The Nedbank Future of Business Conference aims to equip Namibian business leaders with the essential strategies needed to thrive in today’s dynamic environment. This one-day event will bring together a dedicated audience to explore future-focused topics crucial for sustained success.
JG van Graan is the Chief Commercial Officer at Nedbank Namibia, overseeing Retail, Corporate, Business Banking, Private Wealth, and Treasury under a single client-focused vision. A Chartered Accountant and INSEAD alumnus, he brings deep cross-functional banking experience and was recognised with Nedbank Namibia's Managing Director's Award in 2024. He opens the Future of Business Conference with a keynote on financing Namibia's next generation of growth-ready businesses.
LinkedIn: JG van Graan
Pavlo Phitidis is a business growth specialist, author, and broadcaster who has spent 25 years building businesses across four continents. He has started, built, and sold 12 businesses, developed assets in excess of $450 million, and worked with over 3,000 businesses across all sectors of the economy. At the Future of Business Conference, he unpacks the building blocks that turn short-term plans into enduring enterprises, showing owner-managed businesses how disciplined 3–5 year thinking compounds into a 20–30-year legacy
LinkedIn: Pavlo Phitidis
Khensani Nobanda is the Group Chief Marketing Officer at Nedbank Group, responsible for aligning marketing, brand, and business strategy across the group-while also leading Nedbank's social impact agenda through its CSI and Transformation programmes. With over 20 years of marketing experience across Unilever, Diageo, South African Breweries, and Vodacom, she brings a continent-wide perspective to the question of how Namibian businesses can meaningfully tap into the African market.
LinkedIn: Khensani Nobanda
Sonja Coetzer is the Managing Director of Salt Essential IT, a Namibian technology company helping organisations thrive in the digital age through practical, scalable solutions. A strategic leader and established thought leader, she has spoken at platforms including the United Nations General Assembly, TEDx, and AfICTA - consistently championing innovation, digital enablement, and inclusive growth.
LinkedIn: Sonja Coetzer
Ben Jooste is the CEO of Oryx Properties, Namibia's only NSX-listed property investment company. With over two decades in Namibian real estate, he has led Oryx in pioneering property as a tradeable asset class accessible to all Namibians, navigating economic cycles, market shifts, and large-scale developments to deliver consistent long-term returns. He brings a property investor's hard-won perspective on what it really takes to hold your vision steady when conditions change beneath your feet.
LinkedIn: Ben Jooste
Emily Kandanga-Erastus is a Media & Events Coordinator at Venture Media and the founder of EmpowerU, a holistic wellness and coaching practice. Her background spans social media content creation, event coverage, and brand storytelling, giving her a sharp, practical understanding of what it takes to build a relevant brand in today's digital landscape. At the Future of Business Conference, she'll speak to how authentic content and a clear personal brand can drive real business impact.
LinkedIn: Emily Kandanga-Erastus
Johann van Rooyen is the SOC and SIEM Manager at Salt Essential IT, where he leads cybersecurity operations with a focus on protecting Namibian organisations from an increasingly complex threat landscape. A trusted voice on cybersecurity in Namibia, Johann has shared practical insights with the public on avoiding cyber threats and scams - and at the Future of Business Conference, he'll cut through the noise to help business owners build truly secure technology environments.
LinkedIn: Johann van Rooyen
Christine Venter is Future Media's Business Development Manager, with a career rooted in over a decade of on-air radio presenting before moving into campaigns, business development, and digital strategy. She brings a rare blend of storytelling instinct and commercial thinking, exactly the perspective MSMEs need when building their brand across multiple platforms.
LinkedIn: Christine Venter
Ida Williams is an Economist on the Research team at Cirrus Capital, where she is responsible for high-frequency macroeconomic reporting, producing regular research on monetary, fiscal and sector-level developments across the Namibian economy. She holds a Bachelor of Economics from The Namibian University of Science and Technology  and previously served as President of the NUST Economics Student Society.
LinkedIn: Ida Naameandia WilliamsÂ
An executive-level FMCG marketing and commercial leader with over 25 years' experience across Africa, Asia, and beyond, he currently leads the marketing function at Namibia Breweries - shaping the next phase of growth for some of the region's most iconic drinks brands. A specialist in insight-led brand strategy, innovation, and revenue growth management, he is passionate about winning through people and building teams that deliver breakthrough results. In 2026, he was named one of Africa's 100 Most Influential Marketing Leaders.
LinkedIn: Dries van der Sandt
Elzanne McCulloch is the Managing Director of Venture Media and publisher of Travel News Namibia, with deep roots in Namibia's tourism and aviation ecosystem. Her work spanning travel media, destination storytelling, and industry partnerships makes her the ideal voice to lead the conversation on Namibia's readiness to compete as a world-class meetings destination.
LinkedIn: Elzanne McCulloch
Justine Shipanga-Gcilishe is Acting Executive: Investor Experience at the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), where she drives Namibia's investment competitiveness and ease of doing business. With over 15 years' leadership experience across investment promotion, financial services and institutional governance. She holds an MBA in Finance and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). At #NedbankFOBC2026, Justine joins the Travel & Trade panel, "Namibia as a meetings destination - are we ready to compete?", bringing an investment lens to how business events can boost destination competitiveness, attract investment and position Namibia as a top choice for international conferences.
