Nonkululeko Merina Cheryl Nyembezi, also Nku (born 22 March 1960), is a South African engineer, businesswoman and corporate executive who was appointed Chairperson-designate at Standard Bank Group and Standard Bank of South Africa, on 10 May 2022. She will assume office on 1 June 2022, replacing Thulani Geabashe, who retires on 31 May 2022. She has been active in steel, telecommunications and finance. Since March 2014, she has been CEO of the Dutch mining group, IchorCoal N.V.

Biography

Nyembezi was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to father Aubrey , an attorney and mother Debiya Nyembezi, a nurse from Pietermaritzburg. She has an older brother (Manqoba Nyembezi) and a younger sister (Nontando Nyembezi). Brought up in a Methodist family, she attended a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

primary school in

Clermont, KwaZulu-Natal Clermont is a township of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Clermont under the apartheid days was a black middle income township. Its immediate surroundings include KwaDabeka to the north, New Germany to the west, Westville to the south a ...

, before embarking on her secondary school education at Inanda Seminary School near

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. She obtained exceptionally good results in science and maths, becoming the top student in South Africa in her Junior Certificate year. After receiving her Senior Certificate, she was awarded an Awarded Anglo American Corporation Open Scholarship. She went on to graduate in electrical engineering at the

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 Oct ...

and earned a Master of Science degree from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. She also has an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

Open University Business School The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. She is currently the Chancellor of the

Durban University of Technology The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban Instit ...

. After first working in various positions with IBM in the United States and South Africa (1986–98), she moved to Alliance Capital Management where she headed financial services. In 2008, she was appointed executive director of ArcelorMittal South Africa where she remained for six years. In March 2014, she joined IchorCoal as CEO. Nyembezi-Heita has also served on the boards of several other companies. In 2012, Nyembezi was listed 97th in

Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women Since 2004, the American business magazine ''Forbes'' compiled an annual list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. It is edited by notable ''Forbes'' journalists, including Moira Forbes, and is based on visibility and economic impact. F ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyembezi, Nonkululeko 1960 births Living people People from Pietermaritzburg South African chief executives South African engineers 21st-century South African businesswomen 21st-century South African businesspeople 20th-century South African businesswomen 20th-century South African businesspeople Alumni of the University of Manchester California Institute of Technology alumni Alumni of the Open University South African women business executives