Dr Shirley Zinn

Dr Shirley Zinn is the former Group Head of Human Resources at Woolworths Holdings Limited. Prior to this, she was the Head of Human Resources of Standard Bank; head of HR at Nedbank, SARS, and Reckitt (Africa & Middle East). She was an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Human Resource Management, and former Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town. 

She hails from the Cape Flats in Cape Town and started her career as a secondary school teacher of English, then moved to the University of the Western Cape where she lectured in Teacher Education. She currently serves as an independent non-executive director on several JSE listed Boards (Sanlam, MTN-SA, SpurCorp, Spar Group), as well as Foundations, Trusts, NPOs and Academic Advisory Boards. In particular, she is a Trustee on the Dr Aadil Moerat Medical Bursary Trust. 

She is committed to serving as a Trustee to support the legacy of anti-apartheid activist Dr Aadil Moerat. This legacy lives on in bursary beneficiaries. The bursary targets financially needy under-graduate students who want to study in the health sciences at the four universities in the Western Cape. Dr Moerat, also known as the “people’s doctor”, was a general practitioner and anti-apartheid activist, revered by many for his community health activism, and his commitment to justice. The fund was converted into a trust to ensure its longevity and keep his legacy alive. Shirley also attended South Peninsula High School a few years ahead of Aadil. 

She also served on the University of Cape Town Council and is the Past President for the Harvard Alumni Association, South Africa. She is also the Chairperson of the V&A Waterfront and WESGRO.

In 2015, she wrote her autobiography, a best seller, entitled “Swimming Upstream” which focuses on her personal and professional journey. She holds a BA (University of the Western Cape); Higher Diploma in Education (University of the Western Cape); B.Ed Honours (UNISA); M.Ed (University of the Western Cape); Ed.M (Harvard), and Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) (Harvard).

She has been awarded several Top Women in Business and Government awards, and has completed 9 Two Oceans Half marathons.