LinkedIn: Justine Shipanga-Gcilishe
Bronwyn Williams is a Futurist, Economist, Business Trends Analyst, and Global Keynote Speaker who helps organisations understand how macroeconomic forces, emerging technologies, and behavioural shifts reshape markets and societies. At Nedbank Future Of Business Conference 2026, she will deliver "The State We're In - 2026," a forward-looking analysis unpacking the trends set to shape business, economics, and society in the year ahead. She is the co-author of Survive the AI Apocalypse (Penguin), The Future Starts Now (Bloomsbury), and Rescuing Our Republic, and is a frequent media commentator on economic futures across CNBC Africa and eNCA. Bronwyn lectures at top business schools including GIBS, Duke, UCT, and Parsons New School of Design, among others. She is a partner at Flux Trends, an associate at Futurist.com, and is affiliated with global futures and policy organisations including the Lifeboat Foundation and AFP.
LinkedIn: Bronwyn Williams
Dr Sven Thieme is Executive Chairman of the Ohlthaver & List Group. A Namibian business leader with deep expertise in strategy and transformational leadership, he has driven OL’s multi-industry expansion and led the establishment of the Development Bank of Namibia. Sven brings a distinctive ability to align people, partnershDr Sven Thieme is Executive Chairman of the Ohlthaver & List Group. A Namibian business leader with deep expertise in strategy and transformational leadership, he has driven OL’s multi-industry expansion and led the establishment of the Development Bank of Namibia. Sven brings a distinctive ability to align people, partnerships and purpose to unlock sustainable economic growth and innovation. His contributions have garnered numerous prestigious recognitions, including the Most Distinguished Order of Namibia and the Forbes Best of Africa Outstanding Corporate Leadership Award.ips and purpose to unlock sustainable economic growth and innovation. His contributions have garnered numerous prestigious recognitions, including the Most Distinguished Order of Namibia and the Forbes Best of Africa Outstanding Corporate Leadership Award..
LinkedIn: Dr Sven Thieme
He took over as CEO of the Namibia Tourism Board on 1 March 2025, setting key strategic priorities to grow the tourism sector and strengthen Namibia's competitiveness through product quality and innovative destination marketing. Described by peers as a visionary and seasoned business re-engineering strategist, his tenure has seen NTB's high-performance trajectory recognised through several awards - including Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2026 (USA), Best Tourism Adventure Destination in Africa (UK), China's "Destination of Effective Publicity for Culture and Tourism 2025," and IPM Namibia's CEO of the Year 2025. He joins FlyNamibia's Travel & Trade panel discussing "Namibia as a Meetings Destination – Are We Ready to Compete?" at FOBC2026.
LinkedIn: Sebulon Chiliho Chicalu
Kallie van der Merwe is CEO of Safland Property Group, a Namibian real estate company founded in 1992. Since relocating its headquarters to Windhoek in 2011, she has driven Safland's growth by understanding the African consumer market, revitalising community nodes, and developing retail, commercial, and distribution blueprints across Africa. She joins the Travel & Trade panel at FOBC2026, discussing "Namibia as a Meetings Destination – Are We Ready to Compete?".
LinkedIn: Kallie van der Merwe
Naftali Ndeapo Indongo is an Artificial Intelligence lecturer in the Department of Software Engineering and an Associate Researcher under the UNESCO Chair Indigital Technology Design with Indigenous People at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). He holds an MSc in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, an MSc in Mathematical Sciences, and a BSc Honours in Mathematics and Physics. He joins Salt Essential IT's panel discussion on AI Adoption & Cloud Strategy for Namibian Businesses at FOBC2026.
LinkedIn: Naftali Indongo
Jared-Dwight Geyser is a proudly Namibian entrepreneur, founder and investor with deep experience across events, logistics, technology, trading and hospitality. He founded Deep Catch Namibia Holdings, an integrated food, cold-chain and logistics group spanning five African countries later sold to Imperial Holdings and DP World Dubai, and now builds a portfolio of brands across events, tourism, technology and nightlife, including Plug & Play Event Solutions, Namib Rage Events, Howler Ticketing & Cashless and Origin Nightclub. At #NedbankFutureOfBusinessConference2026, he delivers his talk, "Namibia's Events Scene: Homegrown, World-Ready," exploring how scalable Namibian businesses can connect culture, tourism, technology and trade to expand across the region and beyond.
LinkedIn: Jared-Dwight Geyser
Vanessa "Kasiku" Maresch is an Empowerment Specialist at Salt Essential IT, where she works at the intersection of people and technology to help businesses adopt digital solutions that stick. Maresch unpacks why AI adoption and cybersecurity should be a priority for every Namibian business, regardless of size. She moderates Salt Essential IT's panel discussion on "AI Adoption & Cloud Strategy for Namibian Businesses" at the Nedbank Future of Business Conference 2026.
LinkedIn: Vanessa Maresch
Roean Kruger is Head: Beyond Banking at Nedbank Namibia, leading the bank's push to build the digitally enabled bank of the future. With over 20 years of banking experience across South Africa and Namibia - including 13 years at Nedbank - he specialises in digital transformation, automation, and data-driven innovation. He speaks on "Tools for a Digital Trade" at FOBC2026.
LinkedIn: Roean Kruger
Maggy Kamati is the Senior Sector Lead: Public Sector and Financial Services at Nedbank Namibia. With over a decade of experience across Namibia's banking sector, she specialises in portfolio management, relationship management, and growth-focused financing solutions. Passionate about connecting capital with opportunity, she is committed to helping businesses navigate and capitalize on Namibia's next economic frontier. She speaks on "Partnering Namibian Commercial & SME Businesses for the Next Economic Frontier" at FOBC2026.
LinkedIn: Maggy Kamati
Contact Person: Rukee Kaakunga
Phone: +264 83 000 1000
Email: rukee@futuremedia.com.na