Dr Snowy Khoza

Dr Snowy Khoza has been at the helm of Bigen since 1 October 2010 where she held the distinct positions as the Group CEO and Executive Chairperson of the BAGH Board. Pending her planned retirement, she handed the CEO baton to Mr Luthando Vutula on 1 October 2021.

A seasoned business executive, internationally acknowledged strategist and respected development activist with remarkable business acumen honed from more than 30 years of management and directorship experience, Dr Snowy Khoza was responsible for leveraging Bigen’s deep organisational knowledge about Africa and its challenges to spur development impact and inclusivity, with a focus on women and the youth.

A widely recognised change agent and independent thinker, her inspirational leadership over the past decade has entrenched Bigen’s positioning as one of Africa’s leading infrastructure development consultancies. Her keen strategic insight and astute business acumen support a results-proven ability to optimise company outcomes without compromising quality or service standards and encourage teams to perform beyond expectation. Dr Khoza was instrumental in clinching more than 35 top industry awards for the Group and she ensures that Bigen’s infrastructure delivery becomes a key driver for socio-economic development on the continent. Her passion for infrastructure development financing has seen her being invited to speak at national, continental and international conferences such as FIDIC, GAMA, Africa CEO Forum, BRICS and the SA Investment Conference 2019.

Internationally acclaimed as an astute business professional, inspiring business leader, independent thinker, role model and human rights activist, she is the recipient of numerous awards, including recognition by the London-based Women for Africa in 2017 as one of the most influential women on the African continent. In 2018, she received the SANLAM-sponsored Lifetime Achievement Award in Engineering from the South African Professional Services Association. Other awards include Continental Lifetime Achievers Award (Africa’s Most Influential Women), Unashamedly Ethical Leader Award, SA Top Performing Business Leader, the Standard Bank Gender Icon Award in 2019 and the Excellent Leadership Recognition Award by the 67CEOs Foundation in 2020.  The latest addition to her already impressive repertoire was being recognised as one of Africa’s top 100 most influential African Women by Avance Media in 2020.

Under her leadership, she has ensured that the delivery of infrastructure projects on the continent where Bigen works, are delivered with high-quality standards, on budget and on time. Her focus on ‘doing good while doing business’ has given Bigen recognition as a social enterprise that gives back to communities. As the Group CEO, Dr Khoza leverages the knowledge of the Group to support governments to deliver basic services to communities, also ensuring job creation, and entrepreneur and enterprise development focusing more on women and youth. Dr Khoza is a respected benefactor to the disadvantaged and has been a community caregiver and organiser for more than 35 years. Her dedication to creating sustainable support systems for people at risk in marginalised communities serves as a role model for many across the continent.

Dr Khoza currently chairs the boards of ETION Ltd, SNOKHO Investments, and Ka-Manowi Manor Pty Ltd. She sits on the Advisory Boards of the University of Pretoria- Water Institute, and Ubank Group as independent non-executive director chairing its Human Capital and RemCo. She is also the President of a not-for-profit organisation, Agape Christian Women’s Network (ACWN International).

“I am enthused by Bigen’s commitment to unlocking transformation opportunities in infrastructure development in Africa that is improving livelihoods and economies across the continent as it pursues its 2030 sustainable development goals.”