Meet the Team

Professor Eric Buch’s appointment as Chief Executive Office of the CMSA in March 2020 is historic as it is the first time in CMSA’s 65-year history that a medical specialist is appointed as CEO.

Professor Buch is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Pretoria (UP) and formerly Dean of its Faculty of Health Sciences.

Professor Buch was formerly Health Adviser for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Deputy Director General for Health Care in Gauteng Province, Executive Director for Health, Housing and Urbanization of Johannesburg and a Director of the Centre for Health Policy at the University of the Witwatersrand. He also served as General Secretary of the anti-apartheid National Progressive Primary Health Care Network (NPPHCN), was active in the National Medical and Dental Association (NAMDA) and co-founded the University of the Witwatersrand Rural Health Services Development Unit in Bushbuckridge. He has served as Chair of the Board of the National Health Laboratory Service and on the Boards of the Global Health Workforce Alliance and Health Systems Trust. In 2015 he was awarded the Public Health Association of South Africa’s “Phila” Lifetime Achievement Award.

“If there was ever a man who could ride the lightning and come out the other side unscarred, it is Prof Eric Buch. He joined the CMSA at a time of great turbulence when our team needed to heal and it needed to grow and he was and is up to the task and has not waivered.”
Prof Flavia Senkubuge

Professor Vanessa Burch is a Rheumatologist and Health Professions Educationalist who holds a PhD in Assessment from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Vanessa Burch was Professor and Chair of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cape Town from 2008-2018. She is currently Honorary Professor of Medicine at UCT and works as an educational consultant to the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa. She has received numerous awards for Health Professions Education, serves on the editorial board of international medical education journals, and is the founding editor of the African Journal of Health Professions Education. She is widely published and is considered a leader in Health Professions Education in sub-Saharan Africa.

Professor Burch has received four national lifetime awards for teaching excellence: (1) Distinguished Teacher’s Award at the University of Cape Town; (2) National Excellence in Teaching and Learning jointly awarded by the Council for Higher Education (CHE) in the Department of Higher Education and Training and the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA); (3) Distinguished Educator (South African Association of Health Educationalists (SAAHE), and most recently, (4) a Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) fellowship, jointly awarded by the CHE and HELTASA. Vanessa Burch is also a Fellow of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), founding Director of the sub-Saharan Africa FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI) and holds a Teaching at University (TAU) Fellowship from the Council for Higher Education of South Africa.

Her education research and education expertise include assessment of clinical competence, novel methods of teaching and assessment in the workplace, clinical reasoning, curriculum design and program evaluation.

Mrs. Yolokazi Kanzi was appointed as Academic Registrar on 1 January 2020 to the CMSA. Prior to this appointment, Mrs. Kanzi held the position of Deputy Academic Registrar at the CMSA.

Mrs. Kanzi brought with her a wealth of experience from various Academic Institutions such as University of South Africa, University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch University. Her previous employment at the HPCSA has also proved of great benefit to her. Her background in Academia involves quality assurance, marketing and public relations, program management, student enrolment, student and academic systems as well as database management. She holds a BA (Language and Communication Studies) from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She is a member of the Board of Directors as well as a member of the Senate of the CMSA.

Mr. Jerome Davies was appointed as Executive Director: Finance and Administration on 1 April 2022. Mr Davies is a Chartered Accountant (SA) with over 16 years post article experience. Mr Davies has over 14 years’ experience in various roles from Financial manager, Financial Operations manager, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Davies has a wealth of finance and operations experience in the Education Sector which includes roles such as Chief Operating Officer of Milpark Education and Milpark Business School as well as Chief Financial Officer of The University of Stellenbosch Business School Executive Education (USB-ED). In these roles Mr Davies gained invaluable experience in finance, operations, management, and organizational development.

He has a Masters in Commerce (Finance) from the University of Cape Town and completed his Executive Development Programme through USB-ED. Mr Davies is also a trustee of the Hexagon Trust, established in 1988 to facilitate bursaries for students of colour from a disadvantaged background. He was a beneficiary of the Trust and the first to also become a Trustee. He is also its representative for the Western Cape students and alumni. In 2015 Mr Davies was recognised by Destiny Man as Top 40 under 40 for his role at USB-ED and the impact that the entity has made in business education.

Mr Davies is a member of the Board of Directors as well as a member of the Senate of the CMSA.