Meet our Team

Sonja brings over 22 years of experience in investment banking, principal investments, and corporate leadership across South Africa and internationally. She is the founder of Identity Partners, a women-led investment holding and advisory firm based in Johannesburg, with active interests in Corporate Finance Advisory, Fund Management, and Mining Resources. Sonja also chairs the Mid-Market Fund at Ethos Private Equity, where she plays a central role in strategic investment decisions and transformation initiatives. Under her leadership, the cooperation agreement between Ethos and Identity Partners has helped expand access and visibility for women and Black professionals in South Africa’s private equity and financial services sectors. She has served as a director on the boards of numerous high-profile, listed and unlisted companies, contributing over 15 years of governance experience in sectors including financial services, telecommunications, mining, and infrastructure. Known for her values-driven leadership and long-standing commitment to economic inclusion, Sonja continues to shape capital markets and corporate structures to be more representative, resilient, and future-oriented.

A former lecturer and internationally affiliated petroleum geoscientist with over eight years of upstream experience across South Africa’s onshore and offshore energy frontiers. Brings integrated expertise across the full petroleum systems workflow — from source rock characterisation and thermal maturity modelling to trap integrity, fault mechanics, and advanced reservoir geomechanics. Skilled in seismic interpretation, basin evolution, static modelling, and production-based volumetrics, with added focus on CO₂ storage in depleted gas fields. Combines geoscientific rigour with petroleum economics and a deep understanding of South Africa’s gas regulatory and licensing landscape. She holds an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience (Cum Laude) and is completing her PhD in reservoir geomechanics and carbon capture. A published researcher and a youth voice in oil and gas, she is an advocate for transformation, technical integrity, and representation in the upstream sector. Her journey to executive leadership reflects not only personal excellence, but the depth of potential within South Africa’s next generation of geoscientists. She remains committed to advancing a more inclusive, technically grounded, and future-facing energy landscape — both onshore and offshore.