Nerissa is a seasoned entrepreneur, CEO and board member. She is a co-founder and the CEO of āxil, a fintech creating a smart wallet for small businesses. She was appointed as a board member to multiple businesses globally over the last 4 years. Her directive is to advise on the overall operating model, growth and revenue generation strategies as the businesses mature or gain strategic funding. Prior to āxil, Nerissa has filled numerous senior executive roles in her two-decade corporate career, to manage and grow global businesses, provide board oversight, manage a 5000+ global workforce, and perform multinational strategic turnarounds in Fortune 100 companies. As a native South African who grew up in Apartheid, Nerissa has been a proponent of equality and strives to break the mould of stereotypes in gender, race and professional norms. She has been a keynote speaker on diversity and inclusion, and led discussions on systemic inequality and racial injustice. Nerissa was selected as a Young Global Leader in the World Economic Forum in 2019, and subsequently was elected Chair of its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Advisory Group in 2021. She featured in the Financial Times as a leader to watch