Page 44 - Thetha Issue 6

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Achievers

Annual Alumni Awards a showcase of service and skills

On 7 December last year, Mandela University honoured nine outstanding alumni who
use their talents, expertise and passion to build exceptional careers, while serving the
communities in which they live. From Olympic swimming pools to India’s cricket
stadiums, from TV adverts that make us laugh and think to the banking tools
that protect us from risk, Nelson Mandela University alumni are making a
difference in diverse fields and across the world.
Mike Abel

Mike Abel is recognised as one of Africa’s leading marketing, advertising and communications
specialists. Born and raised in Gqeberha and now based in Cape Town, Mike graduated with a National
Diploma in Marketing and Sales Management at Nelson Mandela University in 1989. During his 30
years in the advertising industry, he co-led Ogilvy South Africa, the largest communications group in
Africa, and ran the prestigious M&C Saatchi Group in Australia, the country’s largest agency.
In 2010, he co-founded M&C Saatchi Abel, which was recognised by Finweek as the
Breakthrough Agency in South Africa and named Agency of the Year by Financial
Mail just five years after opening. Mike is also CEO of M&C Saatchi Group South
Africa, a group of seven companies listed among the top five creative agencies in
South Africa, with an impressive list of clients including Standard Bank, Takealot,
Nando’s and Lexus. Under Mike’s leadership, M&C Saatchi Abel is involved in
various social impact initiatives, including the Street Store, the world’s first free
“pop-up clothing store” for the homeless. With a keen personal interest in
driving entrepreneurship, he has supported and consulted to many NGOs and
political parties in South Africa, helping to build
the economy and tackle corruption. In his 2020
book, Willing and Abel, he shares lessons he
has learned over the past 30 years.

Hilda Kabushenga Kragha

Uganda-born executive Hilda Kabushenga Kragha is tackling Africa’s unemployment
challenges by bringing transparency to labour markets and improving productivity
in the workplace. Based in Lagos, Nigeria, she is Managing Director for ROAM
Africa Jobs, where she leads recruitment teams across several countries, including
Jobberman in Nigeria and Ghana, and Brighter Monday in Kenya, Uganda and
Tanzania. Prior to this, she was CEO at Jobberman, Nigeria’s leading online
recruitment platform, where she partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to
train five million job seekers and place three million in employment within five
years. This initiative aimed to address the challenges many young Nigerian
graduates face, of getting qualifications that don’t necessarily equip them
with the skills demanded by the labour market. Hilda obtained her LLB
law degree at Nelson Mandela University in 2011. Before blazing a trail
in the recruitment industry, she worked as an Engagement Manager
in McKinsey & Company’s Nigeria office, serving private and
public sector clients in the areas of strategy, human capital, talent
management, change management and organisational behaviour.
Before that, she worked as a transfer pricing expert with KPMG
East Africa. Hilda blogs on Instagram about motherhood and
finding balance as a working African mother.

44 | Thetha Edition 6 | 2022