Dionne Kerr-Malherbe

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Siyakha Consulting, Dionne has actively advised both public and private sector clients in Transformation, Development and Strategy since leaving the banking industry in 1998. Working in Sustainability, BEE and Transformation, she guides inward investment, successful operating models to optimise South African growth and supporting businesses to apply world class standards.. Her work in Africa includes more than 16 African countries to support business excellence and local relevance.

Achievements:

• Awarded Impendulo award for development of Black skills in South Africa

• Awarded the Top Empowerment companies award

• Awarded the Best Enterprise Transformation Consultancy 2017

• Awarded the Excellence Award for Black Economic Empowerment Advisory

• Diva Africa award for her work in SMME Development, 2002

• Africa’s Top 25 Distinguished Women in Leadership

• Best Transformation Consulting Firm of the Year - South Africa - M & A Today, 2019

• Top 100 Women in Africa Supply Chain awarded by AWISC, 2021

• Top 10 most inspiring leaders to watch in 2022, Prime View Magazine

She is a regular contributor, thought leader and public speaker on key elements of social impact, people, sustainability, shared value maximising impact.

Dionne has served on several Executive committees and is an activist on issues of change and development. An avid believer in community development, Dionne remains personally involved in entrepreneurial development, community development, job creation, disability support programmes and youth development.

Dionne has served as a judge for the Black Business Quarterly (BBQ) Awards, the Top Women Awards, the Achiever Awards, the Nedbank Top Empowerment Awards, the Metropolitan Oliver Empowerment Awards, the Gender Mainstream Awards, and the African Business Awards.

She participates regularly in task teams to drive development, as well as delivering the Presidential Review Committee report on the State of Transformation in South Africa’s State-Owned Companies, and the United Nations review of transformation in South Africa’s agricultural sector as well as the ILO’s Social Enterprise programme.

Dionne served on the dtic’s Joint Technical Committee as part of her role as Chairperson of the National Association of BEE Consultants (NABC).

She is the previous Vice-Chairperson and Director of the Association of B-BBEE Professionals (ABP). She has served as a Board member of the British Chamber of Business and is Honorary Director General for the Global Council for the Promotion of International Trade. (India/Africa trade group). Dionne actively advises investors from the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and the United States on investing on the African continent and was appointed as one of two “Catalysts” representing South Africa to encourage trade between the UK and South Africa. She is the Beachhead Advisor for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

Her work has included extensive advisory work in the SOC sector and mining industry, amongst others and after 27 years, she has strong multi-sectoral exposure. Dionne has served as a member of the Wisdom Board for the African Sustainability Network and as a committee member of the Shared Value Africa Initiative.