STANLIB

Gugulethu Mfuphi - Host

Gugulethu is an award winner and a well-versed orator, with plenty of experience in front of cameras, behind the microphone and addressing many diverse audiences. This skill, together with her sound grasp of the Financial Markets, Economic Data and Current Affairs, make her the perfect candidate to speak to Industry Analysts or Political Leaders and C-Suite executives from all across the African continent.

This forms the basis of her tasks and responsibilities as Presenter of Kaya FM's prime time, award winning business show: Kaya Bizz, and her experience as Senior Anchor on CNBC Africa.

Gugulethu has also served as an experienced conference chair, panel discussion moderator and programme director, at various industry gatherings that impact the business and investment landscape.

She has facilitated the second annual South African Investment Conference in 2019, hosted by South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa. Having previously worked for other institutions like Talk Radio 702, SAfm, Lotus FM and The City Press Newspaper, through their affiliation with MoneyWeb, Gugulethu has gained a wealth of experience in financial journalism through radio, TV, print and online media.

HENRY MUNZARA - DEPUTY HEAD: INVESTMENTS, STANLIB ASSET MANAGEMENT

Henry, who joined STANLIB in January 2007 is Deputy Head of Investments. Together with the Head of Investments, he is responsible for providing investment oversight and ensuring investment outcomes across different capabilities are consistent with client objectives and are market relevant and commercial. He is a member of the Investment Exco, member of the Fixed Income Credit Committee, member of the Investment Risk Committee and is Chairperson of the ESG Committee.

Henry has held different roles at STANLIB, including as Co-Head of the Absolute Return Franchise investing across different asset classes, as Head of Research and has also been responsible for driving STANLIB business strategy in the CEO's office.

Prior to joining STANLIB, Henry was at Old Mutual Asset Management (now Old Mutual Investment Group SA) where he was part of the research team and co-managed the award-winning Industrials Fund. He was also an Equity Analyst at Investec Securities and was a rated analyst.

Henry holds a BA (Honours) Economics from the University of Westminster, London, obtained in 1996, and completed the Global Executive Development Programme at the GIBS Business School in 2013.

Karen Ward - CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST: EMEA, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Karen has considerable experience in both public policymaking, and economic and financial analysis. Before joining the team in 2017, she was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In this role she advised the Chancellor on macroeconomic issues including fiscal strategy and Brexit.

Prior to this she worked for a decade at HSBC's investment bank in a number of roles, including Senior Global Economist where her work included "The World in 2050 - An Analysis of the Structural Changes Affecting the Global Economy and the Rise of the Emerging Economies."

She was Chief European Economist before leaving to work for the Chancellor in 2016. She started her career at the Bank of England providing supporting analysis for the Monetary Policy Committee. Karen has a Masters with Distinction in Economics from University College London.

KATY THORNEYCROFT - CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER: MULTI-ASSET SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL, J.P. MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT

Katy manages Global Tactical Asset Allocation, balanced, flexible and total return portfolios and is responsible for the international multi-asset investment activities in London, Hong Kong and Taipei. Katy is a Director of JPMAM International and JPMAM UK. An employee since 1999, Katy was previously a portfolio manager in the convertible bonds team and a member of the Multi-Asset Solutions team in New York with a focus on target date funds and core balanced portfolios. Prior to this, Katy was a portfolio manager in the European Equity group in London focusing on small and mid-cap strategies. Katy is a passionate advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and is a former co-chair of the EMEA DEI Working Group for JPMorgan Asset Management. Katy obtained a M.Chem. from the University of Oxford and is a CFA charterholder.

Kevin Lings - CHIEF ECONOMIST, STANLIB ASSET MANAGEMENT

Kevin joined then-Liberty Asset Management as an economic analyst in 2001. As STANLIB's Chief Economist, he is responsible for domestic and global economic research and forecasts. Kevin also provides input into STANLIB's asset allocation processes and provides relevant economic research for our Fixed Income, Property and Equity teams.

He joined Liberty Asset Management from J.P. Morgan Chase, where he was a member of their macroeconomic research team, providing economic research and analysis to the broader asset management industry in South Africa. Prior professional experience was built as a senior economist within the Nedcor group.

