Voices of Leadership & Innovation
Keynote & Invited Speakers
The 2nd Human Resource Management International Conference (HRMIC 2026) will feature distinguished keynote and invited speakers from academia, industry, and policy institutions.
Our speakers are leaders, thinkers, and practitioners whose work advances understanding and practice in human resource management, leadership, digital transformation, and the future of work, with a particular focus on African and global contexts.
Meet Our keynote Speakers
Dr. Muhammad Faisal
Topic: “The Future of Work in the Digital Era: Human–AI Collaboration in HR”
Dr. Muhammad Faisal is an Assistant Professor of Human Resources Management at Abu Dhabi University, UAE. He brings 15 years of international experience in industry and academia spanning three continents. His research work sits at the intersection of HRM systems and leadership styles in shaping employees' attitudes and behaviors, with an emerging focus on how technology is reshaping people's management and the employee experience.
Dr. Faisal actively contributes to international academic communities through professional memberships with the Academy of Management (AOM), the British Academy of Management (BAM), and the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM). He also serves as an HR Ambassador (UAE) for the AOM HR Division and is a member of the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Advisory Council. In addition, he contributes to the peer-review community as a member of the Early Career Reviewer Board at Personnel Review (ABDC: A and Q1).
Dr. Faisal actively contributes to international academic communities through professional memberships with the Academy of Management (AOM), the British Academy of Management (BAM), and the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM). He also serves as an HR Ambassador (UAE) for the AOM HR Division and is a member of the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Advisory Council. In addition, he contributes to the peer-review community as a member of the Early Career Reviewer Board at Personnel Review (ABDC: A and Q1).
Amon Barros
Topic: “Historicizing HRM from the Global South: Power, Inequality, and the Politics of Knowledge”.
Amon Barros is an Associate Professor at FGV EAESP, São Paulo, Brazil, and a Fellow of the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq PQ). His research brings together organizational history, memory studies, and critical scholarship on management knowledge, with particular attention to work, organizations, and inequality in Brazil and the Global South.
His work examines how organizations construct and contest narratives, how managerial knowledge travels across contexts, and how business actors influence politics and society. More broadly, he is interested in what it means to theorize from the Global South and in how historical and geopolitical asymmetries influence both organizational practice and scholarly knowledge.
His work has appeared in Human Relations, Academy of Management Learning & Education, and Management Learning, among other journals. More recently, he has been exploring how AI reconfigures the construction, circulation, and use of managerial knowledge, and what this means for scholarly work, education, and the future of organizing. He is Associate Editor of Management Learning and co-Editor-in-Chief of Management and Organizational History and Cadernos EBAPE.BR.
His work examines how organizations construct and contest narratives, how managerial knowledge travels across contexts, and how business actors influence politics and society. More broadly, he is interested in what it means to theorize from the Global South and in how historical and geopolitical asymmetries influence both organizational practice and scholarly knowledge.
His work has appeared in Human Relations, Academy of Management Learning & Education, and Management Learning, among other journals. More recently, he has been exploring how AI reconfigures the construction, circulation, and use of managerial knowledge, and what this means for scholarly work, education, and the future of organizing. He is Associate Editor of Management Learning and co-Editor-in-Chief of Management and Organizational History and Cadernos EBAPE.BR.
Mr. Mawande
Topic: “Talent Transformation and Workforce Agility in a Rapidly Changing Global Economy.”
Mr. Mawande is at the helm of SABPP’s 202030 strategy, “THE PEOPLE FACTOR,” which aims to redefine human capital management in alignment with the demands of the AI age. Mr. Mawande emphasizes the importance of Digital HR Analytics and Metrics as essential tools for driving organisational performance. His unwavering commitment to equipping HR professionals with forward-thinking strategies and fostering youth empowerment through access to quality education underscores his passion for transformative leadership in the HR sector.
Mr. Mawande has consistently demonstrated a profound ability to integrate financial acumen with people-centered development strategies. His leadership philosophy is grounded in empowering organisations to achieve sustainable financial value through strategic human capital practices, inspiring a paradigm shift within the HR community to adapt and excel in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Mr. Mawande has consistently demonstrated a profound ability to integrate financial acumen with people-centered development strategies. His leadership philosophy is grounded in empowering organisations to achieve sustainable financial value through strategic human capital practices, inspiring a paradigm shift within the HR community to adapt and excel in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Meet Our Speakers
Dr. Phil Tshikotsh
TOPIC: “Driving Workforce Agility and Ethical HR Leadership in a Digitally Transforming Organisation: An Industry Perspective”
Vice President – Human Resources | Startek South Africa
HR Leader of the year – Future of HR Awards, 2018|
HR Director of the year – IPM, 2019|
Young CHRO of the year – CHRO South Africa, 2022|
With more than 15 years of experience in HR, Phil is an award-winning HR professional adept at developing and implementing HR strategies. He is passionate about talent development and invests most of his time in mentoring young leaders as well as driving the succession planning strategies. He has been involved in several industry initiatives including serving as an advisory committee Board member. He holds a PhD in Human Resources and is currently involved in further research that seeks to create frameworks for employee wellbeing.
