Full Name: Wesley Kondwani Banda
Position: Project Manager at Hatch (Technologies Business Unit)
What contribution do you see yourself making to the Young Professionals Council and the SAIMM?:
- I am an innovative thinker; I will bring new ideas in a different spectrum.
- I am a self-motivated and hardworking individual I will make sure tasks are achieved with excellent quality
- I have good leadership skills and I will surely keep the team motivated and working towards great achievements
- I will bring initiatives and ideas to make SAIMM grow and be competitive in the engineering field
Interaction/activities that you currently participate in within the SAIMM (if applicable):
- (2014-2016) YPC communications committee leader, and secretary.
- (2014-2019) Conference organising committee member
- (2020-2021) YPC Treasurer
- (2021-2022) YPC Secretary
Qualifications:
BSc Chemical Engineering (Wits)
MSc Metallurgical Engineering (Wits)
Project Management Professional (PMP®)
Brief career history:
Kondwani Banda is a project manager in the Hatch technologies business unit that services Africa, Europe, and the Middle East (AEM). He looks after the Hatch Furnace Electrode Column Portfolio and Spare Parts Supply.
He is a professionally registered chemical engineer (ECSA) and a certified project management professional (PMP®) with +9 years’ worth of experience in all stages of the project management life cycle. In addition, He is an internationally published researcher, with pyrometallurgy experience and a strong background in plant operations, commissioning, leadership, and customer relations.
He holds an MSc in Metallurgical Engineering and BSc Chemical Engineering both from the University of Witwatersrand. He is currently the chairperson of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Young Professionals Council (SAIMM-YPC) for the 2023/2024 term and have been involved with SAIMM since 2015. In addition, he assists with the SAIMM-YPC social media.
He currently sits on the ECSA Code of Practice Committee that is developing discipline specific engineering codes of practice and enjoys mentoring engineers on their journey to Pr. Eng.
Date and place of birth:
1991-03-06
South Africa
Other industry body affiliations?
ECSA Professional Engineer
Project Management Institute (PMI)
What are your views on the 4th industrial revolution?
I believe technology has become part of our lives and thus we need to start using it to increase efficiency as well as embrace it. This means we need to start reducing the manual processes and even move activities done on laptops to our mobiles, since with the 4th industrial revolution, there is a drive to have instant information and results on the go.
If you were a precious metal what would you be and why?
Silver. Like how silver can be used in food and as a conductor, I am a jack of all trades, and have the shiny personality to support it ☺
How do you think industry bodies such as the SAIMM can better equip young professionals such as yourself?
Use technology to educate and mentor the young professionals, be more visible and engaging. SAIMM needs to make engineering fashionable and a trend. Have YPC committee members that are also brand ambassadors and can reach a magnitude of young professionals no matter their locations because we have technology in our hands.
How do you see young professionals making a significant change in the industry?
We are influencers, we are the future, and we are collectively a force to be reckoned with. Using social media platforms, we have the power to shape the industry as well as connect with the world at the tap of our finger tips. We need to realise this power sooner.
What gets you up in the morning?
Gym haha. I need to start my day with high levels of energy so that I can shine the positivity onto others, gym allows me to refuel my energy levels.
Social media links or information:
LinkedIn : Kondwani W. Banda
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kondwanibanda/
Instagram: Kondwani W. Banda
