Dr. Miriam Altman is a renowned economist, strategist, and thought leader with decades of experience guiding both public and private sector organizations. She has served as a Commissioner on South Africa’s National Planning Commission and played a pivotal role in shaping the country’s first National Development Plan.
A former Chief of Strategy at Telkom, Miriam led its turnaround, helping the company’s share value multiply sixfold while repositioning it in a competitive digital market. She is a passionate advocate for digital adoption in education and currently advises governments and corporates on economic and commercial strategy.
Her work bridges research, policy, and practice. As an Adjunct Professor at UCT’s Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice and a Fellow at CEIBS in Shanghai, she brings global insight to issues of growth, employment, and digital transformation.
Dr. Miriam Altman is recognised as a leading economist, strategist, thought leader and a passionate communicator. She has extensive proven experience in charting uncertainty and achieving great things in difficult circumstances.
She speaks on the future of the South African economy, why South Africa needs a “China Strategy” and more broadly on economic strategy in emerging markets. Miriam shares principles that drove Telkom’s rapid turnaround. A driver of digital adoption, she talks about why digital education in schools is not spreading and what can be done about it.
She is a part-time Commissioner on the National Planning Commission (NPC) in the Office of the South African Presidency. This body was established to guide long term planning for South Africa. She was a significant contributor to the writing of SA’s first National Development Plan.
In her private capacity, she advises governments and companies in their economic and commercial strategies.
Dr. Miriam Altman is passionate about the take up of digital education for school going children in public schools. She is currently Strategic Advisor to the CEO of Extramarks, the leading digital education content and software company in India.
From 2013 to April 2016, Miriam was Chief of Strategy and Regulatory Affairs for the Telkom Group, SA’s largest fixed line telecommunications operator. She was recruited to craft and chart Telkom’s strategic repositioning and turnaround.
In 2013, Telkom was generally disliked by most stakeholders and failing by most metrics. The early success of this programme is reflected in its share value rising by 6 times with significant, sustained improvements in company financials, regulatory matters, customer service and market repositioning.
Miriam Altman was Executive Director at the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa from 2002 to 2013. The “Employment Scenarios” was her flagship at the HSRC.
This drew leaders from government, the private sector, labour and academia together over a period of years to define a vision and practical strategies to address extremely high unemployment in South Africa. The HSRC Employment Scenarios were heavily relied on in the conceptualisation and direction of South Africa’s first National Development Plan.
Miriam has a BA in economics from McGill University, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in economics from the University of Manchester.
She is an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice, University of Cape Town, a non-resident Fellow at the Center for Emerging Markets at CEIBS in Shanghai, and associated with Tsinghua University’s Graduate School of Public Policy and Management (Beijing) and Fudan University’s Economics Department (Shanghai).
Miriam Altman has produced more than 100 publications. She was commissioning editor of approximately 400 policy papers and publications, and was guest editor of four special edition journals.
Contact us at Speakers Inc and follow us on Facebook
Dr. Miriam Altman addresses executives on the challenges of navigating uncertainty in rapidly changing industries. She highlights the constant pressure leaders face when making high-stakes investment decisions without certainty about the right technologies or future competition.
She frames “relevance” as a critical measure for organizations whether through market share, cash generation, or the ability to reinvest. She warns that collecting big data is meaningless without clear goals for how it will be used to support profitability and strategy.
Altman stresses that continuous change and adaptation are now the norm. While companies invest heavily in technology and innovation, too little attention is paid to people and behaviors. She calls for senior, well-positioned teams that actively ideate around strategy, competition, and organizational direction—not as side projects but as core functions.
Drawing on her experience as Telkom’s Chief of Strategy, she shares that the most effective work came from creating cross-functional teams to tackle strategic challenges. By involving employees who deeply understand the company, leaders can spark excitement, foster ownership, and ensure integration of new solutions. Conversely, when external consultants dominate problem-solving without staff engagement, outcomes often fail to take root.
00:00 The reality of uncertainty and high-risk decisions
00:30 Defining organizational relevance: market share, profitability, reinvestment
01:05 The role of data: purpose-driven, not just collection
01:40 Continuous adaptation in industries under disruption
02:05 Importance of senior teams focused on innovation and strategy
02:40 Lessons from Telkom: building internal teams to solve strategic problems
03:20 Pitfalls of over-reliance on external consultants
Economic strategy, future of South Africa’s economy, digital disruption, employment policy, corporate turnarounds.
Yes, with case-specific insights drawn from government, telecoms, and education.
Sizakele Marutlulle, founder and CEO of a pan-African strategy and advisory firm, is a powerful voice in reimagining business through a human-centered lens. She champions Humancentric Creatives, a pioneering approach that places people, not just profit, at the heart of organizational success. Sizakele’s advisory work guides leaders across the continent to design inclusive futures, build […]
Amanda du-Pont is an actress, television presenter, and commercial and fitness model, voice over artist and business woman. Amanda has acted on numerous television shows such as Muvhango, Generations, A place called Home, City Sesla, Intersexions, End Game, Task Force, Tarryn & Sharon, Kowethu, Mzansi Love and Single Guyz. Amanda has also acted on CBS […]
When Siba’s Table first aired on Food Network, it not only cemented Chef Siba Mtongana standing as South Africa’s premier culinary phenomenon, but catapulted her to the status of global food icon in more than 135 countries worldwide, and 60 million homes in the USA through the Cooking Channel alone. The world was hungry for […]
Lorna Mlonzi is a visionary leader and the Founder and CEO of Sky Internet SA (Pty) Ltd, an innovative Internet Service Provider start-up committed to bridging the digital divide. With a profound mission to transform the lives of individuals in townships, lower income areas, and rural areas, Lorna established Sky Internet SA to make a […]
Over the past 3 years, Kali Ilunga has worked with 150 start-ups. As co-founder of Silicon Valley in Your Pocket, he has bridged entrepreneurs with a network of 300+ angel investors once they were investor-ready. As co-founder of Viable, he has assembled 50 world-class coaches from companies such as Netflix, Google, and Square, as well […]
Josina Machel holds an MSc degree in Sociology (Gender) from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Social Science, Sociology and Political Science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Following a horrific domestic violence attack that left her blind in one eye, Ms. Machel founded the Kuhluka Movement, […]
Linda Ntuli is a former Electrical Engineer turned Management Consultant, Linda Ntuli is now a motivational speaker, a trainer, a facilitator, an author, a life coach who has excellent personal, organisational and client relationship management capabilities. He spent over 12 years at Transnet, Eskom, Microellettrica and Afrox in the electrical engineering, project management, sales and […]
Pie-Pacifique Kabalira-Uwase embodies resilience, determination, and the unyielding pursuit of dreams against all odds. Born into the tumultuous backdrop of war-torn Rwanda, Pie-Pacifique’s early life was marked by the horrors of genocide. Faced with the grim reality of violence and persecution, he made the courageous decision to leave his homeland in pursuit of safety. His […]
No results available
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Speakers Inc.
All talent fees exclude VAT, travel and accommodation where required.
Our Mission
Our Mission:
© All rights reserved 2025. Designed using Voxel