Dolly Mokgatle

Dolly is a co-founder of Peotona Capital, the women's investment company that owns a 16% share in Ponahalo Investment Holdings, a new generation black empowerment company. Ponahalo Investment Holdings holds a joint 50% stake in Ponahalo that owns 8% of the South African unit of De Beers, the world's top diamond miner, and is buying part of cement maker Lafarge SA's operations.

Since leaving Spoornet in January 2005 where she was Chief Executive Officer, Dolly has been actively involved in the restructuring of the Electricity Distribution Industry and chairs the Board of the Holding Company, which is tasked with the oversight, facilitation and monitoring of the countrywide establishment of independent financially viable Regional Electricity Distributors.

Earlier this month (November 2005), she was designated Deputy Chairman of the newly established National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).

Prior to taking up her position at Spoornet, she had been MD of the Transmission Group in Eskom, racking up a series of historic "firsts" as the first woman, first black person and first non-technical person to be appointed to that position. Most significantly, she and her team were credited with turning the business around from a loss-making process-based business model into a fully transformed, technically successful, financially profitable group largely within the first year of her tenure.

She pioneered a women's executive development programme and headed up a team that put together the environmental management system audit that resulted in the group being the first in Eskom to receive ISO certification.

Before joining Eskom, she was litigation officer with the Black Lawyers Association Legal Education Centre focusing on political cases, housing, labour and other human rights' violation issues.

Previous appointments included Research Officer with the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand; and Professional Assistant at Cheadle, Thompson and Haysom Attorneys specialising in Homeland Removals Pass Laws and Rural Committees Rights.

Ms. Mokgatle holds a qualification in law from the University of the North, South Africa and an LLB and Higher Diploma in Tax Law from the University of the Witwatersrand.