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MILKOR
MILKOR

SPEAKERS

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Nkosinathi Ncongwane
Nkosinathi Ncongwane
Senior Manager: Technology Management Analysis & Industrialisation Armscor

Nkosinathi Ncongwane is a Mechanical Engineer with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, USA. He has over 20 years’ experience in both local and international defence sectors, having worked for the Armaments Corporation of South Africa SOC Ltd (Armscor) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) locally, and Airbus MILITARY, in Madrid, Spain.

His experience covers, amongst other things, systems acquisition, technology acquisition, systems engineering, aircraft certification and qualification, gas turbine engines, project management and contract management. He has worked on SA Army armour ammunition, aerospace technology projects, Airbus A400M military transport aircraft power plant, the SA Air Force Hawk Mk120 Lead-In Fighter Trainer aircraft upgrade project, radar and electronic warfare enterprise development programme and so forth. Nkosinathi currently works for Armscor as a Senior Manager: Technology Management Analysis and Industrialisation (TEMANI), a division within the Research and Development (R&D) business unit. TEMANI division is responsible for technology acquisition of Category 1 defence material for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). He oversees the management of technology development programmes in the following domains: aerospace, landwards, maritime, electronics, support and special forces in order to develop and maintain strategic capabilities in RSA for the SANDF.

Nkosinathi Ncongwane

Senior Manager: Technology Management Analysis & Industrialisation
Armscor

Sandile Ndlovu
Sandile Ndlovu
CEO South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence Industries (AMD)

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Sandile Ndlovu

CEO
South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence Industries (AMD)

Willie_Nel
Willie Nel
Chief Engineer: Radar & Technology; Innovation Manager: Radar Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Willie Nel is a CSIR Chief Engineer in the field of radar (since 2022) and also holds the position of Technology and Innovation Manager (since 2015) for the radar research group at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, South Africa. He is also a senior member of the IEEE. Willie has been working passionately at the CSIR in the field of radar since 1999. His areas of expertise include radar system design, radar imaging, radar target recognition and radar signal processing. His current area of focus is the design and development of satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle synthetic aperture radar systems. He has published many papers in the areas of radar target recognition and radar imaging and acts as a reviewer for premier radar journals and conferences from the IEEE and IET. Willie is passionate about the development of engineers and has, during his career, presented many short courses on radar topics, including radar tutorials at the prestigious IEEE International Radar Conference series.

He has also acted as MSc and PhD supervisor or co-supervisor for several engineers. He served as a member of the IEEE AESS Radar Systems Panel from 2016 to 2022. He also served on and chaired the IEEE Dennis J Picard Medal committee (which awards the highest IEEE Award in the field of radar) from 2019 to 2022. He was a member of three NATO workgroups (196, 250 and 317) on the topic of radar imaging. In 2015 he was the technical chair for the IEEE Radar Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has also served on the technical organising committee for four other international radar conferences including in the USA and Australia. He has presented keynote addresses at conferences in India (2018) and Australia (2023).

Willie Nel

Chief Engineer: Radar & Technology; Innovation Manager: Radar Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Adriano Nuvunga1
Prof Adriano Nuvunga
Director, Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD)

Prof. Adriano Alfredo Nuvunga, Ph.D. is the Director of the Centro para Democracia e Desenvolvimento (CDD), a democracy, governance and human rights organisation in Mozambique. Prof. Nuvunga teaches political science and governance at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique. Prof. Nuvunga is a Senior Research Fellow at Good Governance Africa (GGA) based in Johannesburg. He chairs the Mozambique Network of Human Rights Defenders. He is the Deputy Chairperson of the Board of the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN) and the Founding Member and former Director of the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), Mozambique’s Transparency International Chapter. Prof. Nuvunga is a member of the Board of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), based in Accra, Ghana. He is the Chairperson of the Africa Policy Dialogue in Mozambique and member of INCLUDE, the knowledge platform on inclusive development policies of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His next book examines the nexus: Weak Governance, Violent Conflict and Managing Mozambique’s Resource Boom.

Prof. Adriano Nuvunga

Director
Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD)

Denys Reva
Denys Reva
Researcher, Institute for Scientific Studies

Denys Reva is a Maritime Security Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies. He joined the ISS in 2018, working with African governments and regional economic communities to promote maritime security as a policy priority. Since joining, he has worked with organisations such as the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) to strengthen African maritime security institutions and responses. Denys has a Master’s degree in Security Studies from the University of Pretoria.

The ISS is one of the leading African research organisations promoting enhanced maritime security. It offers evidence-based research and recommends integrated solutions that provide pathways for advancing human security and supporting the development of robust blue economies in Africa. The ISS, via its research, briefings and convening of policy dialogues, has been a core African identifier and champion of the opportunities for the sustainable development of marine resources while protecting them from environmental and socio-economic threats.

