Board Members

Victoria Benjamin Mandari is an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania and Courts Subordinate thereto, an Accredited Arbitrator, and the Managing Partner of Authentic Attorneys. With over 30 years of professional legal experience, she has established extensive expertise in corporate governance, legal compliance, risk management, corporate and commercial law, tax law, contract negotiation, dispute resolution, and land law.

Throughout her distinguished career, Ms. Mandari has held several senior legal and governance positions, including Corporation Secretary at the National Housing Corporation and Partner at Law Care Chambers. She has advised leading public and private institutions on corporate strategy, regulatory compliance, governance, mergers and acquisitions, and complex legal matters.

A respected governance professional, Ms. Mandari has served on numerous boards and advisory bodies. She currently serves as Chairperson of the Board of Management and Development for Health (MDH), Chairperson of the Regional Aviation College, Chairperson of the Council of the University of Iringa and Vice chairperson Tanzania Girl Guides Association. She has also served as a Chairperson of Tanzania Women Lawyers association, a member of the Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal, the National Land Use Planning Commission, Users Committee of the High Court Commercial Division, and the Council of the Tanganyika Law Society, among other leadership roles.

Ms. Mandari holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Corporate and Land Law and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B. Hons.) from the University of Dar es Salaam. She is an accredited member of the Tanzania Institute of Arbitrators and the Institute of Directors in Tanzania, and has completed numerous executive training programs in governance, arbitration, and board leadership.

She is widely recognized for her commitment to ethical leadership, institutional governance, and community service, with a strong passion for advancing good governance, gender equality, access to justice, and sustainable organizational development.

Prof. Esther S. Ngadaya, MD, PGDHE, PhD, PDF, is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Scientist at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Tanzania. She is a physician-scientist with over two decades of experience in clinical research, implementation science, infectious diseases, maternal and child health, health systems strengthening, and global health. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship, further strengthening her expertise in leading multidisciplinary research, clinical trials, and translating scientific evidence into policy and practice.

Prof. Ngadaya has held several national and international leadership positions, including serving on Tanzania's National Health Research Ethics Committee and Clinical Trial Committee, where she contributed to the ethical oversight and regulation of health research and clinical trials. She currently serves as Chair of the EXIT-TB Consortium, Co-Chair of the OPTIC-TB and MARVEL consortia, and is a Board Member of Management and Development for Health (MDH), providing strategic leadership to multidisciplinary collaborations that strengthen research, capacity building, and evidence generation across Africa.

Her research focuses on implementation science, tuberculosis, malaria, respiratory diseases, antimicrobial resistance, maternal and child health, vaccine implementation, digital health, diagnostics, and health systems research. She has successfully led and collaborated on numerous multicountry research programmes funded by major international organizations, with expertise spanning clinical trials, operational research, implementation research, programme evaluation, and the translation of research findings into policy and practice.

A passionate mentor and capacity builder, Prof. Ngadaya has supervised and mentored more than 200 undergraduate, Master's, PhD, and postdoctoral trainees and early-career researchers from Tanzania and internationally. She has played a key role in strengthening research capacity across Africa through mentorship, teaching, and leadership of collaborative research and training programmes.

Her scientific excellence has been recognized through several prestigious awards, including being named NIMR Best Scientist on two occasions, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to health research, scientific leadership, innovation, and mentorship.

Prof. Ngadaya has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and has successfully secured and managed competitive research funding through national and international collaborations. She is widely recognized for her collaborative leadership, strategic vision, and unwavering commitment to advancing high-quality, policy-relevant research that improves health outcomes and strengthens research capacity across Africa.

Country Manager, Barrick Mining Corporation Tanzania & Twiga Minerals Corporation.

Melkiory brings on board over 23 years of broad experience managing business and professional services. He has deep experience in the fields of business strategy, organizational and functional transformation, operational excellence, and financial Management.

Melkiory is currently a Country Manager for Barrick Mining Corporation in Tanzania, which operates Bulyanhulu Gold Mine, North Mara Gold Mine, and Pangea Minerals Limited under Twiga Minerals Corp (a Partnership between Barrick and the Government of Tanzania). He is responsible for overall administration, Governance and management of the Mining Companies.

