Technical sectoral expertise, held in-house.
NEXEC’s sub-councils are the firm’s specialist divisions. Each is a standing body of economists, lawyers, engineers, clinicians and working practitioners who supply the sector depth behind our advisory mandates.
What a sub-council is.
A sub-council is a technical division of the firm, led by a Division Head and staffed by qualified specialists in that sector.
Each division holds professional expertise of the kind a mandate actually requires — economists who can model a sector, lawyers who can read the governing statute, engineers and quantity surveyors who can interrogate a bill of quantities, clinicians who understand how a health facility actually runs, and practitioners currently operating in the industry.
That expertise is not decorative. When a mandate touches infrastructure, the National Infrastructure Development Council is brought onto the engagement team. When it touches agricultural value chains, Agricouncil is. The client is advised by people who work in the sector, not by generalists who have read about it.
Sub-councils also carry the firm’s sector positions into public dialogues, roundtables and the research programme.
Ten sub-councils
Each division is led by a Division Head accountable for the technical standard of the work produced in that sector.
National Infrastructure Development Council
Civil and structural engineers, quantity surveyors, built-environment lawyers and infrastructure economists.
Division Head — Thabo Mthembu
Health
Clinicians, health economists, public health specialists and health-systems planners.
Division Head — Tshenolo Moeti
Agricouncil
Agricultural economists, agronomists, land tenure lawyers and commercial producers.
Division Head — HRH Nhlangano Zulu
NEXEC Arts & Creative Council
Intellectual property lawyers, cultural economists, producers and working practitioners across film, music, design and performance.
Executive Head — Gina Koffman
Transport & Tourism Advancement Group
Transport economists, logistics engineers, regulatory lawyers and tourism sector operators.
Division Head — Sandile Xaba
Advanced Technology & Innovation Council
Software and data engineers, technology lawyers, digital economists and innovation practitioners.
Division Head — Thando Mzimela-Ntuli
Women’s Advocacy Forum
Labour and constitutional lawyers, gender economists and practitioners drawn from enterprise, finance and organised business.
Division Head — Palisa Moleshiwa
Athletic Development Council
Sports economists, sports scientists, sports lawyers and facility planners.
Leadership to be announced
Mining & Energy Group Advancement
Mining engineers, energy economists, environmental lawyers and extractives specialists.
Leadership to be announced
Defence & Security Council
Defence economists, security sector lawyers, geopolitical risk analysts and procurement integrity specialists.
Leadership to be announced
Expertise, leadership and portfolio
Civil and structural engineers, quantity surveyors, built-environment lawyers and infrastructure economists. The division carries technical capability in project preparation, procurement integrity, cost and contract management, maintenance economics and the localisation of infrastructure spend.
Division Head — Thabo Mthembu · Portfolio — NIDC · Built Environment
Clinicians, health economists, public health specialists and health-systems planners. The division holds technical expertise in health system strengthening, workforce planning, facility economics and the financing architecture of universal health coverage.
Division Head — Tshenolo Moeti · Portfolio — Health Systems
Agricultural economists, agronomists, land tenure lawyers and commercial producers. The division carries technical capability in land access and tenure, value chain and agro-processing economics, commodity market analysis and rural enterprise development.
Division Head — HRH Nhlangano Zulu · Portfolio — Agriculture & Food Systems
Intellectual property lawyers, cultural economists, producers and working practitioners across film, music, design and performance. The division holds technical expertise in rights and licensing, sector financing structures, export market access and cultural policy.
Executive Head — Gina Koffman · Portfolio — NARC · Creative Economy
Transport economists, logistics engineers, regulatory lawyers and tourism sector operators. The division carries technical capability in corridor and freight economics, public transport planning, destination development and the regulatory environment governing both sectors.
Division Head — Sandile Xaba · Portfolio — TAG · Mobility & Tourism
Software and data engineers, technology lawyers, digital economists and innovation practitioners. The division holds technical expertise in digital public infrastructure, data governance and protection, connectivity economics and technology adoption inside institutions.
Division Head — Thando Mzimela-Ntuli · Portfolio — Digital & Technology
Labour and constitutional lawyers, gender economists and practitioners drawn from enterprise, finance and organised business. The division carries technical capability in the economics of women’s labour market participation, enterprise finance access and the legal instruments governing equity and representation.
Division Head — Palisa Moleshiwa · Portfolio — Gender & Economy
Sports economists, sports scientists, sports lawyers and facility planners. The division is being constituted to carry technical capability in athlete development pathways, sports infrastructure economics, sponsorship and commercialisation structures, and the governance of sporting bodies.
Leadership to be announced · Portfolio — ADC · Sport & Athlete Development
Mining engineers, energy economists, environmental lawyers and extractives specialists. The division is being constituted to carry technical capability in mineral beneficiation, energy transition economics, host community trusts and regulatory compliance across the mining and energy sectors.
Leadership to be announced · Portfolio — MEGA · Mining & Energy
Defence economists, security sector lawyers, geopolitical risk analysts and procurement integrity specialists. The division is being constituted to carry technical capability in defence procurement and acquisition economics, security sector governance and oversight, geopolitical and strategic risk analysis, and the regulatory environment governing private security and border management.
Leadership to be announced · Portfolio — DSC · Defence & National Security
Textiles & Clothing
Sector specialists covering manufacturing competitiveness, local content requirements, retail supply chains and the trade instruments governing the clothing and textile value chain.
Head — Lembe Ndlovu
Built Environment
Manages the division’s built-environment workstream, supporting project preparation, cost management and delivery oversight across infrastructure mandates.
Senior Manager — Naledi Kgasoane
Four functions of a sub-council.
Mandate support
Division specialists join client engagement teams where the mandate requires sector-specific technical judgement.
Technical review
Draft findings are stress-tested against the division’s professional expertise before they reach a client.
Sector positions
Divisions develop and publish the firm’s technical positions on questions inside their sector.
Convening
Each division convenes the dialogues, roundtables and forums that fall within its portfolio.
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