Speaker Bio

Thabani joined CANSO as Director for Africa Affairs in January 2022. CANSO is the Global voice for air traffic management (ATM) and is shaping the future skies. The focus in the region is the creation and coordination of a platform for the ANSPs to learn, share, collaborate, co-create and deliver on joint initiatives.

Prior to joining CANSO Thabani worked as Executive for Commercial Services at Air Traffic & Navigation Services (ATNS). In this portfolio, he was charged with driving the AFI growth strategy implementation for the organization. He has extensive experience in developing and implementing growth and new market strategies including establishment of start-up operations in the region. Thabani has previously worked for multinational business organisations such Vodafone, General Electric, Tata Africa and SembCorp Utilities.

Thabani’s career transcends diverse industries, mainly telecommunications, utilities and infrastructure development. He has been part of various start-up operations throughout the Sub-Saharan Africa region, including as a co-lead for the establishment of commercial businesses in the region and was part of the team that set up Vodacom/Vodaphone business in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Thabani’s core strength lies in working with initial concepts, aligning these with strategy and actualizing implementation.

Thabani holds a B Com degree (Accounting) from the University of Zululand and an MBA in General Management from Texas Southern University.