Honey Mamabolo is a seasoned executive, business coach, and keynote speaker who brings boardroom credibility and coaching depth to every engagement. A former CEO and first female Managing Director of the South African Mint, she has spent over two decades leading in corporate finance, energy, and business transformation, and now channels that experience into coaching, facilitation, and dynamic business masterclasses that move people to action. She works with senior executives, founders, and high-potential leaders who are ready to lead with clarity, purpose, and bold strategy. Honey believes that when purpose and passion converge, the impossible becomes inevitable. Her invitation to every leader she works with: “Start Your Impossible.”

Honey is a certified executive and business coach with over 20 years of multi-sectoral corporate experience, including development finance, private equity, and business turnaround. She brings over 500 coaching hours delivered across multiple organisational and management levels, from emerging leaders to C-Suite executives, making her one of the few coaches who combine deep operational leadership with accredited coaching practice. Her expertise spans leadership development, strategy, business growth, and personal transformation.

As a certified NLP practitioner and life coach, she empowers clients to overcome self-limiting beliefs, align with their purpose, and create lasting positive change. Her track record in business growth and turnaround is a distinctive differentiator: she has led organisations through complex transitions, restructuring, and performance recovery, giving her clients the rare advantage of a coach who has sat in the seat they occupy. With over 15 years of non-executive board director’s experience, including board committee chair roles, she brings governance depth that sharpens the strategic thinking of every leader she coaches. Her blending of directive guidance and coaching has equipped founders, senior managers, and executives with the strategic and financial acumen to scale ventures, secure funding, and drive sustainable growth, especially in impact-driven sectors.

Areas of Specialisation

• Executive Coaching & Transition – Supporting leaders through career shifts and personal growth.
• Business Growth Coaching – Empowering founders and executives to scale strategically, optimise financial performance, and build investor-ready and friendly ventures
• Transformational Change – Guiding organizations through major transitions.
• Cross-Cultural Leadership – Helping leaders navigate diverse environments.
• Board Governance – Advising boards on strategy and succession planning.
• Ikigai Coaching – Helping clients discover their purpose and passion.
• Mindset Coaching – Developing resilience and emotional intelligence.

Honey’s coaching philosophy centres on empowering clients to unlock their potential in a supportive, non-judgmental space. She tailors her approach, drawing on various coaching models and evidence-based methodologies. Her style blends collaboration, challenge, and encouragement to help clients achieve their goals.

Client Testimonials

“Honey has transformed my leadership journey, helping me navigate complex challenges with clarity and confidence.” – VP SHEQ, SA
“Her strategic insights and supportive yet challenging guidance have empowered me with confidence and actionable strategies.” – Managing Director, Kenya

“She has inspired me to remove limiting beliefs and align my vision, restoring my confidence on the path to greatness.” – Senior IT Manager, SA

Honey’s corporate expertise spans corporate finance, investment, and business transformation across multiple sectors, including financial services, energy, and manufacturing. She was the first female Managing Director of the South African Mint, a subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank. Prior to that, she was the CEO of Thebe Unico, a leading automotive chemicals manufacturer for OEMS and oil majors, earning recognition among Kwazulu-Natal’s Top 50 Businesswomen. She was a runner-up for SEIFSA’s Businesswoman of the Year (2023) and won the 2024 Pan African Women Empowerment Award for Women in Energy and Mining. As senior manager in charge of business development, corporate finance and strategy at Thebe Investment Corporation, she led a team of investment professionals in capital raising, deal origination, structuring and portfolio performance management. Honey served as green energy specialist at the IDC, managing two clean energy funds with a combined value of ZAR 1 billion and participation in corporate and project finance renewable energy deals. She also served as Director of Operations and Senior Energy Consultant for Energy Solutions Africa, advising the Department of Minerals and Energy on petroleum policy.

Her early career was spent in various roles in the financial service sector leading business and technology transformation projects in retail banking and health insurance. A trailblazer in STEM, Honey was among the first three Black female chemical engineering graduates from the University of Pretoria.

Favourite Quote: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” – Nelson Mandela