Dr Thembisile Xulu is an esteemed leader in public health and a certified director® with the Institute of Directors of Southern Africa (IoDSA). She currently serves as the CEO of the South African National Aids Council (SANAC) and chairperson of the South African Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). Thembisile holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, diplomas in obstetrics and HIV management (both from the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa) and a master’s in public health (health policy and health management) from the University of Witwatersrand. She is also a 2010 Yale University World Fellow.

Thembisile has held key leadership roles in for-profit as well as non-profit entities, driving significant advancements in HIV, TB and STIs prevention, treatment, care and support across Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Indonesia and the Caribbean. During her tenure at Right to Care, she was chief of party of the EQUIP Consortium – the first fully African-led consortium of partners – where she spearheaded the rapid scale-up of innovative HIV treatment and prevention strategies in over 10 PEPFAR-supported countries. Thembisile currently serves as chairperson of the Global HIV Prevention’s HIV Leadership Forum and is a member of the scientific advisory board of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA).