over US$50 million in research and programme funding from agencies, including the UK Department of Health and Social Care, the Global Fund and the African Development Bank.

Prof. Asamani received the 2024 International Scholar Award from the Society for Medical Decision Making for innovation in health policy and equity research.

He has convened landmark initiatives, including the first Africa Health Professions Education Dialogue, shaping policy for competency-based training across the continent.

His work has been widely published and cited in global health policy debates and applied in countries from Ghana to Indonesia. He mentors PhD candidates as an extraordinary associate professor at the NWU, preparing the next generation of scholars to advance evidence-based workforce planning.

Prof. Asamani’s scholarship and leadership have established him as one of the most influential health policy experts of his generation.

Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela is the chief executive officer of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). She implemented the country’s first emergency-use authorisation mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, strengthened clinical trial review processes, and secured collaborations with global regulators, including the USFDA, the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada. Under her leadership, SAHPRA achieved the World Health Organization (WHO) ML3 status, with its national control lab benchmarked at ML4.

As a trained biochemist she counts a PhD from the NWU and masters’ degree in biochemistry from the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education among her qualifications. She previously served at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as executive director of biosciences, leading research programmes, managing intellectual property portfolios and establishing collaborations in South Africa, the United States and Europe. Early in her career, she secured funding for critical research and development initiatives and contributed to the Pan-African Centre of Excellence in Nanomedicine Research and Training.

Committed to mentorship and capacity building, she co-supervises MSc and PhD students, leads continental clinical assessor training programmes. During her time at the Innovation Hub, she fostered biotechnology entrepreneurship through incubators and innovation initiatives.

Nationally, she guided SAHPRA’s COVID-19 response, partnering with the WHO and local institutions, including the National Health Laboratory Service, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the South African Medical Research Council. Internationally, she chairs the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization initiative, serves on the Southern African Development Community regulatory steering committee, and is one of three African members of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities.

Her leadership earned accolades, including the Africa’s Medical Products Regulation Achievers Award (2023), the NSTF Management Excellence Award (2022), and recognition from the Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute for Excellence in Health. Credible, visionary, and collaborative, Dr Semete-Makokotlela continues to shape health regulation and advance biotechnology across Africa.

Prof. Ian Rothmann has made exceptional contributions to industrial and organisational psychology in South Africa and internationally.

Over a career spanning more than 35 years, his research on work-related well-being, resilience, sustainable employability and flourishing at work has shaped global understanding and positioned South Africa as a leading contributor to positive organisational psychology.

He was recognised as the highest-cited psychology scientist in South Africa by research.com in 2023.

Prof. Rothmann has published over 280 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in top journals, including American Psychologist and the Journal of Happiness Studies. He co-authored the international textbook Work and Organizational Psychology with Prof. Cary Cooper, now in its third edition and translated into Portuguese. He founded and directed the Optentia Research Unit at the NWU. Optentia is known for its interdisciplinary impact and global collaborations.

As a committed mentor, he has supervised 148 master’s-degree and 73 PhD students and guided eight postdoctoral fellows across South Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. He has contributed significantly to national academic capacity-building through the New Generation of Academics Programme and the Future Professors Programme.

Prof. Rothmann’s academic journey includes a BCom and HED (cum laude, 1980–81), MCom (cum laude, 1987), and a PhD in Industrial Psychology from the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (1996). His work has earned him a B1 rating from the NRF, a fellowship from the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa, election to the Academy of Science of South Africa, and multiple NWU research awards.

He is celebrated not only for his groundbreaking research but for the generations of scholars he has mentored – a legacy that continues to shape the field.

Tazmin Brits is one of South Africa’s most dynamic cricketers, admired for her powerful batting and athletic fielding.

An explosive opening batter for the Proteas, she is currently ranked the number one fielder in the world and among the top 15 players globally in T20 cricket.

She has represented South Africa in two World Cups and played a pivotal role in guiding the Proteas to their first senior World Cup final, delivering a match-winning knock and four stunning catches against England in the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final.

Tazmin’s journey to cricketing stardom is remarkable. A natural athlete, she was the junior world champion in javelin in 2007 and was set to compete at the 2012 London Olympics before a near-fatal car accident ended her athletics career.

After years of recovery, she reinvented herself as a cricketer, making her international debut in 2018. Her story of overcoming crushed Olympic dreams to rise as a World Cup star has inspired fans worldwide.

Her excellence extends beyond the boundary. She has won the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Women’s Provincial Player of the Year award three times consecutively and was nominated for three categories at the 2023 CSA Awards, including SA Fans’ Player of the Year. Internationally, she signed with the South Eastern Stars in England, setting the record for the fastest century in the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

Committed to giving back, Tazmin coaches in rural cricket hubs and serves as an ambassador for SA for Hope, providing drought and humanitarian relief. Resilient, driven and inspiring, Tazmin exemplifies the competitive spirit by turning adversity into triumph while uplifting her sport and her community.

She obtained a diploma in Sport Science in 2021 from the NWU.

Delmari van Zyl is a communications expert whose career bridges continents, industries and cultures. A dynamic voice in global communications, she combines academic excellence with a passion for storytelling, shaping international brand narratives with strategic impact.

Her journey began at the NWU, where she earned a BA and an Honours in Corporate Communication (cum laude), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management (cum laude). She was a member of the Golden Key Honour Society and received multiple merit awards. Delmari also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Internal Communications (cum laude) from the European Institute of Public Relations and a master’s degree in Strategic Communication from the University of Johannesburg.

She launched her career in broadcasting, contributing to kykNET productions such as Dagbreek and kykNET Verslag. As national communications, marketing and sponsorship manager for the Aardklop National Arts Festival, she helped revitalise one of South Africa’s premier cultural events. Her creative reach extended to international productions for FOX Africa and Nickelodeon, before becoming head of production at Carte Blanche, South Africa’s leading investigative journalism programme.

In 2021, Delmari joined the L’Oréal Group in Paris as global employee engagement manager, later promoted to global media relations manager for sustainability. She advanced L’Oréal’s sustainability commitments across 150 markets through media training and purpose-driven storytelling.

Now global head of Corporate Brand Engagement for YSL Beauty, she leads the brand’s flagship cause, Abuse is Not Love, in partnership with over 26 NGOs worldwide. The programme has trained more than 1,3 million people to recognise signs of abuse. She also leads YSL Beauty’s heritage, corporate communications, risk and crisis management and sustainability strategies.

A true architect of influence, Delmari exemplifies the future of communication – strategic, culturally fluent and relentlessly forward-thinking.