YLS 2026 - Dr Abdullah Verachia - The Leaders Who Win Tomorrow Are Making Different Decisions Today

Youth Leadership Summit 2026 Dr Abdullah Verachia is a globally recognised strategist, systems thinker, venture builder, and CEO of The Strategists, trusted by boards, governments and Fortune 500 firms to navigate disruption and craft competitive future strategies. He is senior faculty at GIBS, Head of Faculty for Strategy, Sustainability and Digital, Director of the Harvard Business School Senior Executive Programme (Africa), and holds the inaugural MultiChoice chair in Sport, Media and Entertainment. With a PhD in Strategy and Dynamic Capabilities, GMP (Harvard Business School), MIM cum laude (Wits Business School) and LLB (UJ), he has led over 300 strategy assignments globally, including the 2017–2030 Gauteng Economic Development strategy, and the Mauritius Competitiveness foresight strategy. Abdullah is a successful entrepreneur and co-founder of Digicars, The Collective Genius and Frontier Advisory (acquired by Deloitte). He is also a best-selling author of Disruption Amplified, and a globally sought-after speaker who has delivered keynotes in more than 70 cities worldwide.