Helen Kruger sits at an intersection most people don’t even know exists — where brand strategy meets ethical AI implementation. With two decades of real-world branding experience as founder of Brand Expert, Helen has partnered with SMEs and large corporates across South Africa, turning brand visions into tangible business results. She knows what it takes to build trust with audiences — and she knows how quickly that trust can be lost when technology is deployed without care. That hard-won perspective is what led her to Oxford. Equipped with AI for Business from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Helen founded humanITLoop — a consultancy built on a single conviction: that AI only works when the people it affects are kept at the centre of it. Her approach is deliberate and practical. Not automation for its own sake. Not technology as a shortcut. But human-in-the-loop systems that preserve brand voice, uphold values, and give organisations the confidence to adopt AI responsibly — and in ways that actually stick. Helen is a proud alumna of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women programme (GIBS, 2011) and the founder of Boksburg Community Project NPC, a grassroots non-profit focused on community upliftment, safety, and local pride. She brings that same commitment to lifting others into her work — mentoring small business owners and championing ethical, sustainable practices across every engagement. If you’re ready to implement AI with integrity — not just speed — Helen is the person to have in your corner.

Desiree Lee has spent her career at the place where human behaviour meets technology — and she understands, better than most, that changing what people do is far harder than changing what tools they have. It starts with the brain. As founder of Sharp Brain Centre and a qualified Neuro Leadership and Development specialist, Desiree spent years as a positive mindset coach and workshop facilitator — studying the neuroscience of how people adopt change, resist it, and ultimately embrace it. That foundation gave her something rare: a deep understanding of the human side of transformation, long before AI became part of the conversation. She went on to apply those insights at scale. As a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand for a decade, she explored how disruptive design and social engagement could shift behaviour in health and wellness. And as co-founder of iShareIT — South Africa’s first DIY mobile app development platform — she built real digital products and watched real people use them, learning firsthand what makes technology stick and what makes it fail. Desiree brings this rare combination — behavioural neuroscience, academic research, and hands-on tech development — into her work at humanITLoop. Where others focus on the AI, she focuses on the people adopting it. She is also co-founder of the Boksburg Community Project NPC, bringing the same human-centred approach to community infrastructure and local development.