Shulami Qalinge

Shulami Qalinge took up reins as Chief Executive of the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) on 1 July 2017, succeeding Richard Vallihu.As Chief Executive of TNPA, Ms Qalinge oversees the operation of eight commercial ports with a total staff complement of over 4 300. TNPA operates within a legislative and regulatory environment created by the National Ports Act 2005 (Act No. 12 of 2005).  

The division is responsible for the safe, effective and efficient economic functioning of the national port system in South Africa, which it manages in a landlord capacity.  It further providesport infrastructure and marine services at the eight commercial seaports in South Africa. These ports are:  Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Ngqura, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town and Saldanha.  Following a decade of senior management experience, she most recently served asTransnet’s Group Executive: Strategy, leading Transnet’s drive for additional revenueoutside South Africa, driving implementation of Transnet’s company-wide Strategy, ensuring attainment of the Shareholder’s Compact and looking after the company’s reputation through Corporate Communication.  She is one of South Africa’s leading operational executives. 

Shulami Qalinge was previously responsible for the overall management of the office of the  Group Chief Executive through provision of strategic support to the Group Chief  Executive in fulfilling his role of leading the organisation to achieve improved service  levels and efficiencies across the organisation.   Ms Qalinge’s business experience is grounded in a tertiary and executive education  that includes an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from De Montfort University, Diploma in Industrial Engineering from Nelson Mandela University of  Technology, the highly regarded Strategic Leadership Programme at the Gordon  Institute of Business Science for which a small elite group of promising women are  selected annually, the Breakthrough Programme for Senior Executives from the  International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and the Senior Executive  Programme Africa (SEPA) from Harvard Business School.  

During her career spanning more than 20 years, Ms Qalinge has developed her skills in operations, strategic planning, performance monitoring and diagnostic and project management. She has a strong focus on Rail and Port Operations, Supply Chain Management, Performance Monitoring and Reporting and Stakeholder Management.