Our people
Hixonia Nyasulu
Board Chair
Regarded as one of the most influential women in business in South Africa, Hixonia Nyasulu is the Founder of Ayavuna Women’s Investments (Pty) Ltd, a women-led investment vehicle. She is also a Senior Independent Director at Vivo Energy Plc, a Non-Executive Director at Anglo-American Plc and a Board Member at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
Prior to founding Ayavuna in 2004, she ran T.H. Nyasulu & Associates, a strategy, marketing and research company she initiated in 1984, where she remains Chairperson to date. A highly experienced Non-Executive Director, Hixonia has served on the boards of several African blue-chip companies such as McCarthy Group Ltd, Anglo Platinum Ltd (the world’s biggest platinum producer), Nedbank Ltd, where she rose to the position of Deputy Chairperson. She has also served as a Chairperson of Sasol Ltd, a member of the JPMorgan Advisory Board, and a board member of Unilever PLC/NV.
Hixonia served as a member of the Banking Enquiry Panel, appointed by the South African Competition Commission and was a founding member of the Advisory Group formed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to set up a community of global chairpersons.
Hixonia holds an Honours Degree in Psychology from the University of Zululand. She holds an Executive Leadership Development Programme Certificate from the Arthur D Little Management Education Institute in Massachusetts. She has also attended the International Programme for Board Members at the world-renowned Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.