Denys Reva

Researcher
Institute for Scientific Studies

Ghaazim Rylands
Ghaazim Rylands
CEO, Milkor Integrated Systems

Ghaazim Rylands is the CEO of Milkor Integrated Systems, where he plays a pivotal role in driving the company’s innovation and strategic vision. Under his leadership, Milkor Integrated Systems has achieved a significant milestone with the development of the Milkor 380, the largest UAV ever produced on the African continent. Ghaazim’s expertise in advanced aerospace technologies and strategic management has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of unmanned aerial systems. His forward-thinking approach and dedication to excellence have positioned Milkor Integrated Systems at the forefront of the global aerospace industry. With a focus on cutting-edge technology and operational efficiency, Ghaazim continues to lead the company in developing next-generation solutions that meet the evolving needs of the defence and security sectors.

Ghaazim Rylands

CEO
Milkor Integrated Systems

Themba September
Themba September
Chairperson, Commercial Aerospace manufacturing Association of South Africa (CAMASA)

Themba graduated cum laude, at Master’s level, in Law and Economics at the University of Bern, Switzerland. His career spans mainly the services sector – in particular banking, academia and management consulting – with a strong penchant for turnaround management and work-outs. In SA, he co-founded the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), simultaneously turned around 4 subsidiaries of a foreign multinational located in neighbouring BLSN countries, was Executive Chairman of Ingerop South Africa – a subsidiary of the Ingerop Group and consulted on SME development to the APDF – an International Finance Corporation (IFC) subsidiary. Passionate about wealth preservation, Themba was the founding Chairman of ABASA – the pre-cursor to the SA Turnaround Management Association, and the organisation behind the motivation of Chapter 6 in the Companies Act dealing with business rescue. He is currently CEO of Rapid Casting Solutions – a start-up set up to provide production innovation as well as Industry 4.0 technology and expertise to the aerospace manufacturing sector.

Themba September

Chairperson
Commercial Aerospace Manufacturing Association of South Africa (CAMASA)

Ben Shirley
Ben Shirley
Solutions Engineer, Skydio

Ben is a former British Army soldier with extensive operational experience from deployments in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. Over his 13-year career in the British Army, his work included one of the earliest forms of aerial surveillance utilising the Rapidly Extendable Mast Systems (REMS), which was to later develop into a passion for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

Ben left the British Army in 2016, joining one of the most senior and respected Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) training providers in the UK. Principally employed as a training instructor, Ben was later promoted to Head of Training and again to Training Development Manager. This role has seen Ben extensively deliver UAS training to UK emergency services, enterprise and defence organisations across the UK. In 2023, Ben joined Skydio as the Senior Solutions Engineer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Ben Shirley

Solutions Engineer 
Skydio

Dr Michelle Small
Dr Michelle Small
Independent Expert of the Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries as a Means of Violating Human Rights and Impeding the Exercise of the Right of Peoples to Self-Determination, United Nations Special Procedures

Michelle Small, PhD, is a Lecturer in International Relations (IR) at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Dr Small currently also serves as a mandate holder on the UN Working Group on Mercenaries as a Means of Violating Human Rights and Impeding the Exercise of the Right of Peoples to Self-Determination.

Dr Small’s research broadly examines (in)security dynamics on the African continent in relation to mercenaries and private military and security companies in Africa, non-state actors, elections and election violence and forced migration. She holds qualifications in International Relations, Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (T&L HE) and Ethics in Higher Education. She previously served as the Deputy Chair of the Human Research Ethics Committee Non-Medical (HREC-NM).

Dr Michelle Small

Independent Expert 
United Nations Special Procedures

RicardoTeixeira
Ricardo Teixeira
Senior Journalist, ProtectionWeb

Ricardo Teixeira is a senior journalist for ProtectionWeb. He is a passionate researcher, focused on the defence, national security and foreign affairs.

Ricardo Teixeira

Senior Journalist ProtectionWeb

James Thaba
Mphahlela James Thaba
Impact Area Manager: Technology for Special Operations, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Mphahlela James Thaba is currently employed as the Impact Area Manager, Technology for Special Operations at the CSIR. In this position, provides technical leadership and strategic direction for research, development and innovation in the area of special operations. Prior to joining the CSIR, he was Team Leader for Artillery and Engineering Group at Armscor Acquisition after joining Armscor as a Decision Support Scientist.

Mphahlela spent 11 years as a senior officer in the SA Army, where he retired as Second in Command 4 Artillery Regiment. Mphahlela has a Master’s Degree in Technology Management from the University of Pretoria and possesses a Certificate in Fundamentals of Cybersecurity from the University of Cape Town. He has presented several papers locally and abroad. His research interest is in requirements, systems and capability engineering.

