The Malukeke sisters, three South African sisters from Limpopo in South Africa, are top executives trailblazing in their respective executive roles.
Tsakani Maluleke
Tsakani Maluleke — South Africa’s first female Auditor-General, Basani Maluleke — the first woman to be appointed CEO of African Bank and Refilwe Maluleke– Managing Director of Yellowood, have set headlines because of their blazing successes.
Tsakani is a fellow and moderator of the African Leadership Initiative and the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Basani Maluleke
Basani Maluleke is a banker, gender rights and social justice advocate who made history as the first black female to lead a bank in South Africa. With an MBA from Kellogg, Basani Maluleke was primed to conquer the world of finance.
And she did that with ease, snapping leadership positions in several banking institutions before finally settling at Capiteec. n Bank.
She is the former Group Chief Executive Officer of African Bank. She served as an independent non-executive director from July 2015 and joined the executive team as Group Executive Head of Operations in July 2017. Having qualified as an attorney at Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs, she joined FirstRand Bank Limited as a member of RMB corporate finance in 2005. She subsequently joined the FNB Division as the Head of Private Clients in 2011.
Refilwe Maluleke
Refilwe Maluleke is a classically trained marketer with vast experience across sub-Saharan Africa, a proven track record of delivery across multiple brands, and strong relationships with some of the best marketers and agencies in South Africa. She has a high-performance mindset, driven by a passion for people and brands.
Maluleke completed her MBA at the CASS Business School in London (now known as the Bayes Business School) and assumed the role of managing director at Yellowwood in 2018. As managing director, Maluleke has led the renaissance of an agency emerging from a legacy business to a future-facing organisation ready to confront change and help clients navigate it as astutely.
She has worked tirelessly to embed the potency of Yellowwood across the TBWA\ collective, while building out new capabilities and attracting some of the industry’s best talent. Yellowwood’s growth this year and its role in countless winning projects is evidence of this success. Being awarded as the most innovative brand consultancy on the continent by MEA Markets magazine is further endorsement of the work she has done.
In 2021, she was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer at TBWA\South Africa, while retaining her position as managing director at leading strategic marketing consultancy Yellowwood.
