Nirvanna Rampersad has been a SAIMM and Johannesburg Branch member since 2018 and was elected Branch Chairperson in 2022.
After graduating with a BSc Chemical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 1999, Nirvanna joined Algorax, a carbon black manufacturer in Port Elizabeth where she occupied the role of Process Engineer. She was promoted to Manager Environment, Safety, Health and Quality and then Project Responsible. During this period Nirvanna also pursued her postgraduate studies, gaining a Management Development Programme Diploma at the University of Port Elizabeth, followed by a Bachelor of Business Management and Administration (BBA) Honours and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Stellenbosch. She obtained a Data Science Nanodegree in January 2024. She also obtained her Professional Engineer designation with the Engineering Council of South Africa.
In 2008 Nirvanna was headhunted into the mining and minerals processing industry. She was employed as a Senior Contract Engineer at Multotec Process Equipment in Spartan, responsible for mining capital projects, tenders, supply contracts, equipment design, and the marketing plan. She was then recruited by TWP Projects in Melrose Arch as a Projects Control Manager, and progressed to the positions of CAPEX and OPEX modeller, followed by Senior Mining Business Analyst, and finally Study Manager.
Nirvanna was headhunted again in 2014 and joined join Anglo American as Senior Audit Manager, Operations and Projects, responsible for technical assurance for Kumba Iron Ore. In 2016 she moved to the Platinum Business Unit as PMO Workstream Manager – Operations Functions. She implemented the Anglo American Operating Model at Waterval Smelter from 2020 to 2022. Her current role is Operating Model Principal at the Platinum Business Unit.
Nirvanna is a Council member of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and Chair of the Gauteng Branch and National Council Member of the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE). She is a Board Member and Executive Committee Member (RSA) of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and obtained her Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification in 2014. She is a PMI Global Volunteer for the Africa Stakeholder Working Group.