Open to opportunities

Abhilasha Seetal

@abhilashaseetal

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Strategic program and transformation leader driving inclusive, measurable business impact.

South Africa

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What I'm looking for

I seek senior roles leading large, strategic transformation programs where I can drive governance, inclusive growth, and measurable impact across cloud and empowerment initiatives.

I am a Strategic Program Director and Transformation Leader with over 20 years' experience driving large-scale initiatives across technology, finance, and empowerment sectors. I align complex programs with corporate objectives to enable sustainable organizational success.

At SAP I led global cloud PoP programs and strategic transformation workstreams from concept to board-level approval, delivering market-entry assessments, governance frameworks, and performance reporting tools such as the Enigma Dashboard. I champion process excellence, stakeholder alignment, and data-driven decision making.

Previously I led transformation, diversity & inclusion for SAP Africa and PwC South Africa, improving B-BBEE levels dramatically, launching graduate and supplier development programs, and earning national awards for transformation excellence. I have strong governance experience and a track record of securing and managing multi-million budgets.

I bring pragmatic leadership, meticulous attention to detail, and collaborative stakeholder management to drive inclusive growth and compliance. I am motivated to deliver measurable outcomes that advance both business objectives and social impact.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Trustee

Current

SAP South Africa Empowerment Trust

Jan 2020 - Present (6 years 1 month)

Serve as governance trustee overseeing fund disbursement to disadvantaged IT students, aligning beneficiary selection and funding with B-BBEE objectives to support skills development and economic inclusion.

Governance B BBEE Alignment

Senior Manager: Strategy & Programs

SAP

Jan 2022 - Dec 2025 (3 years 11 months)

Led SAP’s global Point of Presence (PoP) program from concept through board approval and delivery, securing executive investment for new regional PoPs and implementing KPI/SLA reporting that improved cross-functional transparency and governance.

Stakeholder Management

Strategic Program Lead

SAP

Mar 2021 - Dec 2021 (9 months)

Led a corporate transformation workstream delivering governance, strategy execution, and five operational workstreams (DORA, DevEx dashboard, CI/CD integration), establishing steering committees and KPI-driven reporting to accelerate decision-making.

Program Management Governance DORA CI CD Developer Experience KPIs Stakeholder Engagement performance reporting

Head of Transformation, Diversity & Inclusion

SAP

May 2018 - Feb 2021 (2 years 9 months)

Led SAP Africa’s DE&I and B-BBEE strategy, improving B-BBEE level from 5 to 2, launching gender inclusion and supplier development programs, and operationalizing graduate and ESD pipelines to advance representation and supplier inclusion.

Diversity & Inclusion B BBEE Strategy Stakeholder Engagement Governance Program Delivery Talent Development

Transformation Manager

PwC

Sep 2013 - May 2018 (4 years 8 months)

Led PwC South Africa’s transformation strategy across B-BBEE, Employment Equity and Supplier Development, managing a ZAR 35M+ budget and lifting the B-BBEE level from 4 to 1 while earning national awards for transformation excellence.

B BBEE Compliance Budget Management Stakeholder Management Reporting & Compliance

Group BEE Manager

First Technology Holdings

Feb 2012 - Sep 2013 (1 year 7 months)

Designed and executed group-wide transformation and B-BBEE strategy including Employment Equity, Skills Development and CSR, acting as transformation custodian and aligning governance with business growth and compliance.

B BBEE Strategy Employment Equity Act Corporate Governance & Compliance Stakeholder Management

Relationship and Project Manager

Empowerdex

Jan 2010 - Jan 2012 (2 years)

Managed client-facing transformation advisory and B-BBEE verification operations, delivering compliance solutions and managing high-value corporate accounts and analyst teams to ensure successful empowerment ratings.

Client Management Project Management Stakeholder Engagement Advisory Services Team Leadership Compliance Reporting

Various Roles (Commercial Banking)

Absa Bank

Apr 1999 - May 2009 (10 years 1 month)

Held progressive roles across commercial banking, asset finance, legal & compliance and relationship management, delivering client-centric solutions, exceeding sales targets and supporting risk and operational functions.