Meet the speakers

Meet the speakers

Keynote Speakers

James Herbert

Mediclinic Corporate Office

James Herbert began his career in Clinical Engineering, where he provided hospital technical support, conducted audits, trained technicians, and managed medical equipment maintenance and life cycle costs.

In 2009 he transitioned to Procurement and Supply Chain, and today serves as Group Procurement Executive at Mediclinic International, overseeing USD 1.7 Bn in spend across Southern Africa, the Middle East, and Switzerland, with a focus on synergies and savings. 

He holds a National Higher Diploma in Electrical Engineering (1993), a Management Diploma (1999), and a Master's in Procurement, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management from Salford University (2020). With three decades in healthcare, James combines strong technical expertise with strategic leadership, negotiation skills, and intrapreneurship, having introduced numerous initiatives and presented at international healthcare events. 

Helen Potgieter

President of the National Council, CEASA

Helen Potgieter is a Clinical Engineer who graduated from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in 1995. A member of CEASA for 26 years, she currently serves as elected President of the National Council.

She is currently a doctoral candidate researching strategies to optimise clinical engineering for sustainable healthcare operations in South Africa. Helen spent 10 years in the private hospital sector, concluding her corporate career as Regional Technical Manager at Netcare in 2007.

She is co-owner and director of REAF Consulting, a health technology consultancy specialising in hospital development, clinical engineering, health planning, verification audits, and strategic advisory services. 

She lectured part-time at UNISA for over 11 years and serves as external moderator for Clinical Engineering at TUT. 

Dumisani Bomela

Hospital Association of South Africa 

Dumisani Bomela – MBChB (Natal), DOH (Wits), MPH (Wits), MBA (UP – GIBS)

Dr Bomela’s professional career started in the early 1990s, in the Eastern Cape as a clinician in both the public and private sector. He has extensive experience in working with the public and private health sectors, as well as the professional sector in the areas of clinical services, management and policy analysis.

From the early 2000s, he worked in the mining industry, managing and heading a health establishment at a De Beers mining operation, which provided health services to a mining town. The services included: a private hospital, primary healthcare centres, a wellness centre, and occupational health centres.

In 2007 he joined the South African Medical Association (SAMA), where he headed their Health Policy and Public Affairs, and also acted for an extended period as the head of the Private Practice.

In 2011 he was appointed as the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on Health Technology. The notable achievement of the MAC under his chairmanship was to finalise the Essential Equipment List for the National Department of Health.

Also, in 2011 he took up the CEO role for the Hospital Association of South Africa (HASA), which is the industry association for SA’s private hospitals. In this role he has been on the cutting edge of the policy discourse in the SA healthcare sector.

During this time at HASA, in 2019, Dr Bomela was appointed by the Minister of Health into the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) for Health Human Resources, which culminated in the February 2020 publication of the NDoH’s current 2030 Human Resources for Health Strategy. In this MTT, he was the Lead of Workstream-3, titled Leadership, Management and Governance Mandate.

Currently he is the CEO of the HASA.

Maria van Zyl

North West University

Dr Maria van Zyl is an industrial engineer and senior lecturer in the school of Industrial Engineering at North-West University, South Africa, and holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

She is a recognised authority in healthcare systems engineering, advancing the application of industrial engineering, operations research, and data-driven methods to improve performance in complex, resource-constrained health systems.
Her research addresses hospital delays, patient flow, and the sustainable adoption of lean practices, while foregrounding the wellbeing of healthcare professionals. She is internationally known for contributions to lean healthcare and for pioneering the use of machine learning to identify drivers of burnout and emotional exhaustion among nursing staff in South Africa. Her work is widely published and presented at leading international forums.
Her focus is on turning strong research into practical insights that shape policy and lead to real improvements in healthcare practice.

Invited Speakers

Peta De Jager

South African Institute of Architects

Dr Peta de Jager is Chief Executive Officer of the South African Institute of Architects and a registered Professional Architect with over 27 years’ experience spanning practice, research, and institutional leadership. She recently completed her PhD at the University of the Witwatersrand, examining transformation within the architecture profession.

