admin Carina Wessels, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, is a legal expert, a respected international and local non-executive director, an audit committee member, a keynote speaker, and a featured writer. With an impressive academic background, including an LLB and two LLM degrees in Labour Law and Extractive Industry Law in Africa, as well as executive education from Harvard Business School, Carina has carved out a remarkable career in governance, compliance, and business leadership.
A Unique Career Path
Carina’s journey into the legal profession was unconventional. While studying law, she sold cost recovery software to attorneys, an experience that gave her valuable insights into the legal industry. Surprisingly, many lawyers she interacted with were unhappy in their roles, prompting her to consider alternative career paths. She briefly worked as a client services manager in a hospital before realising that her passion lay firmly in law.
She then transitioned into corporate law, initially focusing on labour law before expanding her expertise into corporate governance and commercial law. Over the years, she gained experience across multiple domains, including finance, risk management, business improvement, and sustainability. Her career trajectory took a significant turn when she spent nine years at De Beers and later at Investec, further solidifying her expertise in governance and corporate management.
At just 33, Carina secured her first executive role at Exxaro in 2011, a position that allowed her to deepen her understanding of the extractive industry, prompting her to pursue a second master’s degree. Later, she joined Alexforbes, where her responsibilities grew to encompass governance, legal, compliance, and sustainability, placing her at the forefront of the company’s strategic direction.
“Beyond the transformation of Alexforbes, I was transformed into what I believe to be the best version of myself.”
Why Alexforbes?
After spending most of her career in the mining industry, Carina sought to diversify her experience. Alexforbes presented the perfect opportunity for a new challenge, and she joined during a period of strategic transformation. The experience proved to be both rewarding and transformative, pushing her to grow as a leader.
Beyond contributing to Alexforbes’ evolution, Carina describes her time at the company as a personal transformation, shaping her into what she believes is the best version of herself. Her impact has been instrumental in guiding the company’s governance, compliance, and sustainability strategies.
A Leadership Approach Rooted in Authenticity
Carina defines her leadership style as authentic transformational leadership—adaptive, strategic, and people-focused. She believes that being authentic has become more prominent in her career, and she continuously evolves by learning, unlearning, and relearning. Over time, she has transitioned from focusing on having the right answers to asking the right questions.
At Alexforbes, she fosters a culture of mentorship, encouraging employees to seek guidance from colleagues they admire. While formal mentorship programmes exist, she values organic mentor-mentee relationships and regularly engages with young professionals on LinkedIn, dedicating time to mentoring aspiring leaders.
“I continue to evolve through learning, unlearning, and relearning.”
Building a Strong Organisational Culture
A shared sense of purpose is at the core of Carina’s leadership philosophy. She encourages her teams to see themselves as business professionals first, with their legal, governance, or compliance expertise serving as a secondary function. This mindset fosters continuous improvement, client-centricity, and a business-oriented approach.
Trust, transparency, honesty, passion, and a strong work ethic are non-negotiable values within her team. She believes that governance, legal, and compliance functions should work in harmony rather than operating in silos. By promoting resource sharing, cross-skilling, and succession planning, Carina ensures efficiency and collaboration within Alexforbes.
Strategic Priorities for Alexforbes
Carina plays a key role in driving Alexforbes’ growth strategies, both organically and inorganically. She works closely with the CEO and CFO, managing legal aspects of mergers and acquisitions while also shaping broader strategic initiatives.
One of her major focus areas is leading the Impact Advisory division, which delivers ESG insights and sustainability advice to corporate clients and retirement funds. Her goal is to establish this division as a key revenue contributor for Alexforbes, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sustainability.
Overcoming Legal Challenges
Throughout her career, Carina has navigated complex and high-stakes legal challenges. She has handled sensitive executive investigations, dismissals, and litigation cases requiring both legal expertise and strong conviction.
One particularly challenging experience involved an M&A transaction with a US counterparty during the early COVID-19 market downturn. The deal, initially negotiated over several months, no longer made commercial sense due to the economic impact of the pandemic. Within 48 hours, Carina and her team renegotiated and successfully terminated the transaction. Despite these challenges, they still had to hold a shareholder meeting to approve a secondary aspect of the deal. As a result, Alexforbes became the first company in South Africa to conduct a fully electronic shareholder meeting during the country’s lockdown.
Embracing Emerging Technologies
Carina recognises the growing role of technology in legal and compliance functions. One of the most significant developments is the rise of generative AI, particularly in intellectual property law, where issues surrounding AI-generated content ownership are becoming increasingly complex. She believes businesses must stay ahead of technological advancements to ensure compliance and risk mitigation.
“To encourage a positive evolution in corporate governance, we require ethical leaders who are motivated by more than just compliance but also have a deep understanding of value creation, impact, and sustainability.”
The Evolving Role of Governance
Carina is a strong advocate for governance as a driver of ethical culture, sustainable performance, and corporate legitimacy. She notes that some companies still treat governance as a mere formality, rather than recognising its strategic value.
With increasing regulation, she hopes businesses will embrace governance as an enabler of long-term value creation rather than simply complying with rules. However, she also acknowledges the risk that excessive regulation may lead to superficial compliance rather than genuine commitment to good governance.
She believes that ethical leadership is the key to fostering a positive corporate governance culture. Leaders who prioritise value creation, sustainability, and long-term impact over short-term gains can create a more responsible and resilient business environment.
Preparing for the Future
Carina emphasises the importance of broad-based knowledge in today’s corporate landscape. To stay relevant, professionals need to go beyond technical expertise and develop a well-rounded skill set. She advocates for the “T-shaped professional” model, where individuals have deep expertise in one area while also possessing broad business acumen across multiple disciplines.
Governance and Sustainability: A Crucial Connection
Carina sees ESG and governance as inseparable elements of corporate responsibility. Strong governance is essential for implementing sustainability frameworks effectively. Without governance structures in place, ESG initiatives can lack credibility and long-term impact.
She believes that organisations must take an integrated approach, ensuring that sustainability efforts align with governance principles. This alignment helps businesses create meaningful social and environmental impact while maintaining ethical and transparent operations.
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