Carol Allers, APR, ABC, is a director at CA Business Communication. She has 25 years’ experience in strategic business communication, specialising in issues and crisis communication management. She has in-depth experience of risk, crisis and business continuity management, assessing levels of preparedness, responsiveness and recovering from major organisational crises; building resilience capabilities and capacity.
Carol is currently the Chairperson of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Africa Regional Board (2019/2020). She has served on a number of IABC international committees during the last 5 years. She currently serves on the IABC Blue Ribbon Panel of Judges for the International Communication Quill Awards as well as the IABC IEB Nominating Committee.

Jo has spent the past 13 years advising multinationals, SMEs and governments on their communication and marketing strategies. Her passion lies at the nexus of communication, leadership coaching and technology and she currently heads up Marketing & Communications for Quixel at Epic Games, creator of Fortnite and Unreal Engine. Jo has lived and worked in various countries, giving her a unique perspective on the nuances of doing business across the world. She now calls South Africa her home and lives in Cape Town with her husband and daughter. A lifelong student of human behaviour, Jo holds a joint honours degree in linguistics and anthropology, two master’s degrees in Communications and International Relations respectively and is a certified executive coach. She is currently a PhD candidate in Information & Communication researching communication effectiveness in virtual environments.

Dr Amanda Hamilton-Attwell is the founder and Executive Director of Business DNA providing specialised business communication services, e.g. communication strategies, audits and training, to local and international companies. She holds a Doctorate in Communication Science from the University of South Africa and is an Accredited Business Communicator with the International Association for Business Communicators (IABC).
Dr Hamilton-Attwell was the Chairman of the IABC Africa Region, served on the IABC Executive Board 2011/2012, and was a Trustee of the IABC Research Foundation 2012 - 2014. For the past 10 years, she was a final tier judge on the IABC’s Gold Quill Blue Ribbon Panel. In 2014/15, she was the Global Chair for the IABC Gold Quill Awards programme. In 2014 she was received the IABC Chairman’s Award and in 2015, was awarded Fellow status of the IABC. This is the highest recognition of the profession for the contribution made to the profession and the association. She is currently the Fellows Chair for the 2020/21 term.

Sola Abulu comes to the IABC Board with over 25 years of experience in PR and communication. She has had a rich career working with Shell Nigeria, in various roles including Head of Major Project Communications, Head of Public Relations & Brand and Country Communications Manager. In 2012, Sola worked from the corporate HQ in the Hague as the Relations Manager for Nigeria and was responsible for engaging with international stakeholders outside the country. And as country communications manager and crisis communications lead, she strengthened the communications discipline and robust talent pipeline with world class expertise in strategic communications and crisis management.
In her current role as Principal Consultant for Sola Abulu & Associates (SA&A), Sola advises on corporate strategy, organizational excellence and reputation risk and crisis management. She is also an avid consumer of digital and social media content and in her spare time, champions social media strategy and planning in faith-based organizations in a volunteering capacity.

Mari is a globally accredited business communicator (ABC). She uses the power of communication to positively influence change in individuals, companies and communities, achieving business results and social impact. Mari has won numerous international awards for her work as a communication professional, including being recognised as the Best of the Best by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) four times since 2014. She works with a dynamic team of fellow communicators at DevCom, the communication consultancy she founded in 2005. Mari is an entrepreneur, a mother, a wife, a mentor, a mentee, a volunteer, a professional and a student. She holds a master’s degree in communication management.

Theresa is a skilled and experienced freelance communicator who enjoys her work with all its challenges, because she knows strategic communication makes a difference to business performance. Her last full-time position was as Corporate Communication Manager for Saint-Gobain in Africa, with responsibility for both internal and external communication. During her career of more than 30 years, she has held various positions with organisations such as the Small Business Advisory Bureau of the NWU, Sanlam, PwC and Harmony Gold Mining. As freelancer, she has consulted to organisations such as Business Connexion, De Beers, Mondi, RMB, Scaw Metals, Standard Bank and the Department of Defence. She holds an accounting and auditing degree from the University of the North West (NWU), as well as a post graduate diploma and honours degree in communication. In 2010 she completed the Programme for Management Development at GIBS.