Prof Christine Mitter is Research Fellow in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Prof Mitter specialises in the design and impact of corporate governance as well as management accounting and corporate finance in various life-cycle stages of companies of different sizes and ownership structures. In particular, she is interested in corporate restructuring and organisational resilience in various types of companies and the way in which management accounting and funding can support these processes. She has published and presented more than 40 papers in academic journals and at international conferences, served as editor (books on risk management and family firms, special issue on Entrepreneurial Finance) and contributed more than 20 book chapters. Prof Mitter has professional experience as a management accountant and financial manager in international companies. As Head of the Finance and Accounting Group at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences (SUAS), she designed numerous courses in the field of finance and accounting, in particular Financial Risk Management. As a lecturer, she has taught several courses in the field of corporate finance, management accounting, risk management, and corporate restructuring at Austrian universities and institutions of higher education, as well as at international universities. Together with Prof Johan Coetzee, she initiated the Consecutive Master’s Degree Programme in International Finance, a collaboration between the University of the Free State and Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, for which she was the programme coordinator at SUAS.

Dr Richard Chamboko is a seasoned applied econometrician and development finance expert with more than 15 years of experience. His expertise spans applied research, econometrics, strategy, and project management, focusing on digital finance, fintech, microfinance, SME finance, financial sector development, financial inclusion, credit risk modelling, and financial distress measurement. He has led impactful projects with global institutions such as the IFC-World Bank Group, USAID, EU, and UN agencies, as well as local governments and NGOs. Dr Chamboko excels in designing and managing large-scale studies to improve service delivery and inform policy and private sector strategies. His work includes rigorous data analysis, developing M&E systems, and enhancing access to finance for MSMEs and smallholder farmers in developing economies. Dr Chamboko holds a PhD in Econometrics and has published extensively in leading journals such as World Development, Risk Management, and International Journal of Financial Studies.

Dr Blessing Katuka is an award-winning economist with extensive research in climate change, financial stability, country governance, public finance, bank lending, and performance. He has spent more than a decade working in various departments at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, gaining extensive experience in financial services and central banking. Currently, he is leading research on climate change, as well as financial and price stability with the South African Reserve Bank. In addition to his professional roles, Dr Katuka is a visiting lecturer in the Department of Economics at Bindura University of Science Education in Zimbabwe. His academic achievements include a PhD in Economics from the University of the Free State awarded in 2023, where he received the Best PhD Book Prize. He has also been recognised with book prizes at both master’s and undergraduate levels. As a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, Dr Katuka focuses on fiscal space, climate change, and political regimes. His work and research continue to contribute significantly to the field of economics.

Prof Smith is a high impact CEO with near 35 years of executive leadership experience scaling Tech, Fintech and Consulting businesses at pace, whether from near start up to international prominence or public listings in Johannesburg, London, New York, Boston, Amsterdam and Atlanta. He has served as a Group Executive at JSE-listed Datatec Limited, Executive Chairman of Moneyweb Holdings since its listing, and a Managing Partner at Andersen Business Consulting. Prof Smith has a strong teaching and research background at the Universities of KwaZulu Natal, Stellenbosch & UFS in Industrial Organisation and Microeconomics, a participant on World Bank research teams during South Africa’s political transition, a Chief Director in South Africa’s first democratic government at the Department of Trade and Industry, and an early South African Internet pioneer as part of the team scaling South Africa’s first Internet Service Provider - Internet Africa - to market leadership. He has published a number of articles in scientific journals, chapters and books, and presented over 25 papers at academic conferences, and authored two key Government investigations for the South African Competition Board. He is a past winner of the Economic Society of South Africa’s Founders Medal (1997) for the best PhD thesis, as well as various awards from the HSRC and IDC’s national economics essay competition as a postgraduate student. 

Prof Hendrik Nel was the Head of the Financial Stability Department in the South African Reserve Bank when he retired.  He obtained his B.Com (1981), B.Com Hons (1982) and M.Com (1983) degrees at the University of the Free State.  Hendrik started his career in the International Division of Volkskas Bank in 1984.  He was appointed as lecturer in Money and Banking at the University of the Free State University in 1986, where he lectured on International Finance, Money and Capital Markets and Monetary Policy.  In 1992 he obtained his D.Com degree with a dissertation on "The applicability of various exchange rate systems for current international conditions”. Prof Nel was appointed at the Training Institute (SARB College) of the SARB in 1995, where he lectured on various central banking related subjects to delegates from the SARB, commercial banks, and SADC Central Banks.  In 1998 he was promoted to Senior Manager in the Bank Supervision Department where he oversaw the Research Section.  In 2001 he was promoted and transferred to the Financial Stability Department as Assistant General Manager in charge of the Research and Information Division.  On 1 January 2012 he was promoted to Deputy General Manager and head of the Financial Stability Unit in the Bank Supervision Department. When the Financial Stability Department was re-established, Prof Nel was promoted and appointed as Head: Financial Stability Department, with effect from 1 November 2014. In December 2020 he retired from this position and was appointed by the SARB as the Interim CEO of the Corporation for Deposit Insurance with the responsibility to develop a deposit insurance scheme for South Africa. He completed his term in December 2023 and the Corporation became fully operational on 1 April 2024.