Dr Judy Dlamini
Accomplished Business Woman and Author of “Equal but Different”

Dr Judy Dlamini (full name: Nobuhle Judith Dlamini) is a qualified medical doctor, an accomplished businesswoman with an MBA and PhD in business leadership, and an author who recently published a book title: Equal but Different. She is also the founder and executive Chairperson of the Mbekani Group, a company that has investments in different sectors of the economy such as health, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments management, property, facilities and property management, tourism, and luxury fashion retail.
Mbekani Group currently has a direct staff complement of over 150. Mbekani Group celebrated 20 years in business in 2016 as it was started in 1996. Dr Judy Dlamini has held many different leadership roles in her business career including that of Chairperson of Aspen Pharmacare Limited (Aspen) a JSE-listed South African pharmaceutical manufacturer with an extensive global presence with product distribution in more than 120 countries. Dr Judy Dlamini was born on the 06th July 1959 in Westville, Natal to parents who gave the qualities and values of hard work and resilience, but more especially the value of education as a way out of poverty. The qualities they instilled would prove instrumental to her success.
She learnt a lot from both her parents. From her father, she attributes the lessons in self-reliance and building one’s own destiny. The spirit of giving was another important quality taught by her parents which inspired her to make philanthropy an important part of her life. She spends a great deal of time working on community projects, her family’s two latest projects Sifiso Community Centre named in her late son’s honour and Mkhiwa Trust.
The young Nobuhle Judy Dlamini knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a successful woman. She wanted to own property for capital appreciation and income, the example set by her father who apart from running a small painting business, also invested in property, building flats that could be rented out for income. Her mother was a teacher who also supplemented her income with a second job running a tuck shop at a soccer field over weekends, with Judy and her sister assisting. These secondary jobs were to shape her future business ventures, influencing her foray into both retail and property.
Dr Judy Dlamini qualified as a medical doctor in 1985 from the University of Natal. She achieved being a Doctor while already married to her high school sweetheart, Sizwe Nxasana and raising their firstborn child. She practised as a family practitioner for many years before consulting in Occupational Health for various companies, including Rainbow Chicken, Divpac (a NAMPAK subsidiary) and National Ports Operations. Both Judy and her husband Sizwe Nxasana were passionate about business. Their first business venture was a bakery, located next door to her medical practice. They experienced a number of challenges in this venture and one of their major obstacles was raising capital.
Dr. Judy Dlamini had to cede medical aid payments from her practice as well as the couple’s life policies to raise the R120 000 for bakery equipment. After a successful career in the medical field spanning over 10 years, she felt a need to explore new terrains and get out of her comfort zone as a medical doctor. As she was contemplating that career move, something happened which clearly showed that it was indeed time to change. That change came in 1996 when she was mugged outside her medical practice.
In her late 30s, she enrolled for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Wits Business School, majoring in Corporate Finance. Upon completion of her MBA she joined HSBC Investment Bank, Johannesburg division, in Corporate Finance. In 2012 tragedy struck the family when their son, Sifiso Nxasana (22 June 1984 to 3 Feb 2012) passed away. Following the passing of her son Sifiso, the family embraced the notion that life was too short to live in half measures. And it was then that Dlamini pursued her PhD. She obtained Doctorate in Business Leadership from UNISA where she investigated the intersection of race, gender and social class in women CEOs’ career progression and strategies for gender transformation at leadership level. One of the academic contributions from her research is the WHEEL Theoretical Model.
Her PhD also inspired her to write her book, Equal but Different. Equal But Different is based on life story interviews from fourteen women from diverse backgrounds, all of whom have risen to top leadership positions. These include Phuti Mahanyele (exec chairman Sigma Capital), Coco Cachalia (CEO Grounded Media), Cora Fernandez (Head of Sanlam Investment Management), and Siza Mzimela (first black woman to lead a commercial airline company). It does an excellent job of illuminating the similarities as differences in the women’s experiences in their struggle to the top.
While this book is mainly aimed at women, it also calls upon men to play an active role in encouraging aspiring female leaders. “It is my strong belief that people are born equal but different. It is a belief that equity across gender, race, social class and sexual orientation will be attained in my lifetime.” – Dr. Judy Dlamini Equal But Different is featured in Exclusive Books’ Homebru 2017 Selection (a list of the best in South African writing), and it has already been reprinted to satisfy demand. Some of the books find their way into the educational arm of the business, like those donated to matric students in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal, and to the schools that she and her husband, Sizwe Nxasana have established.
Dr. Dlamini serves on the Anglo American plc board as an independent non-executive director. Previous board engagements include Discovery Holdings, a JSE listed financial services company where she chaired the Remuneration and Transformation Committees, and Woolworths Holdings (JSE listed retail company). She is past chairman of the CEPPWAWU Development Trust, a public benefit trust. She and her husband are the founders and trustees of Mkhiwa trust, a family public benefit organisation with a focus in rural development and education. She is married with two grown up children.
Today Dr Judy Dlamini Dlamini owns and operates luxury retail stores Luminance and is chairperson of Mbekani Group, the business she founded more than 20 years ago. That fledgling business – offering executive medicals to business people – has since grown into a diverse and successful entity with operations and investments in property, retail, facilities management, health management and medical devices. Mbekani Group now directly employs 120 people, the bulk of them being women. The family’s education business, Sifiso Learning Group is led by her high-school sweetheart and husband Sizwe Nxasana, former CEO of FirstRand.
It includes the online education business Sifiso Edutech, Sifiso Education Properties, Sifiso Publishers and other divisions. What the future holds True to form, Dlamini has a five-year plan, both for herself and her business. The bulk of this year, she says, will involve road shows for Equal but Different. “It is easy to sell something you completely believe in, and that’s what I am selling; a conversation about gender equality. It’s a passion of mine that the book has allowed me to live.” Next year, another book (on entrepreneurship) is on the cards. “At a personal level I would love to spend some time lecturing and writing books. I would especially like to lecture on entrepreneurship and women issues.” That doesn’t mean a sabbatical from the business.
“When, for instance, you lecture at a business school, you are best as a lecturer when you are still active in business,” she explains. Switching to her plans for her business, Dlamini says she would like property and facilities management to be the main contributors on the operational side. “With people on the ground, both are relatively easy to manage as opposed to the other aspects of the business,” she says.
The bulk of the business in terms of value is property, comprised primarily of commercial assets located in Gauteng. That might soon extend to residential assets.