HR Leader of the year – Future of HR Awards, 2018|
HR Director of the year – IPM, 2019|
Young CHRO of the year – CHRO South Africa, 2022|
With more than 15 years of experience in HR, Phil is an award-winning HR professional adept at developing and implementing HR strategies. He is passionate about talent development and invests most of his time in mentoring young leaders as well as driving the succession planning strategies. He has been involved in several industry initiatives including serving as an advisory committee Board member. He holds a PhD in Human Resources and is currently involved in further research that seeks to create frameworks for employee wellbeing.
Landen Raszick
Topic: “Entrepreneurial Innovation in the Age of AI: Unlocking Inclusive Growth and Future-Ready Skills”
Mrs. Mphele Sylvia Yelane: A Trailblazer in Economic Analysis and Social Innovation
Mrs. Mphele Sylvia Yelane is a distinguished Economic Analyst and social innovation
strategist, boasting over 16 years of expertise in local economic development, transforming education systems, and shaping public policy. She is the visionary founderand CEO of Ezamazwe Education Centre for Innovation, an innovative education accelerator located in rural Limpopo, South Africa, committed to eradicating poverty through scalable, technology-driven learning models.
Additionally, she is a proud alumna of the U.S. Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) 2021 cohort, a program aimed at empowering female entrepreneurs worldwide with the necessary skills, resources, and networks to amplify their impact.
Mrs. Yelane has earned recognition as one of MTN’s Top 10 Women in Tech for 2023 and is a finalist in the esteemed NSTF-South32 Science Awards. She has established Ezamazwe Education Centre for Innovation as a transformative project to combat poverty, making quality education accessible to underserved communities, fostering entrepreneurial skill development, and driving educational innovation throughout Southern Africa.
Mrs. Yelane pursued her studies in Economic Management Analysis before advancing to a Master of Technology in Comparative Local Development at the Tshwane University of Technology. Her academic experience was further enriched by international postgraduate research during an exchange program at Trento University in Italy. She laid her analytical groundwork in economics and statistics at the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation (IERI) at Tshwane University of Technology in 2007, later broadening her expertise through positions at Statistics South Africa, Ratile Research, and 2020 Insight, where she served as the administrator for Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) solutions.
Contributions to Education and Economic Development
Through the Ezamazwe Education Centre for Innovation, she actively supports South Africa's objective to ensure that all 10-year-olds can read for meaning. Her contributions include: Donating over 3,000 books for children to own and read Creating job opportunities for graduates who previously faced employment Challenges Launching the Ezamazwe Innovation Science and Technology exhibition, benefiting over 5,000 rural students and graduates Additionally, she participated in the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee Meetings from 2006 to 2014, lending an academic perspective to the field of Monetary Economics in South Africa. In 2021, she joined the U.S. Academy for Women Entrepreneurs and the UN’s Empretec Entrepreneurial Programme, utilizing these platforms to establish a sustainable organization. In recognition of her efforts, she was honored as one of the Top 3 township-based entrepreneurs in South Africa during the Inaugural National Presidential SMME and Co-operatives Awards in 2022
strategist, boasting over 16 years of expertise in local economic development, transforming education systems, and shaping public policy. She is the visionary founderand CEO of Ezamazwe Education Centre for Innovation, an innovative education accelerator located in rural Limpopo, South Africa, committed to eradicating poverty through scalable, technology-driven learning models.
Additionally, she is a proud alumna of the U.S. Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) 2021 cohort, a program aimed at empowering female entrepreneurs worldwide with the necessary skills, resources, and networks to amplify their impact.
Mrs. Yelane has earned recognition as one of MTN’s Top 10 Women in Tech for 2023 and is a finalist in the esteemed NSTF-South32 Science Awards. She has established Ezamazwe Education Centre for Innovation as a transformative project to combat poverty, making quality education accessible to underserved communities, fostering entrepreneurial skill development, and driving educational innovation throughout Southern Africa.
Mrs. Yelane pursued her studies in Economic Management Analysis before advancing to a Master of Technology in Comparative Local Development at the Tshwane University of Technology. Her academic experience was further enriched by international postgraduate research during an exchange program at Trento University in Italy. She laid her analytical groundwork in economics and statistics at the Institute for Economic Research on Innovation (IERI) at Tshwane University of Technology in 2007, later broadening her expertise through positions at Statistics South Africa, Ratile Research, and 2020 Insight, where she served as the administrator for Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) solutions.
