Anushka Bogdanov, founder of Risk Insights.
Anushka Bogdanov, who has been the subject of a Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) censure, is “stepping down” from Risk Insights, the company she founded.
In her stead, former Public Investment Corporation (PIC) chief investment officer and CEO Dr Dan Matjila will join Risk Insights as a director.
This, after the JSE publicly censured the former EOH independent non-executive director for claiming to hold a PhD it said she had failed to verify during a five-year engagement with the bourse. Bogdanov later criticised the JSE for what she says were flawed governance processes.
“The transition allows me to focus on legal and health matters, while ensuring the company remains strong under experienced leadership,” says Bogdanov.
Risk Insights, established in 2009, is the first female-owned data science boutique with a primary focus on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) in Africa.
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“Our immediate priorities remain consistent,” Bogdanov tells ITWeb.
Matjila’s focus during this transitional time include expanding ESG coverage across African and global markets; strengthening partnerships with stock exchanges, regulators and asset owners; ensuring high-quality, independent ESG data to support capital allocation, trust and transparency; and leading with a focus on scaling impact, deepening client engagement and positioning Africa at the heart of the global sustainable finance agenda.
In a Monday podcast, Bogdanov says she stepped aside as director of Risk Insights to “protect our brand and give myself space to resolve a matter with the JSE” − a process she says is ongoing.
The JSE, in a stock exchange news service announcement published in late July, said it imposed a public censure on Bogdanov for what it said was her false claim to hold a PhD from the London Business School in International Financial Management and Mathematics.
Andre Visser, JSE director of Issuer Regulation, subsequently told ITWeb: “We specifically confirm that Bogdanov did not (nor could she) submit the required supporting documentation for the PhD qualification she falsely stated to have obtained in 2007/2008.”
The JSE’s announcement noted it requested proof of her degree in 2020, and after extensions due to “a variety of issues and personal circumstances,” she “confirmed and admitted to the JSE that she did not have a PhD degree from the London Business School”. The JSE’s statement noted she was appointed as an independent non-executive director at EOH on 20 June 2019.
Bogdanov subsequently posted a response on LinkedIn, stating the bourse’s announcement “contains several factual inaccuracies and misrepresentations”.
In her LinkedIn post, Bogdanov said she is “deeply concerned by both the content and the governance processes that led to the announcement, including the lack of reasonable opportunity to respond prior to its publication”. She noted she had sought legal advice while remaining “committed to engaging constructively with all relevant parties to clarify and resolve this matter”.
Bogdanov’s LinkedIn statement and initial podcast providing further context can be accessed via this page.
As part of her “extended sabbatical” to focus on her health and address the JSE’s concerns, Matjila will join the company as a director, Bogdanov says.
Matjila previously attracted scrutiny for his time at Africa’s largest fund manager, including the PIC’s investment in Steinhoff, which became South Africa’s biggest corporate scandal when Deloitte flagged serious issues with the company’s financial statements in December 2017.
A PIC inquiry in 2019 found no criminal conduct by Matjila, who also directly addressed all matters in an open letter.
“For Risk Insights, what matters is the credibility, skills and stability he brings to the organisation as we continue to grow,” Bogdanov says.
“This ESG journey has been personal,” Bogdanov adds in the podcast. “And I’m proud to share that I’ve completed and submitted my doctoral thesis on ESG data, ESG disclosure and market capitalisation, the first full doctoral study of its kind on the JSE and African capital markets, adding to global knowledge and literature.”
Bogdanov’s LinkedIn lists a PhD on a case study focused on “Relationship on ESG Disclosure, ESG Ratings and Market Capital [sic],” from the University of Northampton, completed this year.
In the podcast, Bogdanov also said she started the company with a “simple vision” − with Risk Insights seeking to build an ESG tool “for Africa by Africans” − which resulted in the first AI-powered rating tool helping companies access capital markets in ways that were never possible before.
