Our team

Ivan’s formal career in marketing started at the coal face of direct selling for British America Tobacco (BATSA), followed by various managerial roles across the marketing value chain at the company. He went on to assume various leadership roles within South Africa’s leading communication and marketing consultancies like Added Value, Lowe Bull, TBWA and Yellowwood, after which he opened a marketing insight and strategy consultancy. He assumed the roles of CEO at KantarTNS in 2018 and CEO of Kantar South Africa in 2019. Ivan is the current APEX Jury Chairperson and holds a B.Comm degree in Economics and Business Economics.

Mbulelo specialises in employment and labour law and was part of the first group of Commissioners of the CCMA. He has extensive experience in transformation, diversity, equity, legal, governance and operations and has served on the boards of a number of significant South African companies and organisations. Mbulelo and his wife Nombulelo are the founding chairpersons of the Isiseko Family Institute and they have three daughters.

Mothathe is a qualified Chartered Accountant who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Science from UJ, a Post-graduate Diploma in Accounting from Monash, an Advanced Certificate in emerging markets from Fordham University in New York, and is an International Women’s Forum of South Africa Duke Executive Development Programme graduate.

She has experience in audit, where she completed her articles and was appointed as an engagement manager after she qualified at the Big Four firm, PwC, in South Africa and got international work experience in the US, where she was placed on secondment. She has experience in financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, natural resources, and FMCG sectors.

Currently, she works at Absa Group Limited, where she heads up the Non-Banking Financial Institutions portfolio in the Trade and Working Capital business unit. She joined as an Assistant Vice President in Group Finance and gained experience in Africa Regional Operations (ARO) of the Absa Group which consists of over 10 countries, where she supported the African subsidiaries from a finance and reporting perspective. She was then promoted to Vice President in the Credit risk space, whereby she and her team look after the impairment process across ARO and dealt with various senior stakeholders on all credit risk-related matters, including reporting to the Group Credit Impairment Commitee. Mothathe is a gender activitist and participates as a part of Banking on Women, where she leads the Connect pillar.

Dion is Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics and Director of the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology at Stellenbosch University. He holds a PhD in New Testament studies (Radboud) and a PhD in Systematic Theology (SA). Dion is an ordained minister in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. He is passionate about justice and reconciliation and spends a great deal of his time working on projects related to economic and political ethics. Dion is married to Megan and together they have been blessed with two children.

Mahlatse, is recognised as a speaker in Christian apologetics, justice, conflict resolution, and race relations. He is passionate about casting a compelling vision and mobilizing people to think deeply and act compassionately. Mahlatse served as a pastor and elder at his local church in Durban and later, he headed up the RZIM Africa team and was a member of the organisation's global speaking team.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Mahlatse is a dedicated family man and happily married to his wife, Lusanda. Together, they have three daughters and reside in Cape Town. Mahlatse is deeply committed to promoting values of collaboration, integrity, and continuous learning with different organisations in business and the NGO space. Whether through his public speaking engagements, facilitating dialogues, or spending time with his family, Mahlatse is committed to making a positive impact in the world.

Advocate Khwaile Rufus Malatji has an LLM in Human Rights and Constitutional Litigation and a Post graduate Diploma in Labour Labour Law (PDL) as well as a Certificate in Immigration and Refugee Law from York University (Canada 1999). He was admitted as an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1991. He is an avid soccer fan.

Simon was born and raised in Potchefstroom. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Wits University and has also done courses in Economics, Peace Building and Conflict Transformation. Simon has worked as a Project Engineer at Unilever, as a consultant at Opus Dei Advisory Services, a project management and strategy consulting company.

Simon and his wife Lindi are passionate about healthy marriages, nation building and discipleship and they have three children, Lemo, Zinzi & Rori.

Garth is a medical doctor. After having been part of the founding team behind the health promotion and social change project Soul City, in 2002, Garth decided to use the successful recipe of edutainment for change to turn the spotlight onto the universal values that all South Africans profess to share, but are not always evident in the lives they live. That was the beginning of the Mass Media Project, now known as Heartlines. Garth is the CEO and chief ideas man behind the work that we do.

One value he believes the world needs most: Honesty

"When people are not honest in their dealings and steal, it not only leads to poor or no service delivery but it also reduces people’s confidence in the country. The end result is greater unemployment, less money for services and greater poverty and suffering."

Derek is a qualified Chartered Accountant, and spent thirty years in the banking industry in a variety of executive positions. He was head of Corporate Banking at Nedbank for over ten years. He has been with Heartlines since 2007 in the role of Chief Financial Officer. Derek is a Board member of a number of non-profit entities, and retired in 2019 as Chair of the Nedbank Foundation Trust, the CSI arm of the Nedbank group.

In addition to his CFO role, Derek heads up the Heartlines Consulting team. 

Nevelia is a savvy and highly-skilled media and communications specialist. She has a background in anthropology and magazine publishing and heads up the Heartlines media and communications team. 

One value she believes the world needs most: Love
"Love, in its truest form, as that will cancel out so many other social ills, such as envy, greed, selfishness, hatred, etc."

Thabisa keeps the Heartlines ship afloat with her administrative brilliance and her commitment to caring for everyone on our team. 

One value she believes the world needs most: Self-control. 
"Regardless of what you do – whether it involves a physical act or a mental decision, must be maintained to produce desirable results."

Olefile Masangane is a programme manager and facilitator passionate about social cohesion and coming alongside communities in coming up with homegrown solutions.

He has found Heartlines to be an amazing platform for him to live out this passion.

One value he believes the world needs most: Future-mindedness.
"Future-mindedness, as we all caught up in immediacy."

Brian currently oversees the church mobilisation team that is responsible for the roll out of Heartlines programmes into churches.

Brian enjoys people, training and writing. He has a long history of involvement with youth and is passionate about finding creative ways to serve the church.

One value he believes the world needs most: Integrity 
"A lack of integrity destroys relationships and deprives people of wealth, education, jobs and security. When integrity is restored, business and government will succeed – relationships will be restored; people will be at peace with themselves."

Find out more about What's Your Story? here. 

One value she believes the world needs most: Honesty. 
"It underpins all values important for a cohesive society. If we were honest, firstly with ourselves, imagine what a free life we would all live. If one cannot be honest with oneself, how can one be honest with others?"

Find out more about our Values & Money project here. 

Lara is a recovering banker and management consultant. She is a curious self-starter who is guided by a desire to leave the world better than she found it. She is the founder of an integrative nutrition company, Rush Nutrition (whose mantra is to turn the tide on chronic disease). Through her work at Heartlines she has come to realise that disease is not just physical, it is a state of mind and she is passionate about giving people the spiritual, ethical and values-based tools to heal – holistically – at an individual level and as a country.

Lereko is the Project Coordinator for Fathers Matter. He is a multifaceted creative, with a background in drama, writing and facilitation. He is passionate about the transformation of mindsets through story and media. 

One value that is important to him: Perseverance

"I believe we must pursue perseverance in all endeavours. Everything good, impactful and meaningful will be tested through resistance, it’s the one who never gives up who changes the world."

To find our more about Fathers Matter, contact us at fathersmatter@heartlines.org.za