Mphahlela James Thaba

Impact Area Manager: Technology for Special Operations Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Dr Sonja Theron
Dr Sonja Theron
Lecturer, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria (UP)

Dr Sonja Theron is currently a Lecturer at the University of Pretoria (UP) in the Department of Political Sciences and a Senior Associate Fellow at the African Leadership Centre (ALC) at King’s College London. She was Programme Director for Research in the Centre of Mediation in Africa from 2020 to 2022. From 2018 to 2020, Dr Theron was appointed as the first Joint-Postdoctoral Research Fellow between UP and the ALC.

She has also worked at the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) and as a consultant on various research projects related to peace and security. She recently published a book with Bloomsbury Academic Press entitled Leadership, Nation-building and War in South Sudan: The Problems of Statehood and Collective Will. Dr Theron completed an MA Fellowship from 2011-2013 at the ALC and served as an intern/visiting fellow for 6 months between 2012-2013 at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Nairobi. Dr Theron obtained her Doctor of Philosophy qualification from the University of Pretoria, during which she received the Commonwealth Split-Site PhD Scholarship, tenured at King’s College London.

Dr Sonja Theron

Lecturer, Department of Political Sciences University of Pretoria (UP)

Cobus Valentine
Cobus Valentine
Chief Commercial Officer & Head of Product Management, Global Command & Control Technologies (GC2T)

Cobus Valentine is the Chief Commercial Officer & Head of Product Management at Global Command & Control Technologies (Pty) Ltd in South Africa. Cobus has been involved in the command & control environment for twenty-five years. Cobus is the foremost C4ISR domain specialist in South Africa. After leaving school, he joined the South African Army as an infantry soldier in 1980.

During a career that spanned thirty-four years of military service, Cobus was mostly involved in the operational environment, during which period he went on several external deployments. The military service included appointments such as Battalion Second in Command, SO1 Operational Plan, Acting Senior Staff Officer Operations, Second in Command of the South African Protection Support Detachment in Burundi, Officer Commanding Headquarters Unit 46 SA Brigade and Officer Commanding Witwatersrand Rifles (Reserve Regiment). Cobus also deployed on several missions in Africa as a member of the SANDF.

Cobus also successfully completed the Certificate in Military Management and the Certificate in Total Quality Management from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and completed an Operations Management Certificate at the University of the Witwatersrand. Cobus has published and presented numerous papers at international and national conventions and symposia about command & control, enabled awareness as well as network enablement.

Cobus Valentine

Chief Commercial Officer & Head of Product Management
Global Command & Control Technologies (GC2T)

Noelle Cowling
Noëlle Van der Waag-Cowling
Strategy and Innovation Officer, Cyber Security Institute

Until recently Noëlle taught courses at Stellenbosch University on contemporary low intensity armed conflict as well as cyber warfare. She is a Research Fellow at the School for Data and Computational Sciences at Stellenbosch University where her recent work for the Mandela Mining Precinct is aimed at integrating security across operational technology and information technology domains. She also serves as a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva.

Noëlle was previously the cyber lead at the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA). She was also the co-lead on the GLOBSEC Project led by the Arctic University of Norway which focuses on North-South perspectives and cooperation on global security challenges. Noëlle has served as an expert to the African Union’s Tana Forum on Security in Africa and as a member of the Group of Global Experts to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Cyberwarfare. She is the South African head of the SA-Netherlands Cyber Security School and was an affiliate member of the University of Canberra’s National Security Hub between 2020 and 2024.

She is passionate about digital capacity building in Africa and strengthening human security on the continent. Her work has a strong focus on emerging tech threats and national strategic and response architectures. She is one of Deloitte’s International Women in Cyber.

Noëlle Van der Waag-Cowling

Strategy and Innovation Officer Cyber Security Institute

Andries van Wyk
Andries van Wyk
Chief Defence Analyst, Defence Decision Support Institute (DDSI), Armscor

Some of Andries’ roles include understanding the utility of emerging technologies, proactive identification of national security threats and supporting the development and implementation of security policy. He focuses on the root causes of conflict and strives to forecast its evolution. The economic development of Africa, he argues, stands the best chance of aligning the competing interests of diverse stakeholders in Africa and thereby reduce conflict over the long term. Viable opportunities for Africa’s youth bulge are central to reducing the levels of violence across the continent. His work on providing opportunities for Africa’s youth bulge through infrastructure development, as an enabler for economic growth and less violence, has served at the RSA government, international peacekeeping conferences and continental planning organs. This work includes options for the economic development of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Andries van Wyk

Chief Defence Analyst, Defence Decision Support Institute (DDSI) Armscor

Ed Veen
Ed Veen
Naval Consultant, Damen Naval

After an extensive career in the Navy and his retirement as Director of the Netherlands Coast Guard, Ed Veen joined Damen in December 2015 as a Senior Naval Consultant. Ed joined the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1979. He started his naval career in submarines and eventually commanded several submarines. On completion, he joined the UK training organisation FOST (submarines) as command searider.

