Dr Setobane Mangena joined the CSIR from Sasol, where he spent 19 years in various roles, ranging from Principal Specialist, Senior Manager to Acting Vice President in the Research and Technology division. While at Sasol, he spearheaded the development and implementation of a portfolio of development projects worth billions of rands.
His career began at the CSIR in 1997 when he served as an intern in the Materials Technology division. He subsequently moved to Miningtek, another division of the CSIR, where he worked as a researcher in coal preparation. While at Miningtek, he was a member of the CSIR energy thrust team and a project manager for the government-funded Sustainable Development through Mining Research programme until 2005, when he joined Sasol.
Dr Mangena holds a PhD in chemical engineering from North-West University, a MSc degree in chemistry from Tshwane University of Technology, an MSc degree in project management from the University of Pretoria and a Master of Business Administration in renewables from Berlin University of Applied Sciences in Germany.
