The shortlist for the Specialty Coffee Association of Southern Africa Board of Directors has been released.
Why is the BoD important?
These elected officials will determine the future of SCASA for the next two years - that's all the coffee competitions (Regionals and Nationals), it's coffee education, it's potentially some new events (given the last board was three people and this new board can have up to eight) and a lot more...because human agency is EVERYTHING!
The rules state that you have to be a paid up member in order to vote. Currently according to the SCASA website, there are only 38 of these. In the whole country. As we know, voting is extremely important - look at American Politics in 2016 or BREXIT for examples of what apathy allows to happen!
Voting closes on the 30th September 2024 - you can become a SCASA member here.
Once you or your coffee company have registered, you will be sent a link to a Google Form which has the nominees on it. It appears in the order below, though no other information on each person is given. So we are providing some info below on the nominated people so you can make a more informed decision.
Chris Rootman
Chris is the National Beverage Head at TriBeCa. He has been a SCASA board member before, and he has run many coffee competitions for SCASA in the past. He has been a former competitor, competition organiser, Barista Trainer and has worked at coffee companies such as Nino's VDP and Beaver Creek.
Claire Strydom
Claire is Head of Supply at SEAM Coffee. She is no stranger to the SCASA Coffee Competitions, having previously been part of the leadership of a very successful competitive team at Beethoven Coffee Co for many years. She has extensive knowledge of sourcing, roasting and serving coffee and has a large focus on coffee education. Claire is a SCA accredited trainer.
George Robinson
George is currently the Key Accounts and Business Development Manager at Ultimate Water, but will likely be more well known to the coffee industry through his work at Genio Roasters, over the past 4 1/2 years, where he was the Sales Director. George has great relationships in coffee, both locally and Internationally, as well as technical, sales and leadership abilities.
Gesant Abed
Gesant is a civil engineer and Senior Project Manager at SWM Capital Projects Branch at City of Cape Town Solid Waste Management. He is also owner of Against the Grain Coffee Co and was nominated for a Coffee Magazine Awards in 2022.
Henning Lubbe
Henning is a Senior Lecturer, Hospitality Professional and 5 Star Service Consultant with a background in Hospitality, Skills Development and Tertiary Education. He is most well known to the Coffee Industry as a National Barista Competition Judge at the SCASA events.
Jason Zeeman
Jason owns Greenroom Live, an event company, and is responsible for the Specialty Coffee Expo, running at Fourways Mall in Johannesburg for the last three years bringing specialty coffee to different consumers. He previously worked in the music Industry and owned a cafe, Brewtown Coffee Company.
Kwandile is currently the Business Development Manager at the African School of Coffee in Cape Town and has previous experience in Operations, Politics (BOSA) and Sales.
Roan is currently a SCASA Board member and is a Managing Member at Ultimate Water. He has extensive experience at the SCASA Coffee Competitions in his role as a Sensory Judge and has also had experience as Owner of a coffee company, Big Bay Beach Brew.
Salman is the Academic Head at HTA Blended Learning Apprenticeships. He is known to the Coffee Industry through his role as a SCASA Judge and his research and presentation of coffee consumer insights as recently as the 2024 Creative Coffee Week.
Sam is National Customer Service Manager at Ciro Beverage Solutions and has over 17 years of coffee experience. Sam has been a Top Barista competitor, Barista Trainer, a leadership figure in multiple coffee companies and has also been a SCASA Board member before.
Sinjon is the Brand manager at La Marzocco South Africa. He started his career in coffee as a barista almost a decade ago. He has worked in equipment sales, marketing and events. He has a long relationship with the SCASA coffee competitions, from competitor to technical support to emcee over the years.
Tim works at the KZN branch of Ciro Beverage Solutions and has been involved in the SCASA Coffee Competitions as a competitor and a Judge since 2013, and currently leads the Judges training and is Head Judge at the SCASA Nationals. He has been a barista, barista trainer, cafe manager, coach, technical support and sales director on the cafe side of the coffee industry for more than a decade.
So cast your vote and make your contribution to the growing coffee industry.
