About Niven

Hi! I’m Niven – a pioneering, hands on, creative and experienced leader who has an unshaken belief in human potential, a singular ability to connect with all manner of people and a healthy, often irreverent, sense of humour.

I am South African by birth, African by choice and global in outlook and impact. Although I love hitting the open road (preferably in a campervan) and hiking to – and through – mountains, my passion is partnering with leaders to (re)ignite the discretionary energy of people and teams, build an enabling culture and develop meaningful strategies with clients in diverse industries.

I’ve held executive positions since I was 29, in a career that has spanned multiple sectors and roles. Before starting up my own consultancy and embarking on my PhD in Organisational Behaviour, my positions included: CEO of the Businesswomen’s Association, Head of the South African Reserve Bank Academy and Head of Leadership and Culture for the Standard Bank Group (the largest bank by assets in Africa).

Having started my career as a strategy consultant, I now coach global executive teams in industries as diverse as financial and professional services, retail, media, transport and manufacturing, to build what I call “Whole System Leadership” and so doing, fundamentally transform how they are able to work together and what they are able to achieve.

I’m the author of If you don’t do Politics, Politics will do you, a contributor to Harvard Business Review and Inc., a part time tutor at Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and have been a guest lecturer at Stanford University. I’m an expert facilitator on women’s leadership development programmes around the world and serve as the Chairman of the Board of Cotlands, an NGO that for 87 years has done cutting edge work in the Early Childhood Development sector in South Africa and beyond.

My keynotes on organisational politics, leadership, culture and women’s leadership have been delivered to audiences of up to 60,000 people.
I live in Johannesburg with my partner and get to be the proud and happy aunt to 6 niblings in South Africa, Kenya and New Zealand.

If you need the official version of my bio, please click here.