Board members
Board members
The structure of the Board and election of Board members is governed by the Cotlands Constitution. The current Board comprises of independent non-executive Board members that are supported by the secretary, who is a Cotlands employee. The tenure of Board members is three years, with a maximum of six consecutive years. The Board’s primary objective is to ensure effective organisational leadership based on ethical foundations.
Fareda Franks
Chairperson of the audit, risk and business development committee
Fareda recently retired as a senior executive in financial services. She has extensive experience and knowledge in financial services, auditing and risk management. Fareda is an accredited coach and facilitator who is passionate about learning and development, and has used her work as a coach to create the space for people to discover their unique greatness.
Adrian Moodley
Treasurer of the board.
Adrian is an executive with more than 20 years of Leadership, Strategy, Operations, Business development and Business optimisation experience across multiple sectors & geographies. Adrian is currently the Head of the Strategic Initiatives office at Sasol. Adrian is passionate about strategy development and execution, and the associated leadership behaviours to drive impact and urgency. Adrian has an MBA from the University of Cape Town and an MSc Engineering from the University of Natal.
Audit, risk and business development committee
Bianca McGrath
Chairperson of the audit, risk and business development committee
Bianca is an admitted attorney and has worked more than 14 years’ within both the life and non-life insurance sectors. Her experience ranges between legal, compliance and operations. Bianca’s strengths lie in utilising her legal training and background to actively problem-solve operational and regulatory risks within an organisation. Bianca has a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of Johannesburg and did a Management Advancement Programme at Wits Business School.
Adrian Moodley
Member of the audit, risk and business development committee.
Adrian is an executive with more than 20 years of Leadership, Strategy, Operations, Business development and Business optimisation experience across multiple sectors & geographies. Adrian is currently the Head of the Strategic Initiatives office at Sasol. Adrian is passionate about strategy development and execution, and the associated leadership behaviours to drive impact and urgency. Adrian has an MBA from the University of Cape Town and an MSc Engineering from the University of Natal.
Nwabisa Bixa
Member of the audit, risk and business development committee.
Nwabisa is an enthusiastic Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Specialist with an Honours Degree in Econometrics from the University of Johannesburg. Both her work experience and qualification equip her with skills to critically analyse data, propose practical solutions, and lead risk culture change within organisations. Nwabisa has a track record of embedding policies & processes related to ERM, Financial Crime Risk, Conduct Risk, and New Business Risk. She is passionate about giving children multiple chances to be the best version of themselves by creating a safe environment and enabling culture for them to succeed.
Stanford Ndlovu
Member of the audit, risk and business development committee.
Stanford is a dedicated education leader focused on youth empowerment and mother tongue-based learning. He holds an Honours in Teacher Education, a B.Ed in Social Sciences, and is completing a Master’s in Development and Practice Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs focus). He completed SGD’s Fellowship with iLead Fellowship in Kenya and Leadership in Canada with the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness.
As Special Projects Manager at Masinyusane, he drives literacy programmes rooted in indigenous languages and Play-Based methodologies. He is currently working on a bilingual book (Xitsonga-English) with Room to Read and mentors education students at the University of Pretoria where he worked with Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience.
Organisational development committee
Maxine Merrifield
Vice-chairperson of the board. Chairperson of the organisational development committee.
Maxine is extensively involved in Learning and Development with a focus on moving providers and learners into the world of online learning. She is passionate about developing people for online engagement and learning and enhancing the ability of all South African youth to engage with technology and become gainfully employed. Maxine has a BSc degree in Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Nicole Pillay
Member of the organisational development committee.
Nicole Pillay has 17 years’ experience in the Express Parcel Industry. Her experience over the past 10 years has been as a qualified Education Training and Development Practitioner. Nicole is part of the Skills Development Task Team of SAEPA and heads up and manages skills development initiatives within SAEPA. (South African Express Parcel Association). Nicole is Partner in Alto Training, and focuses on Skills Development for Organisations as well as offers Training programmes. Her love and passion is people development, with a drive to change the future leaders of South Africa. Nicole’s qualifications include a National Diploma in ODETDP, Human Resources Development and a National Certificate in ODETDP, Training & Development.
Thabo Mokoena
Member of the organisational development committee.
Thabo is a seasoned Human Capital professional with over eight years of experience supporting dynamic and high-performing business environments. He is passionate about driving meaningful people strategies and has consistently delivered impactful solutions across talent development, workforce planning, and organisational effectiveness.
Outside of work, Thabo is a dedicated family man and a jazz enthusiast who thrives on creating authentic connections.
Yule Banda
Member of the organisational development committee.
Yule is a people strategist and transcendent coach, whose strength lies in unlocking potential through HR transformation, leadership development, organisational development, and coaching. He has spent the last two decades honing his human resources expertise in the financial services, banking, and public and higher education sectors. Yule has a BA Human Resource Management and Advanced Diploma in Labour Law from University of Johannesburg, and Advanced Programme in Organisational Development from UNISA.
