Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, January 2026 — Imagine Worldwide has appointed Dr Sane Ngidi as Director of People, a leadership role responsible for driving the organisation’s global people and organisational effectiveness strategy as it scales its mission of tablet-based learning solutions that help children become literate and numerate. In this capacity, Dr Ngidi will partner closely with the Co-CEO, senior leadership team and the Board to build future-ready workforce strategies, high-performance talent systems, and a values-led culture across countries and time zones.
In her new mandate at Imagine Worldwide, Dr Sane Ngidi is expected to lead workforce planning, organisational design, talent and performance management, leadership capability building, learning, and transformation—ensuring the organisation remains structurally and culturally equipped to expand its impact globally while strengthening employer-of-choice aspirations.
Before joining Imagine Worldwide, Dr Ngidi spent about four years with the Gates Foundation as Africa Human Resources Lead, providing HR leadership across multiple country offices on the continent, shaping the talent, culture, structure, and people processes required to deliver mission outcomes. In that portfolio, she partnered with regional and global stakeholders to translate business strategy into people and organisation priorities, while also leading teams responsible for core HR lifecycle execution and operational support for staff across Africa and broader EMEEA-connected stakeholders.
Earlier, she served for about two and a half years with Heidrick & Struggles as Principal: Heidrick Consulting, delivering leadership and organisational advisory across Sub-Saharan Africa. Her consulting work spanned team acceleration, assessment for development, succession management, organisational design, and DEI, helping clients strengthen leadership capability and organisational effectiveness in high-change environments.
Alongside her executive leadership work, Dr Ngidi has also held visible professional and academic responsibilities, including serving as SIOPSA President (2025/2026) and lecturing at the University of Pretoria. She is also the Founder of Ngisamila | Dr Sane Ngidi, a platform focused on inspiring authentic leadership and community impact. Notably, she completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of Johannesburg, with research examining perceptions of African female leaders and the influence of organisational culture, networks, and sponsorship in reducing bias and accelerating leadership advancement.
About Imagine Worldwide
Imagine Worldwide empowers children globally to build foundational literacy and numeracy skills needed to reach their full potential.
Through an innovative education technology model, Imagine Worldwide addresses the global learning crisis with a scalable, evidence-based solution designed to reach millions of the most marginalised children.
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