Kevin has an honours degree in economics from Wits University, specialising in international and public-sector finance. He is a widely sought-after media commentator, and has had a number of journal articles published, internationally as well as locally.

From the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, Kevin lectured economics, part-time at Wits Business School.

Kevin is author of a book, The Missing Pieces: Solving South Africa's Economic Puzzle.

Lord Kim Darroch - THE LORD OF KEW KCMG

Lord Darroch is a retired UK civil servant and life peer in the House of Lords. His diplomatic career spanned over 40 years, primarily focusing on national security issues and European policy. Most recently, Lord Darroch served as the British Ambassador to the United States (2016-2019). Prior to Washington, he was National Security Adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron (2012-2015), and in that role, oversaw issues such as the rise of Daesh in Iraq and Syria, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the collapse of government authority in Libya.

In addition, he worked in senior roles on UK-EU policy and multilateral negotiations, including spells as Permanent Representative to the European Union (2007-2011) and as EU Adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair (2004-2007).

Earlier in his career, Lord Darroch worked in a wide range of positions and policy specialties, including Private Secretary to Minister of State for the Middle East, Head of the Adriatic Department during the Dayton Accord negotiations, and as Head of the News Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In addition to his two ambassadorial postings, Lord Darroch completed tours in Brussels, Rome, and Tokyo.

In 1997, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG), and as a Knight Commander (KCMG) in 2008. In 2019, he was made a life peer in the House of Lords. He was born in 1954 in the village of South Stanley, County Durham in the North of England. He attended Durham University, where he read Zoology, and joined the Diplomatic Service in 1977. He married his wife, Vanessa, in 1978. They have two adult children, Simon and Georgina.

Marius Oberholzer - HEAD: MULTI-ASSET, STANLIB ASSET MANAGEMENT

Marius Oberholzer assumed sole leadership of the Multi-Strategy team in 2015. He and his team manage assets spanning Absolute Return Funds, Multi Strategy Funds and Hedge Funds alongside more traditional Multi-Asset Funds. The team designs, deploys and risk manages assets across the globe, deploying capital using qualitative and quantitative techniques and utilising passive, active, listed and unlisted assets on both a direct and indirect basis to deliver required client outcomes.

Before joining STANLIB Marius gained global investment experience working in London and Hong Kong, trading and then managing some of TT International Hedge Fund's products, combining his and the team's direct investment strategies both on a bottom up and top-down macro basis as well as providing insights across the firm's other Hedge and Long-Only investment offerings. When Marius returned to South Africa, he was involved in corporate finance activities, private market deals and structuring before joining STANLIB as Co-Head of Absolute Returns.

At STANLIB, in addition to portfolio management responsibilities across Multi-Strategy, Absolute Return, Hedge Funds and leading the Multi-Strategy team, Marius chairs and drives the STANLIB platform Asset Allocation meetings. He is a member of Investment Exco and is the licenced Key Individual for STANLIB's Hedge Fund business. Marius has previously represented STANLIB's infrastructure investments interests as a non-executive director of South African Toll Road Company (Pty) Ltd until the assets were sold. He served as a non-executive director of M-Fitec, a listed Fintech special purpose acquisition company from 2016 until December 2017, representing STANLIB and its client's interests.

Marius' knowledge, background and experience in public and private markets, cross-asset class practical knowledge and experience combined with his derivative trading and risk management processes make him uniquely suited and qualified to drive STANLIB's growth into Multi-Strategy investing.

Marius holds a BCom (Economics and Commercial Law) from the University of Stellenbosch and a MSc (Global Finance) from the Stern School of Business at New York University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He also holds the IMC UK investment qualification.

MARK LOVETT - HEAD: INVESTMENTS, STANLIB ASSET MANAGEMENT

Mark joined STANLIB Asset Management as Head of Investments in November 2017 to enhance investment performance and help position the firm for growth.

Regarded as an industry turnaround specialist, he has over 30 years of experience in the global asset management industry and a wealth of business and investment expertise spanning various asset classes.

Notably, Mark has been instrumental in revitalising the investment credibility of three asset management firms over the past two decades, playing key roles within senior management teams.

