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Etienne Rübbers

Seasoned engineer wants to guide Wits to remain a world class university and improve its ratings.

Etienne RübbersEducational Qualifications

I obtained my BSc (Chemical Engineering) degree (cum laude) in 1993 from Wits.
I also have a MSc (Industriele Befrijskunde) (cum laude) from the University of Leuven (Belgium), BCom (Hons) from UNISA, and I am a CFA Charterholder.

Professional background and a motivation on how you see the role

My 27-year career has been largely in the energy sector. I was with Sasol for 20 years where I held various senior roles such as the Head: Mergers & Acquisitions and Chief Commercial Advisor. I see the key aspect of the role as helping to guide Wits to remain a world class university and improve its ratings relative to other international universities. Unfortunately, over the last 20 years, Wits’ ranking has dropped significantly.

Other achievements/professional bodies/publications etc

  1. I have also run the Comrades Marathon twice, cycled the 94.7 cycle race twice, climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, and hitchhiked from South Africa to Zanzibar and back.
  2. SAIPPA Management Committee (South African IPP Association) (2019-present).
  3. SANEA Board (SA National Energy Association) (2022-2024).
  4. Publication: E Rubbers, H Kister (2019) “Distillation reboiler start-up can pose challenges: future designs can benefit from the lessons that were learned via a well-planned investigation of this start-up problem”, Chemical Engineering (Vol. 111, Issue 2).
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