Mr Isaac O ShongweSouth Africa-at-Large, 1989 |
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Isaac Shongwe founded and manages Letsema Holdings, a strategic management consulting firm. He is also founder and chairman of Letsema Investments, a black-empowerment investment company engaged in a range of ventures. In addition, he is a member of several boards including The Aspen Institute (Colorado,USA), Social Venture Investment Trust, the Maths Centre for Primary Teachers, Anglo American Chairman's Fund, Business Map Foundation and Wesleyan University in Connecticut (USA).
Before starting Letsema in 1995, Isaac worked for various companies owned by Barloworld Limited from 1988 to 1992. In 1992 he joined Monitor Consulting Company, a business strategy outfit headquartered in Boston, USA. As a strategy consultant, Isaac has worked on various strategy formulation projects, both for Blue-chip private sector clients and various public sector clients in Government and parastatals.
In addition to his business interest, Isaac is heavily involved in social and community upliftment projects. He has created Letsema Foundation through which he funds most of his social interests.
In 1988, Isaac was named 21st Century Trust Fellow, in recognition of his potential as a future leader in his country, and in 1996 was named “Global Leader of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum. In 2002 he was named Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute. This programme “seeks to develop the next generation of community-spirited leaders”. In 1987 Isaac graduated with honours from Wesleyan University (USA). In 1989 he received a degree in marketing from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. In 1991 he also obtained an M.Phil in Management Studies from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.