About us



hixonia Nyasulu
Hixonia is the Chairman of Ayavuna Women’s Investments (Pty) Ltd, a women-controlled investment vehicle. She was rated by the Financial Mail amongst the top three most influential women in business in South Africa. Before founding Ayavuna in 2004, she ran (for 20 years) T.H. Nyasulu & Associates, a strategy, marketing and research company she started in 1984 after working for Unilever for six years. Her clients included retail, manufacturing, FMCG and tourism companies, as well as municipalities.
A highly experienced Non-Executive Director, Hixonia has served on the boards of global blue-chip companies such as Anglo Platinum Ltd (world’s biggest platinum producer), Nedbank Ltd (where she became deputy chairman), Sasol Ltd and Unilever Plc since 1992. She was also a member of the JPMorgan SA Advisory Board until October 2013. She attended the International Programme for Board Members at the world-renowned Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland, which exposed her to corporate governance models in various countries.
Born in 1954 in South Africa, Hixonia has a BA in Social Work and an Honours Degree in Psychology. She also holds an Executive Leadership Development Programme Certificate from the Arthur D Little Management Education Institute in Massachusetts. In order to sharpen her skills in accelerating international growth, she attended the IMD’s most popular programme, “Orchestrating Winning Performance”.
She served as a member of the Banking Enquiry Panel, appointed by the South African Competition Commission to investigate charges in the retail banking sector, access to the National Payment System, and competition in the banking sector. She was a founder member of the Advisory Group formed by the WEF(World Economic Forum) to set up a community of global chairmen, and to design a programme and agenda for the first Gathering of Chairmen in Megeve, France in April 2013, where she also led one of the discussion topics.
She was Director of Sasol Ltd for 7 years and led the company as Chairman for 5 years, from 2008 till 2013. Until April 2016, she served 9 years on the Board of Unilever PLC and NV. She is also Chairman/Director of numerous family entities, and owner and Executive Producer of “H to the power of You”, a Leadership and Talent development series, which was broadcast to 48 African countries on the CNBC Africa channel. She is currently the Senior independent Director of Vivo Energy Plc, a London-based company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Hixonia’s career path
1984: Founded T.H. Nyasulu & Associates
1992: Began serving as non-executive director, various blue-chip organisations
1997: Participated IMD programme for board members Lausanne, Switzerland
2002: Board member NEDCOR Bank Ltd and non-executive director AECI (chemicals)
2003: Non-executive director Anglo Platinum Ltd
2006: Joins Board of petrochemicals giant Sasol Ltd, as well as subsidiary Sasol Oil
2007: Non-executive director Unilever Plc/NV
2008 Chairman of global company Sasol Ltd
2012 Founder member : Advisory Group for World Economic Forum “Community of Chairmen” initiative
2017: Board member AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa)
2018: Senior Independent Director Vivo Energy Plc