On 12-13 March, Pinpoint Stewards will be hosting the 4th Annual Women and Leadership in Engineering, Infrastructure and Innovation conference. Hosted at the NH Collection Hotel, Sandton, the conference forms part of the DUE series in order to Develop, Unite and Empower.
Unlike other platforms this conference aims to profile women from all levels in the engineering, infrastructure and innovation disciplines. The speaker line-up demonstrates that to elevate statistics of women in STEM, men also have an integral role to play.
Speaker line-up
Keynote address by Tertius Simmers, Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Western Cape, and both private and public sector speakers include:
- Dr Gugu Moche Group Exec: Digital Transformation and Acting DCEO: Research, Innovation, Impact Support & Advancement (RIISA), NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION
- Takalani Netshipale, Civil Engineer KZN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (INFRASTRUCTURE)
- Celeste Le Roux, Founder and CEO, REACT GROUP
- Vishaal Lutchman, Group Chief Executive, GIBB
- Monique Schmidt, Implementation Coordinator Engineering & Capex, ABINBEV
- Janice Foster, Managing Director – Energy, ZUTAR
- Zandile Pule, Snr Manager: Asset Optimisation, Strategy and Systems Global, GOLDFIELDS
- Retang Sandra Maphothoma, Technologist-Highways, AECOM
- Natasha Ramkirpal Group Lead – Water Security Optimisation, COCA COLA BEVERAGES AFRICA
Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Western Cape, Tertuis Simmers, will be adding his voice to this critical dialogue by delivering the keynote address.
The provincial ministry has also partnered with Pinpoint Stewards to expand the reach of this prestigious event.
Some of the other speakers include:
Vishaal Lutchman, Group Chief Executive, Gibb will be focusing on: “Giving effect to changing perspective and narrative”. Vishaal Lutchman is a distinguished leader in the engineering sector with a background in managing complex infrastructure and logistics projects, he leads a team of engineering and advisory professionals focused on delivering innovative solutions across South Africa, select African regions, and the Middle East.
Before Gibb, Vishaal was the Managing Director of Transport and Greater Africa, Zutari. Prior to that he was the CEO of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE).
His previous roles include Director in Transportation and Infrastructure at WSP, Parsons Brinckerhoff, where he oversaw freight logistics in maritime, aviation, and rail, and Deputy Chief Engineer at Transnet, handling capital projects and port infrastructure.
His career reflects a deep commitment to aligning strategy, operations, and technical capacity, fostering future-ready leadership and advancing Africa-centric solutions.
Zandile Pule, Goldfields Snr Manager: Asset Optimisation, Strategy and Systems Global, will give an address on: “Including diversity to give your organisation the competitive edge and consistently outperform other innovation teams”. Zandile has a strong academic foundation with a BSc in Chemical Engineering, an Associate in Management (Cum Laude) from UCT, further enhanced by a Leading Continuous Improvement certification from INSEAD and a top performance in Financial Management (Cum Laude) from UCT.
Recognized early for excellence with an award of Metallurgy Graduate Trainee of the Year in 2007, and subsequently appointed to the pioneering multidisciplinary Business Improvement team from 2008.
She has demonstrated outstanding strengths in business improvement, through leading high-impact strategic cost savings and production gains initiatives across major organizations, advancing operational efficiency and long-term value creation.
Retang Sandra Maphothoma, Technologist-Highways, Aecom will be tackling the subject of: “Expanding a new generation of women in Engineering leaders”.
Retang’s achievement include: 2023 Trailblazing Technologist Award winner at UNESCO’s 9th Africa Engineering Week. Finalist for 2024 Awards: Fabulous Girl of the Year; Women in Green Building and SAICE Graduate Technologist and Founder of Divine Community Association, empowering youth and women.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health (Infrastructure), Takalani Netshipale, Civil Engineer, will tailor her talk on: “Promoting Investments in Women-Owned Projects and Building Partnerships with Public and Private Sectors for Gender Equality”.
Takalani’s accolades include: Serving as a Civil Engineer in the Health Infrastructure Approval Committee (HIAC) at KZN Department of Health Multiple awards: 2024 Sunday World Newspaper Top 200 Unsung Heroes, Big 5 Construct Southern Africa 2024 Rising Star, and Member of The Big 5 Southern Africa Conference Advisory Board 2024, SAICE Presidential Award for her contributions to SAICE through chairing SAICE Ethics and SAICE STAR (Success Through Academic Readiness), Deputy Chair for SAICE Diversity and Inclusivity, and member of SAICE Future Leaders Panel.
Learn more about the other speakers here
Stay informed about the latest trends and opportunities for women in Engineering, Infrastructure, and Innovation by attending the 2-day conference. The conference is aimed at addressing statistics in STEM and provide opportunities for public and private sector collaboration.
The time is now to invest in STEM leadership and participate in the opportunities available. Join the two day conference on 12 & 13 March to develop leaders and build long-term industry networks. The GNU committed to economic growth and improving SA’s ports, rail and roads, saying it will spend R940bn on infrastructure over the next three years.
Special Offer
Register and pay before 28 February and each delegate will receive a welcome hamper worth R500. Enquire about group discounts today info@pinpointstewards.co.za or register online www.pinpointstewards.co.za
Women & Leadership conferences welcome men and women with a focus area on excelling women in male populated sectors to build diverse and more profitable teams.
