Professor Shirley Zinn is the former Group Head of Human Resources at Woolworths Holdings Limited. Prior to this, she was the Head of Human Resources of Standard Bank South Africa and Deputy Global Head of Human Resources for the Standard Bank Group.
Prior to this she was the Group Executive HR at Nedbank. Before this, she was the General Manager for Human Resources at the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
She is also an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Human Resource Management, and recently been appointed as Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town.
Shirley is the Past President of the Institute for People Management South Africa and registered as Master HR Professional with South Africa Board for People Practice.
Professor Shirley Zinn hails from the Cape Flats in Cape Town, and started her career as a secondary school teacher of English, then moved to the University of the Western Cape where she lectured in Teacher Education.
After this, Professor Shirley Zinn served at Southern Life as Training Manager and then moved to the Department of Public Service and Administrations’: South African Management Development Institute, in Pretoria as Director.
She held the position of Executive Employment Equity at Computer Configurations Holdings. Before her appointment at SARS, she filled the role of Regional Human Resources Director for Middle East and Africa for Reckitt Benckiser, a global company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Professor Shirley Zinn is the former Chairman of DHL: Global Forwarding SA, and currently a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of JSE listed AdvTech (Lead Independent and Chair of Remco) and Sygnia Asset Management (Lead Independent, and Chair of Remco and Social and Ethics Committee).
She also serves as a director on the Boards of Tuesday Consulting, Empowerment Capital, Knowledge Resources, Business Engage, Community Chest, and the Boston Consulting Group SA. In addition, she is the HR Advisor to the Board of Silvertree Internet Holdings.
Professor Shirley Zinn also serves on the Takeover Regulation Panel Board and on the Council of the University of Cape Town. She is a Trustee on the Nedbank Eyethu Community Trust, Ambassador for the Orbis Africa Charity, and the former Chairman of Starfish Greathearts Foundation.
She also serves on the Advisory Boards of Monash South Africa, and the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Shirley is the past President for the Harvard Alumni Association South Africa and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors SA.
She also previously served as the Chair of the Institute of Bankers. She was recently appointed as the Patron for South Africa Council of Business Women.
She is a coach and mentor to several women across multiple industries She has presented at numerous national and international conferences as a keynote speaker.
In 2015, she wrote her autobiography entitled “Swimming Upstream” which focuses on her personal and professional journey. It has officially been announced as a best-seller.
In 2016, she presented several “Swimming Upstream” talks nationally at corporates, schools, universities and charities, with the hope of motivating and inspiring especially youth and women that they can achieve despite adversity, and to never give up.
She holds a BA (University of the Western Cape); Post Graduate Higher Diploma in Education (University of the Western Cape); B.Ed. Honours (UNISA); M.Ed. (University of the Western Cape); Ed.M. (Harvard); and Doctorate in Education (Harvard).
Professor Shirley Zinn was awarded the Top Woman in Business and Government and Top Executive in Corporate South Africa by Topco Media in 2008. Professor Zinn also was recognized by the Black Business Quarterly and received the Award for Top Woman in Business and Government and most Visionary Woman in 2008.
She also received an award from the World Human resources Congress in Mumbai in 2007 and 2013 respectively for Excellence in Global HR Leadership. In 2012, was listed in the Top 30 Wonder Women in South Africa by the Wits Business Journal.
Professor Shirley Zinn was awarded Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government for 2016 in the SME Sector by CEO Global.
She also completed her ninth Two Oceans Half Marathon in March 2018.
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Nicola Tyler is a renowned expert in the field of Lateral Thinking and she has been a strategist and leadership development trainer for over twenty years.
During this time, she worked with, and was trained by, Dr Edward de Bono, in his creative and lateral thinking methods. As CEO of Business Results Group, she heads up the official distributorship of Dr Edward de Bono’s Thinking Methods, Official Tom Peters Training, iOpener Institute’s Science of Happiness at Work and Liz Wiseman’s Multipliers Leadership Development in Southern Africa.
BRG also owns the prestigious brand, ‘The Progress Conference’; host to the annual Happiness @ Work conference and numerous thought leadership programs in South Africa.
Nicola Tyler has shared the stage with a number of world renowned speakers such as Martin Seligman, Dave Ulrich, Tom Peters, Martin Lindstrom, Robert Kaplan, Ricardo Semler and more. She has personally addressed audiences in Argentina, Bahrain, Bangkok, Brussels, Cambodia, Paris, Prague, Mauritius, Switzerland and London, as well as having done extensive work in Africa and in the Middle East.
She is a Professional Associate at GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Science), which has been ranked as the number one Business School in Africa (Financial Times, UK), where, for several years
Nicola presented an MBA elective on Creative and Innovative Thinking. Today, she presents on a number of company specific programs for the business school on both Innovative and Strategic Thinking.
Nicola Tyler is a professional, insightful and engaging speaker who is passionate about making a difference and delivering results.
She brings a deep respect and appreciation for business needs into their sessions by engaging people at all levels and encouraging the process of thinking in such a way, that it stimulates commitment and buy-in to decisions.
She is widely considered a master at applying de Bono’s techniques in live business situations. Nicola Tyler is an erudite presenter and master facilitator with business experience way beyond the field of Creative Thinking.
Nicola Tyler unique and pragmatic style of working has earned her a reputation for being able to ‘turn strategy into action’ and personal passion for thinking, innovation and results, is realized through a process that she has coined as ‘Operative Strategy’.
Drawing on Nicola Tyler twenty years of experience in the fields of strategy and innovation, Nicola facilitates strategic planning, strategic thinking and innovation processes and workshops across a variety of industries.
She regularly consults to organisations on strategic innovation, she coaches executives on the implementation of strategy and she facilitates partnering innovation workshops for clients.
Nicola has been interviewed on radio, television, and Nicola Tyler – Strategic Lateral Leadership has frequently contributed to articles on management journals, both locally and internationally.
Thinking Differently ™ About ….
It’s not often that you can book a speaker to present on any topic but quite literally, that’s what you can do with Nicola.
Nicola Tyler will bring to your subject the topic of thinking and in an engaging and high impact presentation, she will get your team thinking differently about … just about … ANYTHING!
The trick is the thinking part. She’s done in mining, sales, financial services, health care, human resources, manufacturing, marketing, branding, finance, risk management and more! And, even if she hasn’t done one in your field, she will be up for the challenge for sure!
Think – discover how your brain processes information and what goes right and wrong when you begin to think.
Differently – discover the power of perception and how learning to change perceptions can change, just about, anything. It’s the key to innovation success and it will unlock new thinking in the room, in an instant!
About – pick your topic and that will become the theme of Nicola Tyler presentation. She will research your industry and get to know your needs to ensure that she hits the relevant nail on the head! Your wish, is Nicola’s command!
Our company has quite a few different products in our stable. Nicola Tyler is a master certified trainer in de Bono courses (Six Thinking Hats, Lateral Thinking, Power of Perception, Six Value Medals and Simplicity). The most favoured course is Lateral Thinking.
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