In his most recent position as the Chief Investment Officer for Equities at Nordea Asset Management, Mark oversaw equities, private equity, and responsible investments across four countries. He successfully executed his mandate to enhance investment performance and optimise the boutique structure within Nordea, demonstrating his strategic leadership and operational acumen.

During his tenure at Allianz Global Investors, Mark played a pivotal role in transforming the European equities business, strategically positioning it as a core component of the Group's European platform.

As the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Ignis Asset Management, Mark formulated and executed a successful growth strategy by improving investment performance and introducing new products to drive business expansion. His experience at Ignis, an asset manager affiliated with an insurer managing both captive and third-party assets, mirrors the environment at STANLIB.

NASR BENAISSA - CHIEF COMMERICAL OFFICER, BREITLING

Nasr-Eddine Benaissa is Chief Commercial Officer at Breitling in Switzerland, bringing extensive experience from previous roles, including Chief Commercial Officer at Jaeger-LeCoultre and Partner at McKinsey & Company. An HEC Paris alumnus with a MSc in Management Science, Nasr has also founded and managed a private investments firm and has early career foundations at TAG Heuer and Ernst & Young. Outside of work, he is passionate about wildlife preservation and enjoys amateur photography. Nasr is married and a proud parent to two daughters

General Sir Nick Carter - GCB CBE DSO, UK CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF 2018 TO 2021

General Sir Nick Carter is an accomplished strategic leader and advisor. He has over 45 years' military experience culminating at the top of his profession as the Chief of the Defence Staff where he was the principal military advisor to the Prime Minister, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of State for Defence, and the Head of the UK Armed Forces. He also served as the Chief of the General Staff, professional Head of the British Army. He is an expert on Defence and Geopolitical Affairs, Transformational and Strategic Leadership, and Inclusivity.

Nick Carter has commanded military operations at every level of command and in a variety of different contexts, including the Troubles in Northern Ireland, UN peacekeeping in Cyprus, NATO peace enforcement in both Bosnia and Kosovo, and commanding the UK-led Brigade in Iraq in 2003-04. He has multiple years of experience in Afghanistan since 9/11, commanding 55,000 US and NATO troops in Helmand and Kandahar during President Obama's surged in 2009-10, designing approaches to counter insurgency, and acting as the key facilitator to build confidence between the Afghan and Pakistani governments. He has commanded more American troops and marines than any other foreigner.

STEPHEN D. KING - ECONOMIST & AUTHOR

Stephen D. King is an economist and author. Stephen's fourth book, 'We Need to Talk About Inflation,' was published by Yale in April 2023 to widespread critical acclaim. The Financial Times described the book as “highly readable and informative…essential reading for economic policymakers everywhere” while the Times said it was “brilliantly clear and concise”. Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, described it as “timely, well-researched and very well-written”.

His last book, 'Grave New World: The End of Globalization, the Return of History' (Yale, 2017), was long-listed for the FT-McKinsey Business Book of the Year and later picked as a 'book of the year' by the Financial Times. It has since been translated into multiple languages.

Between 2018 and 2023, Stephen was a regular columnist for the London Evening Standard. He has also written for, among others, the Financial Times, the Times, the Independent and the New York Times. Between 2015 and the 2017 General Election, he was a Special Adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee. In 2023, he was invited to provide oral evidence on inflation to both the Treasury Committee and the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. Stephen is an accomplished public speaker and has presented at conferences all over the world.

As part of a portfolio of interests and following 17 years as HSBC's Chief Global Economist, Stephen was appointed HSBC's Senior Economic Adviser in 2015. Stephen's career began at H.M.Treasury, where he was an economic adviser within the civil service. Stephen studied at New College, Oxford. In his spare time, he plays the piano.

SYLVESTER KOBO - DEPUTY HEAD: FIXED INCOME & PORTFOLIO MANAGER, STANLIB ASSET MANAGEMENT

Sylvester, who joined STANLIB in 2013 on the Money Market desk, was promoted to Deputy Head of Fixed Income in 2021, where he co-manages the team and co-ordinates portfolio management activities across different specialities. He is also the main portfolio manager for nominal bonds and income funds.

