Associates

Dhiresh Ramklass, the founder and managing director of Blue Planet Consulting, has worked in all three spheres of government and holds over twenty-two years of senior management consulting experience in the fields of corporate turnarounds, business strategy, public sector institutional transformation, capacity building, development planning and knowledge management. He has extensive consulting experience in the public sector (especially with the National Treasury), private sector organisations, and parastatal institutions. Dhiresh has a breadth of management consulting and organisational restructuring experience, including advising the National Treasury in a review process of all the Provincial Development Finance Institutions (PDFIs) with a view to restructuring and consolidation, leading a team on behalf of the NW Treasury to consolidate and close multiple public entities in the North West province, leading the turnaround team in the most recent turnaround of the SABC (2019), and managing an Ease of Doing Business project at the Saldhana Oil and Gas IDZ. He has also managed an assignment for the Department of Public Enterprises involving an impact assessment for the corporatization of the Transnet National Ports Authority. Dhiresh has graduate and post graduate education in electronic engineering (BSc Eng), Programme and Project management, Monitoring and Evaluation and a Masters in Business Leadership. He is an accredited Director by the Institute of Directors Southern Africa and an accredited Turnaround Specialist at the Turnaround Management Association of South Africa.

Benjy joined Blue Planet shortly after completing his honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at UCT. He has worked on a number of projects, including the Impact Assessment for the Corporatisation of the TNPA on Transnet and its Operating Divisions, the CWP Redesign, and the PIC’s Turnaround and Value-add Panel.

Ashoek Adhikari is an attorney by profession, having established his own practice in Cape Town in 1990. After practicing law for 10 years he moved into the public sector, where he held various positions in the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape in the portfolios of Environmental and Cultural Affairs, Housing, Social Services and Poverty Alleviation, and Local Government. He was appointed as COO in the Office of the Premier of the Western Cape, after which he became the general counsel responsible for legal and regulatory services and corporate affairs at Media24. Ashoek remains active in the governance of the attorney’s profession, and served as councilor of the Cape Law Society from 1998 and as vice-president of the Society from 2001 to 2004. During this time he chaired the Law Society of South Africa’s transformation committee and served on the Minister of Justice’s steering committee to draft the transformation charter for the attorney’s profession. He is currently the chairperson of the Audit and Compliance committee of the Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund. He also chairs the board of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership, is deputy chair of the Isandla Institute, and serves on the board of Accelerate Cape Town.

Abduraghman (“Manie”) Mayman holds over 48 years of working experience in auditing, accounting, taxation, corporate finance, strategic planning, and financial management, of which the last 25 years have been at executive (Group CFO/FD) level in major global and local companies. He has extensive international experience, having been on overseas assignments for more than 8 years with BP in London, Namibia and Southeast Asia (covering Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia). The last 4 of his more than 21 years with BP was spent as Regional CFO – Africa and Executive Director, covering 10 countries in Southern and East Africa. He served on the Boards of BP Southern Africa Pty Ltd, South African Petroleum Refiners Pty Ltd, BP and Shell Kenya Ltd, BP Zambia Ltd (Listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange), as well as on the Boards of several operating subsidiaries. He also worked for Media24 for nearly 10 years as Group CFO and Executive Director and served on several subsidiary company boards. He has also worked for Oasis Group Holdings as the CFO for a period of 2 years, and currently serves as a non-executive director of several Oasis companies. He has 20 years of experience as a Trustee of Retirement Funds, including Chairing Pension and Provident Funds. His experience at executive level includes the full portfolio of a Group CFO/FD role, corporate finance transactions, acquisitions and disposals, and corporate restructuring.

Jerome is a public sector consultant with over 20 years’ experience, and legal and cost-management post-graduate qualifications. Jerome has worked on a variety of projects including public sector governance, policy development and strategic planning, costing of legislation and policy, programme of action implementation and Monitoring & Evaluation, and the evaluation of constitutional and litigation risks of legislation. Over the past 10 years many of his assignments have been for the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC). Jerome enjoys reading, sports, breakaways with his family into the South African countryside, and spending time with friends.

Ynze is a public-sector consultant with 20 years’ experience, and legal and cost-management post-graduate qualifications. Ynze has worked on a variety of projects including public sector governance issues, the development of policy and strategic plans; the costing of legislation and policy; the implementation of programmes of action; the monitoring and evaluation of programmes of action; and the evaluation of constitutional and litigation risks of legislation. Over the past 10 years many of his assignments have been for the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC). Ynze enjoys reading, sports, breakaways with his family into the South African countryside and spending time with friends.