Dr Michele Ruiters

Senior Lecturer at GIBS

Dr Michele Ruiters has worked on Africa’s multilateral policy and academic-related approaches to development on the continent. She is a permanent faculty member of the Gordon Institute for Business Science (GIBS) of the University of Pretoria, and previously lectured in several universities. Her interest is in human and organisational behaviour, diversity and inclusion, and, inclusive and justice-based organisations and women’s leadership. She is focused on building and growing the capacity of humans (especially women) to deal with self, others and institutions.

Michele has worked in the financial/development finance sector for most of her working career but still uses her NGO lens to understand why, where and how development should happen. She spent 12 years with the Development Bank of Southern Africa where she worked on regional integration, BRICS, South-South cooperation, gender mainstreaming and research in energy, transport, ICT and water and sanitation. She was the contact point for the SADC Regional Infrastructure Strategic Development Master Plan (RISDMP) and the G-8’s Infrastructure Consortium for Africa’s (ICA) Africa Infrastructure Trends report. She also collaborated with other DFIs in the International Development Finance Club (IDFC).

Her passion is for women and development issues, which she indulged in as the gender focal person at the DBSA. She has expert knowledge of infrastructure development in Africa and about the strategic interests of Africa’s development partners from around the world. She has a vast experience in public private relations and continues to have links with government partners.

She was a Fulbright Scholar and has a PhD from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in Political Science, and a Master’s degree in International Relations from Rhodes University. In 2018, she completed a Master’s degree in Commerce (Development Finance) at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town.

Michele has held several board positions on the continent including with Development Bank of Zambia (2015 – 2021), the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (2012 – 2015) and the Zimbabwean Women’s Research and Network Centre (ZWRCN) (2006 – 2016). She is currently the President of Convocation for Rhodes University.

Qualifications:

  • PhD (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA)
  • Certificate in Women’s Studies (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA)
  • MA Development Finance (UCT)
  • MA International Relations (RU)
  • BA Hons Political Science (UWC)
  • BA Journalism (RU)
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