Meko Magida has been nominated for the 2026 CHRO Awards for his role as executive director of HR at the University of the Western Cape.
He joins a cohort of HR leaders competing across nine award categories, including the headline CHRO of the Year title.
Meko has served as executive director of HR at the University of the Western Cape since 2018. Before joining the university, he was HR executive at Golden Arrow Bus Services, where he served from 2009 to 2017.
During his time at Golden Arrow, Meko also served as president of the Commuter Bus Employers Organisation, while holding board positions at N2 Express JV Company and Table Bay Rapid Transit.
Earlier in his career, he was director of institutional support at the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and managing member of Magida Human Capital Corporation. He previously spent five years as a senior HR manager at Woolworths.
Meko also held several roles focused on employment equity and labour relations, including commissioner at the Commission for Employment Equity, director of equal opportunities and deputy director of labour relations at the Department of Employment and Labour, and employment equity manager at the City of Tygerberg.
He began his career as a candidate attorney at Ngcuka and Matana Attorneys before moving into consulting as a senior development consultant at Liebenberg and Stander Consulting Engineers.
Dubbed the “Oscars of HR”, the CHRO Awards continues to celebrate leaders who raise the bar for people leadership in South Africa across listed companies, large corporates and government institutions.
