Political economy keynote speaker, facilitator, and strategy advisor
Corporate leaders, investors, government institutions, policy forums, academic audiences, and conferences seeking informed insight into politics, economics, and strategy.
Mandla Isaacs is a respected public speaker, facilitator, and strategic advisor with deep expertise in political economy, business strategy, public policy, and international relations. He is the Managing Director of Zehuti Advisory, where he advises leaders across business, government, and civil society on strategy, positioning, and high-stakes communication.
His career spans both management consulting and senior public service. As a consultant at McKinsey & Company, Mandla advised companies and governments across Africa on strategy, organizational change, and long-term performance. He later moved into government, where he served as Head of Research and Speechwriting for South Africa’s Ministers of Home Affairs and Finance.
During four years in public service, Mandla wrote speeches for Parliament, investors, foreign diplomats, and communities across the country. Notably, he authored two of South Africa’s most closely watched national addresses: the October 2017 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement and the February 2018 National Budget Speech. These experiences place him at the center of policy formulation, fiscal communication, and political leadership.
Mandla Isaacs is a public speaker, and facilitator. He is Managing Director of Zehuti Advisory, a communications and strategy firm.
His main areas of expertise and interest are: political economy, business strategy/trends, South African and African development, international relations, public policy/administration and politics.
His career has spanned management consulting, including with McKinsey – where he advised companies and governments across Africa on strategy and change management – as well as public service, where he was head of research and speechwriting for the Minister of Home Affairs and Finance.
In four years in government, Mandla wrote speeches for Parliament, investors, foreign diplomats and communities, among other stakeholders.
He also wrote two budget speeches – the October 2017 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement Speech, and the February 2018 Budget Speech – which are two of the most closely followed communications on the national calendar.
He regularly provides analysis on South Africa-focused political economy, international relations and development issues in online columns, on radio and TV.
He is a former champion debater and coach in British Parliamentary-style university debating.
Mandla Isaacs was educated in the United States (BA Political Science, Howard University) and South Africa (MA International Relations).
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