Meet the team that drives ICDZ
Mr Phineas Bvaka — ICDZ.CD President of ICDZ Councillor
PHINEAS is a corporate governance expert with 28 years’ experience in the printing and packaging industry and is the current general manager of CPL Pvt Ltd a leading packaging company in Zimbabwe.
He is a holder of MBA qualification from MSU Business School and also holds a CIMA certificate. Phineas is a fellow of the Southern African Institute of Accountants and holds a Diploma from the Institute of Packaging (SA). Phineas is a Certified Forensic Accountant (Cr.FA) with the Association of Certified Forensic Practitioners. He is an active fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors Zimbabwe and the Institute of Corporate Governance Zimbabwe. Phineas is an active golfer. He is currently pursuing Professional Directorship Certification with the Professional Directors Board in Canada. Councillor Mirirai Apolonia
Washaya — ICDZ.CD Mirirai is a seasoned legal and corporate governance professional with 23 years of extensive corporate law and company secretarial experience; 17 of which were obtained in the Zimbabwean financial services sector and included working collaborations with legal professionals in other jurisdictions such as Dubai, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.
She holds a Master’s degree in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Laws Honours (LLBS) degree from the University of Zimbabwe.
Mirirai has won accolades in her career which recognise professionalism, excellence and leadership.
She was featured in the prestigious Legal 500 General Counsel GC Teams Power List 2017 and 2018 and awarded silver in the Megafest 2017 Awards in the category Outstanding Advocate and Legal Leader. She is a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe and the Professional Executive Women Entrepreneurs and Business Forum (PROWEB). Currently, Mirirai is a strategic advisory consultant, architecting and implementing corporate governance structures within SMEs.
Councillor Cynthia Tendai
Mugwira ICDZ.CD
Cynthia is a lawyer by profession. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm/ LLB) from Rhodes University in South Africa (Part fulfilment), an Honours degree in Law (LLB (S) HONS) from the University of Zimbabwe, and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom
Councillor Jere
and a Management of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Eastern Southern Management Institute of Africa (ESAMI). Ms Mugwira has over ten years of experience as a legal advisor to the Government of Zimbabwe, the corporate private and the development sectors.
Cynthia worked under the United Nations and has vast experience in the corporate governance field which was acknowledged through her nomination in the Manager of the Year Junior category in 2010 by the IPMZ for her outstanding role in the setting up of the Quality Corporate Governance Centre (ZIMLEF).
Cynthia was an initiator of the drafting of the National Corporate Governance Code for Zimbabwe.
She has sat on several boards including her current seat as a PROWEB Trustee wherein she is the newly-elected second vice president, a member of the University of Zimbabwe Council where she sits in the executive, Audit and Risk and the Disciplinary Appeals Committees.
She is also a member and vice chairperson of the Zimbabwe Association of Pension Funds and sits in the executive and legislation committees.
Cynthia is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors of Zimbabwe wherein she sits on the legislative committee. Cynthia is the 2017 Zimbabwe Mentee for the prestigious
Fortune 500 United States State Department and Vital Voices Women’s Global Mentorship Programme for young business executive women.
Cynthia was the group legal advisor and board secretarial services executive for the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) and the principal officer for the NSSA staff pension fund before taking up her new post as the director legal services for the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA). Cynthia is the chairman of the ZIMRA Staff Pension Fund.
Councillor Eckford Jere
ICDZ.CD
Eckford is an experienced business executive with 30 years of experience gained in state-owned enterprise, parastatal, diversified group, freight and logistics, consultancy and security industries. He has exceptional skills in human resources, industrial relations and board leadership.
Eckford is a certified company director and holds several qualifications in human resources, business leadership, corporate governance, industrial relations, a Master of Science in Strategic Management degree and is in 4th year of study for a Doctor in Business Administration (DBA) degree.
He is past vice-chairman of the NEC Air Transport Industry (2013-2018), councillor of the Institute of Directors
Zimbabwe (IoDZ) (2015-2018), trustee councillor of SDA for Langham Girls (2011-2013) and trustee chairman of SDA for Umvukwes Primary School (2006-2010). At present he sits on boards of Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services, Institute of Human Resources in Zimbabwe and is chief executive officer of an innovative and progressive security company with big account clients. Eckford has a passion for farming, and is happily married to Mildred. The couple is blessed with three daughters, Natasha, Joyline and Monalisa.
Councillor Gilbert Eugene
Peters ICDZ.CD
He is the founder and CEO of Spidex Media Group and chairman of Gilcorp Group an investment and holdings company with interests in real estate, technology and media.
Gilbert Eugene Peters is ranked as one of the top 30 entrepreneurs in Africa by Forbes Magazine and he has received multiple awards in business.
He sits on various company boards and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic Leadership and Corporate Governance from the Midlands State University.
Councillor Ernest Nhandi ICDZ.CD (CIPS/EMBA/Msc/
EDBL-ZIM)
Ernest’s corporate experience stretches over 20 years in various executive positions in local and global blue-chip organisations: Unilever, Total, Supreme Global, Reckitt Benckiser, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Cairns Foods. Ernest’s corporate career spans Southern Africa, East Africa, North and the Middle East.
He holds Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) qualification from the UK, Executive MBA, and Master of Science in Procurement and Logistics and an Executive Diploma in Business Leadership from the Zimbabwe Institute of Management. He is currently reading for a PHD in Business Leadership.