Aretha Cooper (Phd) Email & Phone Number

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

We help drive impactful innovation by connecting businesses with developer communities.

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

In this role, I was responsible for leading OfferZen’s strategic partnership with Investec and driving our joint mission of making Programmable Banking a reality in SA. Over the course of the partnership, we grew the Programmable Banking developer community to over 1000+ individuals and were successful in empowering developers to innovate in the traditionally inaccessible banking space. The project was spun out of OfferZen in 2022 as a new company, Make.dev, that continues to focus on building developer communities to drivie impactful innovation.

Stellenbosch, South Africa

This is a senior management role where I am responsible for the project-management team, leading three direct reports. I manage an insurance-related program comprising 12 projects and 60 people. This included the Kimi project launched by MMI. I am part of MANCO and help to ensure program alignment to company strategic goals. Responsibilities include:• Program delivery and strategic management of end-to-end lifecycle of project deliverables, including delivery roadmaps, prioritisation, resource allocation, scheduling and release management.• Leadership and guidance to project managers on Project Management Office (PMO) processes, procedures and standards.• Stakeholder management and communication on status, outcomes, constraints and risk assessments.• Operational enablement of SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) teams.• Involvement in the development and implementation of new processes across multi-disciplinary teams to create optimised ways of working and improved reporting techniques.• Additional focus on human resources and business operations: working closely with the remuneration committee, resource planning across the business as well as conflict mediation.

Stellenbosch, South Africa

This began as a traditional project management role, taking on the additional responsibilities of a Product Owner in July 2017. Responsibilities included:• Management of end-to end delivery of projects: requirement facilitation through to implementation. Coordination of 7 internal teams as well as external engagement when necessary.• User story mapping, requirement writing, product roadmaps and working directly with the developers to prioritise features and make product decisions.• Working with the SDLC and aligning projects with software deliverables

Stellenbosch, South Africa

This was a research role which included aspects of project management. Responsibilities included:• Scientific literature reviews to inform and guide research development, requirement facilitation and basic data processing and analysis.• Internal and external experimental study design, coordination and project management.• Management of external relationships and identification of potential research collaborators.

Stellenbosch

This was a research role which included aspects of project management. Responsibilities included:• Scientific literature reviews to inform and guide research development, requirement facilitation and basic data processing and analysis.• Internal and external experimental study design, coordination and project management.• Management of external relationships and identification of potential research collaborators.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Cell/Cellular And Molecular Biology

• Thesis title: A tumour suppressor role for the T-box transcription factor TBX3 in fibroblasts • Presented a poster at 2 international.

Masters Of Science Medicine, Cell/Cellular And Molecular Biology, Upgraded To A Phd

• Awards: Stella & Paul Lowenstein Trust Postgraduate Medical Scholarship, Masters Prestigious National Research Foundation Scholarship.

Bachelor Of Science Medicine (Honours), Cell/Cellular And Molecular Biology, First Class Pass (Top Mark)

• Awards: UCT Council Honours Merit Award, Best Cell Biology Honours Presentation.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Human Genetics And Biochemistry, Distinction

• Awards: Class Medal (Top Mark) for 2 classes, Dean’s Merit List, UCT Science Faculty Merit Scholarship