Geoff Jacobs- Chairman of the Board, Dinaledi Educational Coach

Geoff is an experienced HR executive whose life-long focus has been the growth and development of people at all levels, in both the public and corporate sectors. As a young high school teacher on the Cape Flats, nothing gave Geoff greater pleasure than to see his young charges respond positively to instruction and coaching, and to see them seize opportunities for their own growth and development. Since joining the corporate sector 19 years ago, Geoff has continued this journey of investment in the lives of employees in the organizations he has led.

Geoff started his corporate career as Learning and Development Manager for the Southern Life (thereafter Momentum) Assurance company, followed by a stint as HR and Strategy Development Manager for Media 24’s IT division.  In 2002, he was recruited by Safmarine to oversee HR in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2004 he was appointed as HR Manager for Safmarine and Maersk in South Africa, where his portfolio included responsibility for HR Business Partnering, Employee Relations, Industrial Relations and Transformation. In 2009 Geoff was appointed as the HR Executive for the Southern Africa Cluster of Maersk Line, with leadership responsibility for HR in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and six daughter countries. In 2012 Geoff was appointed as Director of Maersk South Africa (Pty) Ltd, the legal entity responsible for the shipping activities of Maersk Line and Safmarine.

Geoff is a strong proponent of life-long learning, and has a passion for research and reading.  He has a BA (Hons) degree from UNISA, an MA from the University of Wisconsin, and an MBA from UCT’s Graduate School of Business.

Geoff is passionate about HR, which he sees as the only real differentiator in the market place. In an increasingly complex and competitive business environment, it is passionate people who make the difference and provide the truly sustainable competitive advantage.