Dr Babalwa “Babs” Maholwana Appointed CEO of Setshaba Research Centre

SRC is pleased to officially welcome Dr Babalwa “Babs” Maholwana as its Chief Executive Officer, effective October 1, 2023. Simultaneously, we express our gratitude to Dr Khatija Ahmed, the founding CEO, for her exceptional leadership over the last twenty years. We are also delighted to confirm that Dr Ahmed will continue to be part of the organisation’s executive committee in her new position as Chief of External Relations and Capacity Building.

Dr Babs is a highly experienced executive with over 15 years of expertise in the pharmaceutical and health industries. She has gained experience working for various multinational organisations such as Servier, Pfizer, Abbott, and Novo Nordisk. Additionally, she has extensive experience in various managerial and executive positions within Clinical Development, Research Operations, and Medical and Regulatory Affairs. Her expertise spans across a diverse range of areas, including non-profit HIV research, women’s health, diabetes, and obesity. She has worked with organisations such as the Medicines Control Council (now known as the South African Health Products Regulatory Agency, or SAHPRA) and the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM).

Dr Babs earned her MBChB degree from the University of Natal in 1999. In the early years of her clinical career, she was awarded a Fellowship grant by the Medical Research Council. Additionally, she has published in the field of women’s health. She has successfully completed the Global Executive Development Programme (GEDP) at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in 2016, achieving distinction. In 2021, Dr Babs further pursued a GIBS Masters in Philosophy (MPhil) with a specialisation in corporate strategy.

In the past two years, she has been instrumental in driving a strategic emphasis on sustainable growth, impact, and process innovation at SRC. Serving others is what drives her and she is passionate about empowerment, enhancing employee engagement, transformational leadership and productivity.

We welcome her with confidence and enthusiasm as she leads SRC towards its next phase of growth and global health impact.