He started his career in 2009 at Absa Capital as a quantitative analyst focusing on pricing and management of risk on all derivative products.

Sylvester holds a BSc (Honours) in Pure Mathematics and a Master's degree in finance and investments, both from the University of the Witwatersrand. He has completed an Executive Education programme at INSEAD, the Management Acceleration Programme.

TARRYN SANKAR - HEAD: CREDIT, STANLIB ASSET MANAGEMENT

Tarryn joined STANLIB in November 2020 as the head of credit in the Fixed Income team. She is responsible for leading all aspects of the credit research process (including the firm's ESG commitments) within the Fixed Income team. Her key areas of focus include providing superior research and investment insights that assist the Fixed Income's funds to deliver peer-beating medium- and long-term investment performance, and originating suitable assets that meet the credit risk appetite and mandates of the Fixed Income funds, assessing issue/ counterparty risk through detailed qualitative (including an ESG assessment) and quantitative analysis, peer comparison and assessing industry and economic risks.

Before joining STANLIB, Tarryn was a member of the investment team at Futuregrowth Asset Management from 2015 to 2020 where she gained extensive experience in deal origination, negotiation and structuring in the South African renewable energy, listed and unlisted debt markets. Most recently, she held the position of head of listed credit, where she led a team of analysts.

Tarryn is an experienced presenter, having spoken at a number of conferences and industry events over the course of her career. She holds a Bachelor of Business Science degree with majors in both accounting and finance (honours) as well as a post graduate diploma in accounting from the University of Cape Town. She is a chartered accountant and CFA charter holder.

10:00 - 10:05	Welcome & Housekeeping Gugulethu Mfuphi - Host
10:05 - 10:15	Opening Mark Lovett - Head: Investments, STANLIB Asset Management
10:15 - 10:55	Unpacking 250 days of Trump 2.0 - Insider Insights Lord Kim Darroch \| The Lord Darroch of Kew KCMG Hosted by: Mark Lovett - Head: Investments, STANLIB Asset Management
10:55 - 11:35	China's evolving economic influence in the new regime Stephen D. King \| Former HSBC Group Chief Economist \| Author & Commentator on Global Economic Trends Hosted by: Kevin Lings - Chief Economist, STANLIB Asset Management
11:40 - 12:00	Morning Tea
12:00 - 12:40	Cutting through the noise in global markets: Signals driving longer-term returns Karen Ward - Chief Market Strategist: EMEA, J.P. Morgan Asset Management
12:45 - 13:10	Open audience Q&A with Lord Darroch, Stephen D King and Karen Ward, hosted by Kevin Lings Lord Kim Darroch \| The Lord Darroch of Kew KCMG, Stephen D. King \| Former HSBC Group Chief Economist \| Author & Commentator on Global Economic Trends & Karen Ward - Chief Market Strategist: EMEA, J.P. Morgan Asset Management Hosted by: Kevin Lings - Chief Economist, STANLIB Asset Management
13:10 - 14:00	LUNCH BREAK
14:00 - 14:50	Insights into the big risks on the geopolitical stage General Sir Nick Carter - GCB CBE DSO, UK CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF 2018 TO 2021
14:55 - 15:35	Diversification and the search for alpha in a correlated world Katy Thorneycroft - Chief Investment Officer of Multi-Asset Solutions International, J.P. Morgan Asset Management & Marius Oberholzer - Head: Multi-Asset, STANLIB Asset Management Hosted by: & Henry Munzara - Deputy Head: Investments, STANLIB Asset Management
15:35 - 15:50	Afternoon Tea
15:50 - 16:20	Fixed income markets in an era of rising global indebtedness and government deficits In conversation: Tarryn Sankar - Head: Credit, STANLIB Asset Management & Sylvester Kobo - Deputy Head: Fixed Income & Portfolio Manager, STANLIB Asset Management
16:20 - 17:00	Future-proofing value: What asset managers can learn from the luxury market Nasr Benaissa - Chief Commerical Officer, Breitling
17:00 - 17:10	Wrap up & Closing Mark Lovett - Head: Investments, STANLIB Asset Management
17:10 - 22:00	Networking Cocktails