Oelzah Puckree

Speaker | ⁠Workshop Facilitator |  ⁠Panel Moderator | Panel Member ⁠

Guest Lecturer | Think-Tank Contributor | ⁠Roundtable Host

Strategic Retreat Facilitator

Oelzah Puckree is a highly experienced and purpose-driven organisational development leader, with nearly two decades of expertise in catalysing business transformation through human potential. As an Organisational Ecologist, she adopts a systems-thinking approach to identifying complex people and business challenges, mitigating risks, and co-creating sustainable, high-impact solutions.

Her career spans Talent and Performance Management, Organisational Development, Learning and Development, Corporate Wellbeing, Leadership Development, Employee Engagement (including Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging), Culture Transformation, Talent Acquisition, and Retention Strategy. Oelzah is widely recognised for her ability to lead cross-functional teams and align people strategies with broader business objectives to drive measurable organisational performance.

She has successfully worked across a diverse range of sectors, including Insurance, Financial Services, Retail, Telecommunications, Consulting, Government, and Non-Profit Organisations, bringing both strategic insight and compassionate leadership to each.

Oelzah holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership, Performance and Change from the University of Johannesburg. She is also a certified Integral Life Practitioner, a leadership coach, and an inspirational speaker, known for helping individuals and organisations "figure it out"—transforming complexity into clarity and sustainable action.

In her current role as Head of the Bio-Mastery Alumni Advisory Board, Oelzah plays a pivotal role in shaping innovative thinking around wellbeing as a core business strategy, influencing resilience and long-term performance at both the individual and organisational level.

Beyond her professional achievements, Oelzah draws deeply from her lived experience. Raised in a richly diverse family of 19 siblings, she is married to her high school sweetheart and is a proud mother of two daughters, whom she credits with teaching her invaluable lessons about self-awareness and growth. She has summited Mount Kilimanjaro, and continues to explore life as a dancer, dreamer, and writer committed to living a meaningful, purpose-led life in service of others.

Speaking Engagements

Oelzah is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, and thought leader who regularly contributes to executive panels, high-level conferences, strategy workshops, and innovation roundtables. She is known for her ability to engage senior organisational leaders in meaningful, future-focused conversations. She also serves as Master of Ceremonies for executive events, expertly managing event flow and moderating speaker dialogues with depth and clarity.

Areas of Thought Leadership

Topic 1: Bridging Theory and Practice in Organisational Effectiveness

Oelzah explores the often-misaligned relationship between theoretical frameworks and practical realities in organisational development. Drawing from her extensive experience, she addresses how to translate models and strategies into actionable, measurable outcomes that align with business goals. She challenges leadership teams to move beyond conceptual understanding into implementation, adaptation, and sustainability.

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Topic 2: Corporate Wellbeing: The Link Between Productivity and Profitability

Positioning wellbeing as a strategic lever rather than a soft benefit, Oelzah makes the business case for integrated wellbeing models. She examines how wellbeing initiatives directly influence employee engagement, resilience, productivity, and long-term organisational performance. Her approach highlights wellbeing not as an HR initiative, but as a core operational and leadership priority.

Topic 3: Operationalising Mental Health: Building Organisationally Effective Wellbeing Programmes

Example of Keynote Address

In this presentation, Oelzah unpacks the real-world implementation of mental health and wellbeing programmes, with a strong emphasis on operational effectiveness and strategic alignment. Her insights guide leaders in moving beyond awareness campaigns to embedding wellbeing into the day-to-day fabric of the organisation.

She outlines the critical success factors for integrating wellbeing into existing systems, shares lessons learned from implementation across multiple industries, and illustrates how wellbeing, when approached systemically, can positively impact both culture and performance.

Key focus areas include:

• Aligning wellbeing initiatives with organisational goals and operating models

• Addressing barriers to adoption and execution

• Measuring impact: from employee experience to bottom-line results

• Ensuring sustainability through leadership commitment and accountability