At JEMBA, our story began with a vision to ignite the leadership potential within young minds. Founded on the principles of a traditional Executive MBA, where critical thinking and the determining and achieving of objectives is paramount, we have crafted a program that transcends conventional education. Our journey started at Hilton College, South Africa’s leading boys boarding school, who recognised and confirmed the need for transformative pedagogy. This transformative leadership-oriented curriculum for high school students was piloted to Grade 10 students. From this need, JEMBA was born – a program designed to challenge, engage, prepare and equip the next generation for the ever-faster changing complexities of the future.
The JEMBA Corporate program provides Executive MBA-level leadership acumen for corporate and institutional employees. The JEMBA curriculum is strategically tailored to enhance decision-making skills, foster innovative thinking, critical thinking and systems thinking, and to cultivate methods to or indeed work on specific wicked problems that business face today. And to orientate the leadership qualities toward navigating today’s industrial revolution – the old play book no longer works.
Alex combines more than three decades of professional investment experience with a lifelong commitment to education, research, and the development of future leaders. His career has spanned investment strategy, portfolio construction, product innovation, across multiple financial markets. Alongside a successful career in investment strategy and portfolio development, he has made a significant contribution to education through teaching, curriculum design, and academic supervision.
An experienced lecturer, examiner, supervisor, and conference speaker, Alex has taught across professional and university programmes and continues to supervise postgraduate research. He serves as an examiner at the UCT Graduate School of Business. While he practices investment-related disciplines with a particular interest in what he calls societal mathematics his pursuit and academic interests lie in the relationship between theory and practice focusing on ethics, education, leadership.
His research on Eudaimonia: Recognising the Impact of a Hidden Ontology informed the development of the Junior Executive MBA (JEMBA). JEMBA has a unique pedagogical design that integrates conceptual understanding (“knowing that”) with practical capability (“knowing how”), a programme that targets designed and measurable change.
Alex holds a Higher Diploma in Taxation from the University of Johannesburg, an MBA from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, and a Higher Education Teaching Certificate from Harvard University. His passion is using his experience and learning to help individuals develop the knowledge, judgement, and practical wisdom required to lead with confidence, integrity, and purpose.
A Commonwealth Scholar, Alexei holds a DPhil in Education from the University of Oxford. His Doctoral research focused on Education for Sustainable Development across Southern Africa. He also earned with distinction a Master’s degree from Oxford in Comparative and International Education. This alongside a triple major undergraduate degree with distinction from the University of Cape Town.
Alexei is the Assistant Head of School at Shawnigan Lake School in British Columbia, Canada, where he oversees the academic programme and leads whole-school innovation at one of Canada’s leading co-educational boarding institutions. He also contributes to the advancement of educational practice as a guest lecturer in the Master’s programme at the University of British Columbia.
Previously, as Director of Academics at Hilton College (South Africa), he led significant curricular innovation, including the introduction of a dual British pathway and pioneering programmes in sustainability and future-focused learning. His international experience includes senior academic leadership in Kenya and advisory work with UNESCO, the World Bank, DFID, and the British Council.
Alexei serves on international sustainability education boards and is widely recognised for his contributions to educational leadership and development.
Isabel Tarling has immersed herself in education and has devoted her life to helping others learn. She holds BEd. (Hons.) an MEd (Management and Leadership) and a PhD (Professional Development and Educational Technologies). Her wealth of academic experience fed directly into practice. Isabel is a learning-science scholar, programme designer, and educational leader with extensive experience across school, higher education, and digital learning environments. Beginning her career as a classroom teacher, she developed a strong practical understanding of how people learn, which she later deepened through postgraduate study and doctoral research in Professional Development and Educational Technologies.
As Founder and CEO of Limina, Isabel leads the design of innovative learning experiences that translate research into meaningful educational practice. She has lectured at the University of Cape Town and the Two Oceans Graduate Institute, and has led major research and learning design projects for organisations including the British Council, GIZ, UNESCO, and the Association of African Universities. Her work is distinguished by its commitment to transforming access to high-quality learning across diverse contexts
Luisa holds a BA Honours degree in Dramatic Art from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has extensive experience in education and educational development, having worked with institutions such as the French School, SpeechWise, and Inlingua Language School. In addition, she is a respected Yoga and Pilates instructor.
Over the years, Luisa has developed a distinctive, integrative approach that combines voice training, yoga, and breathwork to enhance professionalism and personal presence. Her methodology bridges Eastern practices with Western professional expectations, supporting both individuals and corporate clients. She is particularly passionate about early intervention at school level, addressing challenges faced by young adults, including stress, poor concentration, low confidence, and ineffective vocal expression. Her work focuses on fostering wellbeing, resilience, and personal development through mindful movement and breath awareness.
Ilze is an accomplished change-management and human-capital specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in organisational transformation, strategy design, and business turnaround initiatives. She has developed and led leadership-development programmes, business transformation interventions, and tailored coaching solutions that enable individuals and teams to navigate complexity, build resilience, and perform effectively through change.
Passionate about developing emerging talent, Ilze is committed to preparing young professionals for senior leadership by strengthening their judgement, confidence, and capacity to lead.
In addition to her corporate work, Ilze is a trusted facilitator to high-net-worth families. Her work focuses on the human dimensions of wealth: aligning family members around shared values, strategy, legacy, and intergenerational succession. By fostering cohesion, purposeful communication, and long-term preparedness, she helps families sustain both their prosperity and their shared vision across generations.
The heart of JEMBA is our dedicated team, each member bringing a wealth of knowledge, qualification and passion for education. Our faculty comprises academics, seasoned educators, industry leaders, and innovative thinkers, all united in the mission to impart practical wisdom at an earlier age. Convention dictates that practical wisdom (or phronesis) is acquired over time, a lifetime.
Transformative pedagogy allows practical wisdom to be taught compressing a lifetime of experience into a particular and effective toolkit. From our visionary founder to our dynamic instructors, we are a collective force committed to providing an unparalleled learning experience.
JEMBA offers a unique blend of Executive MBA-level content with a focus on understanding Self, Others and Environment (business or institutional). It provides specific tools and knowledge to enable students determine and achieve goals and objectives in co-operation with Others. This sets JEMBA apart. Offering practical and transformative education for young leaders and professionals.
Yes, JEMBA is flexible and can be delivered in-person, online, or in a hybrid format. Programs are designed to meet the diverse needs of individual schools and corporations.
The program typically spans 10 months (academic year) with weekly two-hour sessions during school terms, but this can be adjusted to fit the specific needs of schools. Corporate programs are designed to meet the needs of the client.
The success of the program is largely measured through the students PDP (Personal Development Plan). However the various metrics, including participant feedback, behavioural assessments, and the tangible application of skills learned in real-world scenarios is measured.
For both schools and corporations interested in the JEMBA program, please fill out our enquiry form, and our team will reach out to you to discuss the next steps.
Since its inception, JEMBA has set new standards in educational excellence. Our pilot program at Hilton College was met with resounding success, leading to its establishment as a permanent elective course for Hilton College Grade 10 students. The positive impact of our program is reflected in the remarkable achievements of our students, who have demonstrated significant growth in leadership capabilities, critical thinking, and academic performance. Our student alumni have gone on to prestigious universities and find that the JEMBA experience develops a conceptual grasp, resilience and way of thinking that is required to succeed.