Pinpoint Stewards will be hosting the 4th Annual Women and Leadership in Engineering, Infrastructure and Innovation conference, on 12-13 March, NH Collection Hotel, Sandton. The conference is geared towards increasing the number of women in STEM and to develop, unite empower leadership in these sectors by honing in on SA-grown talent.

It is no secret that South Africa is home to some of the brightest minds in STEM related fields and while there isn’t as much women as there are men, women have excelled in their respective disciplines nonetheless. The conference aims to proudly showcase women within South Africa who have made commendable strides and their award-winning accolades demonstrate this.

Achieving long term and sustainable results for women to thrive, it is imperative that men also form part of this evolving dialogue. Starting proceedings for the conference will be, Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Western Cape, Tertuis Simmers, who will deliver the keynote address. The provincial ministry has also partnered with Pinpoint Stewards to expand the reach of this prestigious event.

Some of the other speakers include:

Vishaal Lutchman, Group Chief Executive, Gibb will be focusing on: “giving effect to changing perspective and narrative”. Vishaal Lutchman is a distinguished leader in the engineering sector with a background in managing complex infrastructure and logistics projects, he leads a team of engineering and advisory professionals focused on delivering innovative solutions across South Africa, select African regions, and the Middle East. Before Gibb, Vishaal was the Managing Director of Transport and Greater Africa, Zutari. Prior to that he was the CEO of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE). His previous roles include Director in Transportation and Infrastructure at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, where he oversaw freight logistics in maritime, aviation, and rail, and Deputy Chief Engineer at Transnet, handling capital projects and port infrastructure. His career reflects a deep commitment to aligning strategy, operations, and technical capacity, fostering future-ready leadership and advancing Africa-centric solutions.

Goldfields, Zandile Pule Snr Manager: Asset Optimisation, Strategy and Systems Global, will give an address on:  “including diversity to give your organisation the competitive edge and consistently outperform other innovation teams”. Zandile has a strong academic foundation with a BSc in Chemical Engineering, an Associate in Management (Cum Laude) from UCT, further enhanced by a Leading Continuous Improvement certification from INSEAD and a top performance in Financial Management (Cum Laude) from UCT. Recognized early for excellence with an award of Metallurgy Graduate Trainee of the Year in 2007, and subsequently appointed to the pioneering multidisciplinary Business Improvement team from 2008. She has demonstrated outstanding strengths in business improvement, through leading high-impact strategic cost savings and production gains initiatives across major organizations, advancing operational efficiency and long-term value creation.

Retang Sandra Maphothoma, Technologist-Highways, Aecom will be tackling the subject of: “expanding a new generation of women in Engineering leaders”. Retang’s achievement include: 2023 Trailblazing Technologist Award winner at UNESCO’s 9th Africa Engineering Week. Finalist for 2024 Awards: Fabulous Girl of the Year; Women in Green Building and SAICE Graduate Technologist and Founder of Divine Community Association, empowering youth and women.

Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Health (Infrastructure),Takalani Netshipale, Civil Engineer, will tailor her talk on: “promoting Investments in Women-Owned Projects and Building Partnerships with Public and Private Sectors for Gender Equality”. Takalani’s accolades include: serving as a Civil Engineer in the Health Infrastructure Approval Committee (HIAC) at KZN Department of Health Multiple awards: 2024 Sunday World Newspaper Top 200 Unsung Heroes, Big 5 Construct Southern Africa 2024 Rising Star, and Member of The Big 5 Sothern Africa Conference Advisory Board 2024 SAICE Presidential Award for her contributions to SAICE through chairing SAICE Ethics and SAICE STAR (Success Through Academic Readiness), Deputy Chair for SAICE Diversity and Inclusivity, and member of SAICE Future Leaders Panel.

Other distinguished speakers joining the panel include: Dr Gugu Moche Group Exec: Digital Transformation and Acting DCEO: Research, Innovation, Impact Support and Advancement (RIISA) National Research Foundation; Natasha Ramkirpal, Group Lead – Water Security Optimisation, Coca Cola Beverages Africa, Celeste Le Roux, Founder & CEO, React Group, Monique Schmidt, Implementation Coordinator Engineering & Capex. ABinBev.

Stay informed about the latest trends and opportunities for women in Engineering, Infrastructure, and Innovation by attending the 2-day conference, aimed at addressing statistics in STEM and providing opportunities for public and private sector industries to merge their business development efforts.   Register before 14 February to enter a draw for 2 free seats at the conference and one night stay at the NH Hotel, Sandton. Direct all enquiries to Pinpoint Stewards at info@pinpointstewards.co.za to speak, support, exhibit or attend. Follow Pinpoint Stewards on LinkedIn.