With a Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership (MSt) from the University of Cambridge, more than two decades of experience spanning financial services, strategy and sustainability, Shameela Soobramoney has built a career at the intersection of business and societal impact.
After 16 years at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where she ultimately served as Chief Sustainability Officer, she now leads the National Business Initiative (NBI) as the Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 1995 at the request of former President Nelson Mandela, the NBI has spent more than 30 years bringing together South African and multinational companies to drive collaborative action, advance inclusive growth and help shape a more sustainable and competitive South African economy.
Tell us about your background and how you got to where you are today?
I began my career in the insurance sector at the start of South Africa’s democratic transition. It was a period of significant change; this meant I had to navigate established hierarchies and some of the complexities of post-apartheid South Africa while finding my own place in the workplace.
After 10 years in the industry, I completed my PDBA at GIBS and moved into the banking sector while midway through my MBA.
After gaining her MBA, Shameela joined the JSE as Senior Strategist, ultimately spending 16 years at the organisation in different capacities and becoming Chief Sustainability Officer.
When did you first become interested in sustainability?
I intuitively cared about the environment and society alongside business from a young age, shaped substantially by my spiritual life. My MBA dissertation focused on financial inclusion within the insurance industry, which considered the social aspect of sustainability. I was fortunate enough to have Coen Jonker, the Founder and CEO of Thyme Group, as my dissertation supervisor and lecturer in capital formation and informal markets, and Nick Binedell on country competitiveness.
The JSE was ahead of its time in relation to sustainability, and its former CEOs Russell Loubser and Nicky Newton-King created the space for the consideration of sustainability as a core part of good governance before it was an accepted practice.
How would you describe your leadership style?
At its core, my leadership style is supportive, as I fully believe that when you employ talented people, your role is not to get in their way but to create an environment where they can thrive and where leaders can feel that their competence and expertise are deeply valued.
Were there any lessons learnt during your MBA that have continued to resonate throughout your career?
An MBA teaches you how much you don't know - the core competence you develop over the course of the programme is how to learn anything very quickly. This means when you go into a field like sustainability, you're not daunted by the specialists or intimidated by content, even if you have no previous background in the field. You learn to respect those with the depth and are able to keep the bigger picture in focus.
Can you tell us more about your decision to take on the role of CEO of the NBI?
It was a privilege to work at the JSE and have an economy-wide view of the challenges, issues, and what needs to happen to move the sustainable economic growth agenda forward.
When the opportunity arose to join the NBI in 2023, I recognised that systemic change is really what's needed if we're going to shift the dial on sustainability.
The NBI works through collaborative action for systemic change. It's a business organisation focused on thought leadership, while being deeply involved with the implementation of the development and transition agenda of the country.
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