Before joining Barrick and Twiga Minerals Corp Melkiory was an Associate Director at Deloitte East Africa where he was responsible for Business Process Solutions Service line and Finance Transformation offering. He began his career at KPMG Tanzania and grew to Audit senior and then joined Northpoint Network Ltd, a Japan-based logistics and trading Company. He has also served nomination positions and independent Board Members and similar positions.

Melkiory holds a Ph. D in Commercial Science (International Business Major), MA in Modern Commerce, and Bachelor of Commerce (Finance). He is also a qualified accountant, a Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and holds Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting from Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). He has attended numerous industry and executive programs in Energy & Resources, Consumer products and Financial Service Industry.

Muhammad Bakari is an Emeritus Professor with the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). He was Tanzania’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) between 2015 and 2020.

 He completed his PhD training at the Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Sweden, after his MD and MMed training with the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).

Between 2007 and 2015, he served as the Associate Dean, School of Medicine at MUHAS; and then as the Deputy Vice Chancellor - Planning, Finance and Administration (DVC-PFA).

 He has led, as the Principal Investigator or the Project Coordinator, of a number of HIV- and TB-related research collaborations between institutions in the South and those in the North. His interest is also on the growing threat of non-communicable diseases (NCD’s).

 He has published extensively, with over 130 articles in peer-reviewed Journals, and continues to supervise and mentor Masters, PhD and post-Doc students. 

Samwel B. Magesa is an accomplished banking executive with nearly two decades of leadership experience in data, innovation, and business transformation. He has established a strong reputation for translating complex data into actionable insights that support revenue growth, operational efficiency, and informed decision-making.

In his role as Chief Data Officer at NBC Bank Tanzania, Samwel provides strategic leadership for the bank’s data strategy, governance, and analytics agenda. His mandate focuses on leveraging data to enhance institutional performance, strengthen customer value propositions, and establish sustainable competitive 
advantage.
With extensive experience spanning consulting, technology, digital channels, and financial services, Samwel brings both strategic perspective and practical execution capability to transformation initiatives.
He is committed to positioning data as a core enterprise asset and delivering measurable value for the bank and its customers. In his personal time, he enjoys cycling and golf.

Thomas Kipingili is a public health and international development leader with over 30 years of experience leading humanitarian and development programmes across East and Southern Africa. His expertise includes social protection, health systems strengthening, child protection, organizational development, and youth and women's empowerment.

He has held senior leadership roles with Pact, Deloitte, Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Norwegian People's Aid, and Caritas. As Country Director for Pact Zambia, he managed a portfolio exceeding USD 95 million and helped mobilize more than USD 130 million in funding.

Thomas currently serves as the National Director of SOS Children's Villages Tanzania and Zanzibar, providing strategic leadership to programmes that strengthen child protection systems and improve the wellbeing of children, young people, and families in vulnerable situations through partnerships, innovation, and evidence-based development.

Dr. Eunice Mmari is a Medical Doctor and Public Health Specialist who build her carrier path for over 30 years in different capacities. Before retiring in July 2022, Dr. Mmari was the Associate Director of the Programs at CDC Tanzania where she had worked for over 18 years. Dr Mmari is currently a Board member of Management Development for Health (MDH).

Dr. Mmari’s professional history includes years of providing medical services at the district hospital and technical support to the Tanzania Ministry of Health, Tanzania Commission for AIDS, and the CDC implementing partners in the areas of HIV and TB/HIV.

Dr. Mmari graduated from Semmelweis Medical University in Budapest, Hungary, in 1990. In 2002, Dr. Mmari was awarded her Master of Public Health degree from the Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Dr. Mmari devotes her spare time to her family businesses.

Crescentius Magori is an accomplished management and governance professional with over 30 years of experience in banking, higher education, social security administration, and corporate governance. He holds a Diploma in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Commerce and Management, and a Master of Employment and Labour Studies.

Mr. Magori began his career as a Bank Officer at the Bank of Tanzania before serving as a Lecturer at the College of Business Education (CBE). He later joined the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), where he served for nearly two decades, culminating in his role as Director of Operations.

He has extensive board leadership experience, having served on the boards of the Faculty of Commerce and Management, NACTE, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), and Management and Development for Health (MDH) since 2014. He also serves on the boards of Blu Kollar Co Services Ltd and Maganga Matitu Minerals.