Our Stories

At first glance, engineering systems, leading IT teams and writing fiction may seem like very different worlds. But for Priyen Naidu, Head of IT at Aspen SA Commercial, they are all connected by the same thread: curiosity, creativity and a deep desire to build something meaningful.

Aspen is proud to announce that it has been ranked 9th overall in the EY Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards 2026, placing the Group among South Africa’s leading integrated reporters.

Our Group Senior Executive: Strategic Trade, Stavros Nicolaou, recently participated in an interview with Executive Forecast, a South African publication, where he shared his perspectives on healthcare transformation and the pharmaceutical strategies needed to strengthen access, resilience and sustainability across Africa.

Our Group Chief Operations Officer, Lorraine Hill, recently joined a diverse panel of industry leaders at the Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing Studies’ breakfast seminar, in Durban. Held during South Africa’s Women’s Month, under the theme Gender, Generation and Leadership in the Manufacturing Sector, the session created an important platform for reflection on the progress made in advancing gender equity, the challenges that remain, and the leadership required to build a more inclusive and future-ready manufacturing sector.

Last month, our Group Senior Executive: Strategic Trade, Stavros Nicolaou, participated in the 9th Annual SADC Industrialisation Week, alongside Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Blade Nzimande. The event was held from 27 to 31 July 2026 at the Durban International Convention Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

August marked Women’s Month in South Africa, and we were proud to spotlight Amanda Strydom, Aspen’s Group Executive: Digital Technology — a leader helping to shape the future of our organisation through innovation, transformation and digital enablement.

In July, our Group Senior Executive: Strategic Trade, Stavros Nicolaou, represented Aspen at the 2026 Manufacturing Indaba, one of Africa’s leading platforms for advancing industrial growth, localisation and manufacturing-led economic development. This year, there was a particular focus on establishing domestic and regional pharmaceutical value chains for export led growth into the African continent in line with the African Union’s ambition to produce 60% of Africa’s pharmaceutical requirements in Africa by 2040.

Earlier this year, Aspen EME collaborated with the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) to deliver a series of educational webinars for healthcare professionals focused on Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM). Held in March, April and June 2026, the sessions provided a valuable platform for expert-led learning and scientific exchange on an important, yet often overlooked, aspect of women’s health.