Research Fellow
April 1, 2024
Research Fellow Tladi Ditshego (C'91) will deliver the annual Oliver Tambo Lecture on the importance of South African politician and activist Oliver Tambo in the twenty-first century on April 10. Ditshego will also discuss his work with Lahra Smith, director of Georgetown's African Studies Program.
Tladi Ditshego (C’91), a research fellow at the Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, is the current chairman of the board of Merchant West, an asset finance holdings company in South Africa, and chairman of OAO Investments, a leading purpose-driven investment company in South Africa. Both companies are based in Johannesburg. He has extensive experience in corporate leadership and investment management and a demonstrated dedication to social and economic development. Ditshego has previously served as the chairman of Export Credit Insurance Company of South Africa. He has also served as the chief executive officer of the J&J Group, a South African investment management company, involved in the Gautrain—the high-speed express commuter rail system that links OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. He was the international affairs coordinator of the African National Congress during Nelson Mandela’s presidency. During that time, he managed the writing of Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom (1994), working closely with writer Richard Stengel, the then-deputy managing director and editor of Time. He holds an M.A. in international relations with a functional concentration in development economics from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. from Georgetown University; he also completed the Executive Development Program from Wits University Business School.