After following the senior staff course and his first tour of duty in frigates, he became responsible for training submarine personnel and (inter)national candidates for submarine command in the Submarine Command Course (SMCC). In 2002 Ed assumed command of an M-frigate, flagship of NATO’s Standing Naval Force Mediterranean in operation Active Endeavour. In 2003 joined the defence staff to establish a new Directorate of Operational Policy and also completed his Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA).

In 2006, he was promoted to Captain (N) and assumed command of the newly built Landing Platform Dock HNLMS Johan de Witt. In 2008, he established the Maritime Warfare Centre, becoming its first Director. After his last tour of duty, Ed joined the Coast Guard as Director.

Ed Veen

Naval Consultant
Damen Naval

Timothy Walker
Timothy Walker
Maritime Project Leader and Senior Researcher, Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

...

Timothy Walker

Maritime Project Leader and Senior Researcher
Organisation Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

brucewebb
Bruce Webb
Director of Aviation Education and Community Outreach, Airbus Helicopters

Bruce Webb is the Director of Aviation Education and Community Outreach for Airbus Helicopters. He believes that the key to improving aviation safety is through a better understanding of human behaviour. Bruce’s interest in aviation began in high school where he attended an aerospace course as a sophomore and then attended a vocational A&P School as a junior and senior. He went on to complete his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois while concurrently pursuing his FAA Rotorcraft Helicopter Pilot Certificates. He co-owned and operated an FAA-approved part 135, 137 and 145 helicopter operation in the Chicago area for more than six years.

He flew medical helicopters (VFR and IFR BK-117s) for more than four years in Nebraska, Ohio and North Carolina. He came to Airbus (Eurocopter) in 1999 as a pilot and quickly was promoted to Chief Pilot, a position he held for sixteen years. He stepped down in 2016 to begin this new challenge of promoting safety from a lectern…not a cockpit. With more than thirty-eight years of helicopter experience, Bruce is a passionate speaker whose unique perspectives resonate with audiences.

Bruce Webb

Director of Aviation Education and Community Outreach
Airbus Helicopters

Hamilton Wende
Hamilton Wende
Hamilton Wende is an author, journalist and TV producer with 40 years of experience. He has worked all over the world, covering historical events and some 17 different wars and conflicts. He is a multi-award-winning journalist, being a two-time winner of the 2022 and 2023 National Press Club's Journalist of the Year: Print/Online Features/ Investigative Journalism Award, and a 2023 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Award.

He has produced films and documentaries for a number of international networks including National Geographic, ARTE, Al Jazeera’s People & Power, CNN, BBC and many others.

He is the author of nine books. House of War, Only the Dead and The King’s Shilling are thrillers based on his travels around the world as a journalist. His latest book Red Air is based on his experiences filming with the US Marines in Afghanistan.

Hamilton Wende

War Correspondent, Author, Journalist and Professional Speaker

MthobisiZondi
Dr Mthobisi Clyde Zondi
Executive Chair, Sandock Austral Group Holdings

Dr Mthobisi Clyde Zondi is Executive Chair of Sandock Austral Group Holdings (Defence and Security), Chair of LogiDist Group (Diversified Investment Co), Chair of Tseba Tanks and Steel Structures (Steel Manufacturing Co), Chair of PalletBiz SADC (Regional pallet manufacturer) and Chairperson of the Future Defence and Innovation Committee of AMD Board. Dr Zondi spent 12 years working as senior Official in the National Department of Defence in South Africa.

He joined the Department of Defence as Head of Defence Supply Chain Integration, responsible for supply chain process design, logistics repositioning and material governance within the Department. He was later appointed Chief Defence Material responsible for armaments acquisition, industry support, research and development, technology management and oversight of procurement. Before joining the Department of Defence, Dr Zondi worked as an executive manager for PetroSA responsible for offshore support logistics operations. Before that he spent four years with Transnet in various positions, including Chief Operations Manager in Richards Bay Terminals, and National Capacity Planning Manager in the Transnet Port Operations Container Business.

Dr Zondi has more than 20 years Industry and public sector experience. He has also served as Board Member of the SA Space Agency (inaugural Board of SANSA). Dr Zondi has achieved the following academic qualifications: PhD in Mechanical Engineering (UKZN); MSc Mechanical Engineering (UKZN); MSc Transport Economics (University of Antwerp, Belgium), MSc Logistics Management (University of Antwerp, Belgium); Master of Business Administration (UCT); Post Grad Diploma Information Systems (University of Liverpool, UK). He is a member of the SA Institute of Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Institute of Certified Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, Engineering Council of SA, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport SA, Supply Chain Council (US) and SAPICS.

Dr Mthobisi Clyde Zondi

Executive Chair
Sandock Austral Group Holdings

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