Prof Bonang Mohale is the Chancellor of the University of the Free State, former President of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), and Professor of Practice at the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) in the Faculty of Business and Economics.
His postgraduate business education includes the Executive Programme at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration – University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA; ITO University in Madrid, Spain; the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland; and the Carl Duisberg Society on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. He is chairman of four companies (two listed) – the Bidvest Group Limited and ArcelorMittal, as well as Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Africa and SBV Services.
Prof Mohale has been appointed as the Sherpa of the Values 20 (V20) – a global community of values-driven experts and practitioners dedicated to engaging meaningfully with the Group of Twenty (G20). Launched in 2020 during Saudi Arabia's G20 presidency, V20 is an informal engagement group that develops values-based, human-centred policy proposals for the G20. The community’s vision is to deepen the integration of values into public policy, aiming to provide evidence-based, people-centred solutions to global challenges. V20 focuses on how we, as global citizens, can collectively and conscientiously apply values to improve the well-being of people and the planet.
In 2022, he was asked to convene, moderate, and chair the Eskom Electricity Crisis Roundtables – a partnership to address the generation capacity shortfall, with the aim of identifying levers to immediately close the generation capacity gap and address structural constraints to a sustainable future for the electricity sector. He is a member of the Community of Chairpersons (CoC) of the World Economic Forum and best-selling author of three books, Lift As You Rise, Behold The Turtle, and Coming In From The Cold (autobiography).
Prof Mohale has received numerous awards in recognition of his leadership, service, and contribution to business and society. In November 2001, he was honoured with the Presidential Award for his servanthood in South African industry and his commitment to advancing economic empowerment. He received the ME-Vision Academy Successful Leadership Award in 2023 for his impactful leadership and mentorship. In 2024, he was recognised with the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology South Africa (SIOPSA) Special Presidential Business Leadership Award, as well as the African Union Lifetime Achievement Award at the Africa Career Summit and Gala Awards.
In 2025, he received several accolades, including the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Chairman’s Friends of the Profession Award, the EmpowaWomen Ally Award for advancing women’s leadership, and the Number 43 Trelawney Park KwaMagogo Award in Eswatini. In the same year, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Leadership Award at the Future of Leadership Awards, the Diamond Award in Global
Educational Leadership from the Not Alone Foundation in Atlanta, and the Epitome of Black Excellence (EBE) United Nations Award for his contribution to economic development in South Africa and beyond.
In 2023, Prof Mohale was named among Reputation Poll International’s (RPI) ‘100 Most Reputable Africans’, recognised for his integrity, transparency, visibility, impact, and overall reputation, further affirming his standing as a respected leader on the continent.