Phuthuma Nhleko, chairman of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and former Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MTN Group, will deliver a Special Address at the Boardroom Governance Summit 2026 in Accra.
The summit will take place at the Labadi Beach Hotel on Thursday, 12 November 2026, opening at 8:30am under the theme “Board Committees: From Oversight to Impact.”
Nhleko became chief executive of MTN in 2002 and led the company’s growth into Africa’s largest mobile telecommunications group by 2011. Under his leadership, the business expanded across Africa and the Middle East, connecting hundreds of millions of people.
He later returned as MTN Group Chairman, serving from 2013 to 2019. During the company’s most difficult period in 2015 and 2016, he also served as interim executive chairman.
Nhleko has chaired the JSE since 2022. He founded the Pembani Group in 1994, which has interests in oil and gas, minerals, metals and infrastructure across Africa. In 2012, he established the Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund to invest in infrastructure projects across the continent.
His boardroom experience includes roles at BP plc, Anglo American and Tullow Oil plc. He currently serves on the board of IHS Towers. An engineer trained at The Ohio State University, Nhleko is also chairman of the Pembani Group.
The summit organisers said his experience leading both a major African corporate group and the continent’s largest stock exchange would offer delegates insight into how boards and their committees can move beyond compliance and contribute to accountability, long-term value and institutional impact.
“Phuthuma Nhleko is living proof that Africa does not need to borrow excellence. It can build it,” said Ing Prof Douglas Boateng, Founder and Convenor of the Boardroom Governance Summit.
“He took an African idea to the world and showed that when a board is courageous, disciplined, and committed to future generations, there is no limit to what an African institution can achieve. His special address at BGS 2026 is a call to every boardroom on this continent to raise its ambition. Our board committees must stop being mere instruments of oversight and become engines of impact. I urge every chairperson, director, and executive who believes in Africa’s future to be in the room on 12 November. You will leave inspired, challenged, and equipped to lead differently.”
Summit programme and access
The Boardroom Governance Summit describes itself as the largest boardroom-focused one-day summit on the African continent. It brings together chairpersons, directors, chief executives, regulators, investors and governance professionals from Africa and beyond.
BGS 2026 will be chaired by HE Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Presidential Special Envoy on Reparation and Diaspora Relations. Dr Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff, will be Special Guest of Honour. The programme will include panels on the roles of chairpersons, ESG committees, and finance and audit committees in improving board effectiveness.
The not-for-profit summit operates on a cost-recovery basis. The GH¢2,500 delegate fee includes full summit access, breakfast, lunch and a copy of Practical Perspectives on the Committees of the Board by Ing Prof Douglas Boateng. The fee is reclaimable as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for members of partner professional bodies.
The event will also be streamed live on Zoom. Online participants will receive a digital certificate of participation qualifying for CPD with recognised professional bodies.
Registration: www.boardroomgovsummit.com/registration
Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026 | Time: 8:30am | Venue: Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra
