The event will also address the necessity for investment in affordable, high-quality technology and skills development and will be reviewing a healthcare system that has been stretched beyond capacity.

The Directors Event is now in its seventh year and is billed as 'South Africa's biggest board meeting'. It is futured by BCX and presented in association with the Institute of Directors South Africa and the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies profile.

The Directors Event aims to be a place where the business community comes together to unpack major issues affecting the country's economy.

"The year 2020 will be remembered as a year of global disruption, a year in which we were tested on a professional and personal level. Businesses the world over demonstrated their resilience, agility and ability to swivel at a time of great social and economic hardship," says Jonas Bogoshi, CEO at BCX.

"But in great adversity comes great learnings; it is, therefore, important that we look back at 2020 and decipher these learnings in order to clearly understand the path to a more resilient and sustainable future for our country," adds Bogoshi.

Pre-lockdown, The Directors Event attracted an audience of more than 300 senior management and C-level executives to a full-day conference at the Sandton Convention Centre. In 2020, the digital event drew an online audience of more than 1 300 delegates.

High profile speakers have most recently included:
  • Andre de Ruyter, CEO of Eskom
  • Wendy Lucas-Bull, former chairperson of Absa 
  • Nhlanhla Nene, former finance minister
  • Jabu Mabuza, former chairperson of Eskom
  • Caroline Galvan, lead economist at World Economic Forum, and
  • Mcebisi Jonas, former deputy minister of Finance.
S'thembiso Msomi, editor of the Sunday Times, says that it is crucial for the country to address the socio-economic hardships that have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

"It is also time for South Africans to prove their mettle in rising above adversity with an attitude of innovation and progress to ensure we do not remain on the backfoot in years to come," concludes Msomi. "We need to learn and adapt at speed and do everything we can to let this experience drive our determination to overcome and thrive."

For more information, visit www.thedirectorsevent.co.za