Contributions to Education and Economic Development
Through the Ezamazwe Education Centre for Innovation, she actively supports South Africa's objective to ensure that all 10-year-olds can read for meaning. Her contributions include: Donating over 3,000 books for children to own and read Creating job opportunities for graduates who previously faced employment Challenges Launching the Ezamazwe Innovation Science and Technology exhibition, benefiting over 5,000 rural students and graduates Additionally, she participated in the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee Meetings from 2006 to 2014, lending an academic perspective to the field of Monetary Economics in South Africa. In 2021, she joined the U.S. Academy for Women Entrepreneurs and the UN’s Empretec Entrepreneurial Programme, utilizing these platforms to establish a sustainable organization. In recognition of her efforts, she was honored as one of the Top 3 township-based entrepreneurs in South Africa during the Inaugural National Presidential SMME and Co-operatives Awards in 2022
Dr Valsala Krishnan
Topic: “Leading with Emotional Mastery: Building Resilient, High-Performance Cultures in the Digital Era”
Dr Valsala Krishnan is the founder of the S-I-E-P methodology which was developed in her PhD research of successful entrepreneurs in ET Ideas, a business incubator n Malaysia. The S-I-E-P methodology enables metacognition leading to emotional mastery and resilience.
She is the CEO of Globetrotter Consultancy, a culture shaping company in Southeast Asia and have successfully guided many individuals and teams to see opportunities during times of change, resulting in exceptional performances impacting process efficiencies and profit margins.
She is also the author of 'Raising Successful Children' narrating the journey of her children being accepted to Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. Dr Valsala Krishnan will be presenting on how the S-I-E-P methodology is crucial in the AI age to bring out the unique capability of individuals, powering innovation and organizational competitiveness.
She is the CEO of Globetrotter Consultancy, a culture shaping company in Southeast Asia and have successfully guided many individuals and teams to see opportunities during times of change, resulting in exceptional performances impacting process efficiencies and profit margins.
She is also the author of 'Raising Successful Children' narrating the journey of her children being accepted to Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. Dr Valsala Krishnan will be presenting on how the S-I-E-P methodology is crucial in the AI age to bring out the unique capability of individuals, powering innovation and organizational competitiveness.
Meet Our Facilitators
Noma Mguni
Paper Development Facilitator
Noma Mguni is currently a PhD researcher at the University of Derby in the UK. Noma has 8+ years of experience in HR and is the founder of Doctoral Fridays at the British Academy of Management and PhD hardtalk, which is an Academic YouTube channel. In business, Noma has a startup business that she has been slowly developing and growing over the past 3 years. Finally, Noma Mguni guest lectures and the main topic focus is – Employability, HRM and Navigating Work Politics. To contact Noma, you may email: drnoma20@gmail.com or n.mguni@derby.ac.uk.
Landen Raszick
Paper Development Facilitator
Landen Raszick is a writer, educator, and English language specialist from Coral Springs, Florida in the United States. He has a B.A. in English from The University of Florida, a master’s degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins university, and a TESOL license for teaching English to foreign language speakers.
Currently, he is serving as an English Language Fellow (ELF) at The University of Venda through the end of November. As an ELF, he serves in partnership with UNIVEN and the American embassy in Pretoria, with support from Georgetown University. His responsibilities include establishing an English Testing Center on campus, lecturing, and delivering teacher training. He’s also very excited about starting The English Writing Club.
He has taught writing classes at universities in America and abroad, has participated in writing workshops with notable writers from across the world, and he has published numerous poems in literary magazines. Landen hopes to publish his first book of poetry soon, and is currently working on his first novel. He also has experience with copy writing, business writing, and writing for academic purposes.
Landen is passionate about encouraging and supporting the publication efforts of writers, teachers, and researchers, especially in underserved regions of the world that are often overlooked by international agencies and communities. He believes the way forward for humanity is more international collaboration, more sharing of ideas between diverse communities, and more opportunities for cultural exchange.
Currently, he is serving as an English Language Fellow (ELF) at The University of Venda through the end of November. As an ELF, he serves in partnership with UNIVEN and the American embassy in Pretoria, with support from Georgetown University. His responsibilities include establishing an English Testing Center on campus, lecturing, and delivering teacher training. He’s also very excited about starting The English Writing Club.
He has taught writing classes at universities in America and abroad, has participated in writing workshops with notable writers from across the world, and he has published numerous poems in literary magazines. Landen hopes to publish his first book of poetry soon, and is currently working on his first novel. He also has experience with copy writing, business writing, and writing for academic purposes.
Landen is passionate about encouraging and supporting the publication efforts of writers, teachers, and researchers, especially in underserved regions of the world that are often overlooked by international agencies and communities. He believes the way forward for humanity is more international collaboration, more sharing of ideas between diverse communities, and more opportunities for cultural exchange.