The Old Diocesan Issue 13 - Magazine - Page 28
NEWS
TURNLEY
POINTS
In May, Alan Turnley-Jones (1991G)
sat down with tech commentator
Aki Anastasiou on his podcast What’s
Next. Alan is CEO of NTT Data MEA,
which rebranded from Dimension
Data in 2024. Their conversation
was mostly business-oriented, but
concluded with Alan discussing his
recent trek to Everest Base Camp (as
reported in School News on page 19),
which he considers a life highlight.
EPIC EPIDEMIOLOGIST
In August, Dr Mohammed K Ali (1997B) was named by the American
Diabetes Association (ADA) as the 2026 recipient of the Kelly West Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Epidemiology. Mohammed, who is the
William H Foege Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta,
Georgia, was honoured for his “major contributions to diabetes epidemiology”.
In the words of the ADA, “Over two decades, Dr Ali has been at the forefront
of national and global efforts to study and combat diabetes, leading
epidemiological studies and pragmatic trials to document and narrow
gaps in diabetes care and prevention. His scientific contributions have
helped shape global diabetes targets and scale-up of prevention initiatives,
and led to service for the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, World Bank, and International Diabetes Federation.”
BIRD TALK
Vernon Head (1984O) has been
awarded BirdLife South Africa’s
2026 Austin Roberts Memorial
Medal, honouring more than
25 years of contributions to
the organisation. Vernon has
served as chairman of the board,
guided the logo’s evolution
from the old Southern African
Ornithological Society, and
dreamt up initiatives such as
the Flock at Sea voyages, the
Flufftail Festival and the Listers’
Club. An acclaimed architect,
he also donated his design
skills to renovate BirdLife’s
Johannesburg and Cape Town
offices. In April, the bestselling
author of The Search for the
Rarest Bird in the World and
A Tree for the Birds was
interviewed on the Styleskoops
podcast, about rare birds, wild
places and living close to nature.
24 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
TALKING TO TIM
Earlier this year, global rugby veteran Tim Swiel (2011F) – and one-time
role model for a 9-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – announced
that he was bringing his playing career (almost) full circle by signing to
play for the Sharks. In June, he took a seat on the popular sports podcast
The Dan Nicholl Show to discuss his professional return to South Africa
after a career that’s seen him play in England, Japan and the US.
