Who we are

Stephen Hanival is the Executive Director of ComMark. He holds an MSc Degree in Economics from the University of London and an undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town. Previously he was the Chief Director: Services Sectors and the Director of Policy Analysis and Strategy at the South Africa Department of Trade & Industry and also served as a part-time member of the Board on Tariffs and Trade. His areas of research include industrial policy and small business development. Recent Publications: read more...

Juanita Pardesi is an experienced grants and financial manager. She has more than 16 years' experience in fundraising and donor management, having worked with non-government organisations and development agencies to improve financial management practices wtihin the development and non-profit sector. Her senior management experience in the development sector comprises a broad range of financial management skills, as well as financial training. read more...

Norma Tregurtha joined ComMark in March 2004. She was previously with the Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University, where she was responsible for implementing its industry and community-outreach progammes. Norma’s research expertise covers e-commerce, trade in natural products, agricultural labour issues and public sector support for agriculture. read more...

Mike de Klerk is the Agri-business Programme Co-ordinator at ComMark He has a wealth of experience in the Agricultural Economics field, having lectured at the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Cape Town and authored numerous articles on agrarian policy in South Africa, rural development, land reform and employment. In 1998, Mike joined the Land Bank as General Manager: Research and Development. read more...

Wouter Schalken is the tourism sector specialist at ComMark. After Master Studies in The Netherlands, he worked in the private sector tourism industry for several years before starting his own company in tourism development and advisory services. Wouter has worked for local, regional and national government structures involved in design, implementation and evaluation of tourism interventions, with special emphasis on community-private sector partnerships. On donor-funded interventions he has been active on long- and short-term missions across Africa. read more...

Lucille is responsible for the management of a number of ComMark’s agri-business projects, including the Communal Wool Farmers project in the Eastern Cape, implemented by the National Woolgrowers Association of South Africa (NWGA), the Agri-business Linkages and Agricultural Infrastructure projects in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, implemented by LIMA Rural Development Foundation, and the Organic Cotton SA Demonstration Pilot, with project partners Organic Exchange, Cotton SA, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and Woolworths SA. read more...

Jennifer Rathebe is the Technical Director of the Regional Standards Programme (RSP), responsible for monitoring the technical and operational performance of initiatives financed through the RSP. She also provides ongoing technical standards compliance assistance to project partners and liaise with key private, government and non-statutory institutions across Southern Africa active in the field of agricultural and trade issues. read more...

Andy Salm is responsible for the management and implementation of the textile and apparel programme. This involves the co-ordination of significant facilitation and investment programmes across all the countries in the South African Customs Union. read more...

Nomsa Maseko was educated mainly in Swaziland with a one-year stint in the United States. She is a qualified executive secretary and worked for the Insurance broking firm Bowring and Minet prior to joining the Standard Bank Group in Swaziland. In this latter capacity she served as the managing director’s executive personal assistant. On transfer to South Africa, Nomsa worked briefly for the director of Stanbic Africa before taking up a position as the chairman’s executive secretary as well as servicing the top three chief executives of the group. read more...

Mantai Kulehile has been working for the LNDC/ComMark Lesotho Apparel project in Maseru, Lesotho since April 2004. Maitai worked for more than 10 years as the group human-resources manager for Lesotho Clothing Industries, which had factories in Lesotho and South Africa. More recently she worked as a human-resources practitioner with the Education, Training and Development Practice Sector Education Training Authority (ETDP-SETA). read more...