Ms Tanya Cohen is a seasoned business leader and policy negotiator. She has played a leading role within business to deliver social compacts that include the National Minimum Wage, the Presidential Jobs Summit Framework Agreement, the Presidential Health Compact and formulating future of work strategies for South Africa.

Cohen’s expertise is in building bridges between business and the public sector, as well as other social partners, to craft innovative solutions to complex development dilemmas across diverse policy areas. Cohen works with the Public Private Growth Initiative, a government and business intermediary which focuses on rapidly unblocking key constraints to inclusive growth and employment.

She is the former CEO of Business Unity South Africa, and has served as chair of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Governing Body, and as a commissioner at the Commission for Employment Equity. She is an attorney, and holds a BA, LLM, LLM (Laws) – all obtained from the University of the Witwatersrand. She espouses South Africa’s constitutional values and is driven by a deep commitment to the country’s development.