Prof Ajay Jivan currently serves as the Head of Research and Assurance at the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP), where he leads the thought leadership, strategic alliances, and quality assurance of the HR professional body. He played a pivotal role in co-facilitating and co-authoring the revised National HRM Standards, launched as the National People Practices and Governance Standards in 2023. He is a Professor of Practice at the North West University and Research Fellow at UNISA. He holds a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology, a Masters in Management, and a Doctorate from the University of the Witwatersrand. A published academic, he has contributed to peer-reviewed journals, HRM academic textbooks, and serves as the author of the HR professional body’s Fact Sheets where he draws on his wealth of expertise and senior management experience in human capital management, governance, and strategic leadership.