Sureka AsburySureka Asbury

Zambia

 

Occupational Information

Job Title: Head: Advanced Research and Insights Lab, Discovery Invest

Professional History

Sureka heads up the Advanced Research and Insights Lab at Discovery Invest, where she is responsible for the fund analytics and discretionary fund management services business. 

Prior to this, Sureka was the Editor of Trading Africa at global media giant, Reuters News. This position required her to lead a cutting-edge Reuters media initiative that combined analytical insight with market-moving Reuters news, to build a vibrant, real-time investment community. She was able harness her unique mix of investment skills and inherent social media competencies to transform the fledgling platform into an innovative hub that drew hundreds of investment professionals across the African continent every day. She also formulated a news story strategy that culminated in the Trading Africa newsletter having the most successful single community newsletter readership out of all the Reuters financial communities globally.

Sureka was in the founding team that set up Securities Africa, an award-winning Pan-African securities brokerage firm, that was the first of its kind to offer a full-service institutional trading platform capable of executing across all of the continent's 23 stock exchanges. As the head of equity trading, Sureka was responsible for setting up and coordinating the brokerage’s trading function across Africa, growing its commissions tenfold within its first year of operations to establish a multi-million-dollar business. She was also responsible for organising the firm’s annual Pan-Africa conference in partnership with Citigroup, and was frequently interviewed on CNBC Africa as a thought leader on African equity markets.

Sureka is passionate about social justice and being a force for change by using investment in a strategic and thoughtful manner to make a tangible impact and accelerate development. In 2020, she was awarded the CFA Institute’s Women’s scholarship for her studies in the program and she is an academic supervisor for MBA candidates at the GIBS Business School, with a particular interest in financial inclusion, impact investing and microfinance. She was the treasurer for the Johannesburg Chapter of volunteer organisation Organizing for Africa, and in 2015 she co-founded Volunteer Afrika, a not-for-profit organisation that mobilised volunteers to assist NGO's with targeted pro bono work.

In 2021, she was one of 316 finalists out of more than 14,000 nominations for Discovery's prestigious internal recognition program for excellence, the Star Awards.

Always up for a challenge, Sureka has been on many adventures - not least, jumping the world's highest SCAD free fall. She is also a sports enthusiast and is classically trained in piano and violin.

Qualifications

Bachelors Degree in Accounting Science from the University of South Africa
Master of Business Administration (thesis with distinction) – GIBS Business School, University of Pretoria

Programme

2016 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow

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About AFLI

 

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The African Leadership Institute (AFLI) focuses on building the capacity and capability of visionary and strategic leadership across the continent. Developing exceptional leaders representing all spheres of society, the Institute’s flagship programme is the prestigious Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship. Offering a multifaceted learning experience and run in partnership with Oxford University, it is awarded annually to 20-25 carefully chosen candidates, nominated from across Africa. Alumni of the African Leadership Institute form a dynamic network of Fellows passionately committed to the continent’s transformation, bridging the divide between nations and ensuring that Africa is set centre-stage in global affairs.