Prior to her current role, Peta spent eighteen years at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), where she progressed from researcher to Impact Area Manager. Her work focused on evidence-informed, context-appropriate approaches to healthcare and public infrastructure, including TB and infection prevention facilities, post-occupancy evaluation, and sustainable human settlements. She played a key role in developing national healthcare infrastructure guidelines and led multidisciplinary initiatives supporting the National Department of Health.

A Past President of SAFHE, Peta brings deep experience in healthcare facility planning, performance modelling, and policy alignment, with a sustained commitment to resilient, climate-responsive, and socially responsive infrastructure systems.

Mike Morkel

Limpopo Department of Health

Mike Morkel has dedicated 45 years to the development field, with the past 16 focused on advancing health infrastructure. Since 2014, he has served as Director of Infrastructure Planning and Property Management for the Limpopo Department of Health.

In this time, he was involved in the design, building and management of residential, industrial and commercial developments. He then entrenched himself in the
medical infrastructure industry gaining vast experience in hospitals, related infrastructure developments and construction as Senior Project Manager. He has experience in the building of new hospitals, expansion and revamping of medical facilities of more than 70 projects. He is an experienced-on-site project manager with excellent technical experience and hands-on solution skills gained from design to construction. He gained experience abroad in the UK and New Zealand (Awarded Gold for Design and Built by NZ MBA)

Deon van der Merwe

PATHA

Deon has a wealth of experience in the built environment across a broad spectrum. He started his career in the architectural sector, fixed and mobile telecommunication infrastructure. He managed his own Architectural, Project Management and Construction company for many years where the company won awards from the NHBRC as Top Builder in Gauteng and runner up respectively.

In this time, he was involved in the design, building and management of residential, industrial and commercial developments. He then entrenched himself in the
medical infrastructure industry gaining vast experience in hospitals, related infrastructure developments and construction as Senior Project Manager. He has experience in the building of new hospitals, expansion and revamping of medical facilities of more than 70 projects. He is an experienced-on-site project manager with excellent technical experience and hands-on solution skills gained from design to construction. He gained experience abroad in the UK and New Zealand (Awarded Gold for Design and Built by NZ MBA)

Wiid Brett

Mediclinic Southern Africa

Wiid Brett serves as General Manager: Technical Operations at Mediclinic Southern Africa, where he provides leadership and strategic direction to engineering and technical services across a diverse hospital portfolio.  With 30 years’ experience in the private healthcare environment, he brings a strong foundation in mechanical engineering together with extensive operational and infrastructure expertise.

Wiid’s work focuses on the reliable delivery of critical hospital services, including infrastructure planning, asset and lifecycle management, regulatory compliance, and capital project execution.  His responsibilities span services design, regulatory compliance, asset lifecycle management, energy and sustainability initiatives, and the implementation of resilient infrastructure solutions.  He leads large, multi‑disciplinary engineering teams supporting complex healthcare facilities, ensuring that engineering solutions remain safe, resilient, and aligned with current needs.

In recent years, he has been closely involved in the implementation of renewable energy, battery storage, and micro‑grid systems within healthcare environments, navigating regulatory challenges, insurer requirements, and financial viability.  He is particularly interested in practical, compliant engineering solutions that improve infrastructure resilience while supporting sustainable, high‑performance healthcare facilities.

David Volkwyn

Greenline Africa & Absolicon South Africa

David Volkwyn is a pioneering leader in the renewable energy sector, bringing over four decades of diverse industry experience to the IFHE Conference. As the Marketing & Technical Sales Director and Co-Founder of Greenline Africa and Absolicon South Africa, he has been instrumental in advancing solar thermal heating and cooling technologies across Sub-Saharan Africa. His presentation on the revolutionary integration of PVT, Thermal Battery, and waste heat recovery solutions at Mediclinic Gardens underscores his commitment to driving sustainable, high-efficiency engineering in the healthcare environment.

Driven by a passion for sustainability and the recognition that heating accounts for nearly half of global energy use, David transitioned to the renewable energy sector in 2017 following a highly successful career spanning commercial sales, property development, investment management, and over 20 years in the stainless-steel ISO tank container industry. In 2019, he co-founded Greenline Africa to deliver end-to-end advanced solar thermal technologies, high-temperature heat pumps, and thermal storage solutions that offer high financial returns and significant CO2 reductions.

Greenline Africa has established a proven track record of delivering impactful 100% renewable hot water systems for major clients in the healthcare and hospitality sectors, including Mediclinic, Hyatt, the Radisson Group and the Marriott Group. David’s strategic vision was pivotal in securing a landmark framework agreement with Swedish innovator Absolicon to establish a South African production line for the T160 solar collector, championing the localisation of cutting-edge technology.

His expertise in bridging the gap between complex technical solutions and commercial viability has gained significant international recognition. Greenline Africa was selected for the prestigious AB InBev 100+ Accelerator program, for a pilot project at an AB InBev Brewery in Mozambique. Furthermore, David was instrumental in establishing a global consortium “Green Steam Zero Coal’ where they were awarded a €4 million grant from UNIDO in February this year, under the A2D Accelerate program (funded by Innovate UK) to install a cutting-edge solar thermal steam collector park at Rhodes Foods’ flagship facility in Stellenbosch, alongside another major grant under the Eurogia program.

Combining legal, property investment, and marketing expertise with deep technical knowledge, David Volkwyn remains at the forefront of the built environment and industrial decarbonisation. Greenline Africas work at Mediclinic Gardens serves as a blueprint for the future of patient-centered, sustainable healthcare engineering.

François Rozon

Stellenbosch University

Dr. François Rozon brings to the IFHE Conference a rare combination of rigorous academic research and extensive executive leadership, uniquely positioning him to address the intersection of renewable energy adoption and the built healthcare environment. As a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) at Stellenbosch University, his research focuses on developing practical frameworks for the adoption of renewable and sustainable energy technologies by industry — work of direct relevance to the energy-intensive demands of modern hospital facilities.

During his PhD at Stellenbosch University, Dr. Rozon developed a comprehensive framework for industrial renewable energy adoption, incorporating long-term forecasting methodologies for sustainable energy technologies. His first peer-reviewed article on this forecasting approach was published as a feature paper in the Energies journal (https://doi.org/10.3390/en16196874), with a second article presenting the core of his research also published in the same journal (https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133241). Additional journal articles and conference proceedings explore the costs and benefits of sustainable energy systems under specific settings and boundary conditions — findings with direct application to the planning and operation of healthcare facilities.

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Rozon held senior executive roles in the private sector. At Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, he served as Strategy and Planning Director and subsequently as Business Transformation Director, sitting on the Executive Committee and leading large-scale strategic and operational transformation programmes across the continent. His earlier tenure at Appletiser — the international premium beverage brand born in South Africa — saw him lead a decade-long turnaround that doubled the brand in size, expanded its reach to over 25 countries, and delivered a seven-fold increase in profit growth. He has also held roles at BHP Billiton’s Stainless Steel Division and spent most of the 1990s as a consultant with McKinsey & Company across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, specialising in business-to-business marketing, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

A Certified Director and active mentor to young entrepreneurs, Dr. Rozon combines deep analytical capability with strategic vision and a genuine commitment to a sustainable energy future. His presentation at the IFHE 2026 Conference offers delegates both the academic rigour of a practising researcher and the practical perspective of a seasoned business leader.

MC Bekker 

Orange Cyberdefense South Africa

MC Bekker currently serves as the head of the Advisory services division at Orange Cyberdefense South Africa. With over 15 years professional experience, with more than 10 years being in Information security, he brings vast experience to technical team at Orange Cyberdefense.  Having transitioned from the financial services and risk industry to specialise in cyber security and information risk, MC’s insights into IT risk, assurance, and cyber security operations and how they relate to business operations and requirements are uniquely insightful.

As a Certified Information Systems Auditor and the Information Security Officer for Orange Cyberdefense in South Africa, MC is at the forefront of the Cyber Security Industry trends and evolution of security requirements. Throughout his career, MC has provided guidance to numerous clients and companies on best practices, controls, and strategies to mitigate cyber threats