Dr Frank “Dr Mags” Magwegwe is a highly respected applied behavioural scientist, keynote speaker, educator and resilience and wellbeing expert whose extraordinary personal journey gives powerful credibility to his work on human potential, financial wellbeing and sustainable performance.
Frank’s story is one of remarkable transformation. In the early 1990s, he found himself homeless, unemployed and broke, before beginning to sell fruit and vegetables on the streets of Johannesburg. From those beginnings, he went on to build a successful career in financial services, study at Harvard Business School and ultimately earn a PhD in Personal Financial Planning from Kansas State University. His doctoral research focused on financial strain and retirement income adequacy.
Over the course of his corporate career, Frank has held senior positions across investment management, wealth management, insurance and financial services, giving him extensive first-hand insight into leadership, business, money and the behavioural factors that influence the decisions people make.
Today, Frank combines academic research with lived experience to help individuals and organisations understand what enables people to thrive. His presentations explore the intersection between resilience, purpose, mental and financial wellbeing, human behaviour and performance, translating complex research into practical ideas audiences can immediately apply.
Frank’s compelling journey—from homelessness and street trading to academia, corporate leadership and the international speaking stage—allows him to speak about resilience without relying on theory alone. His message is grounded in lived experience: setbacks do not have to define the trajectory of a person’s life.
He has also been a lecturer and senior lecturer at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and is a regular media commentator on personal finance, financial wellbeing and human behaviour.
KEY SPEAKING AREAS
Resilience & Thriving • Financial Wellbeing • Mental Fitness & Wellbeing • Purpose & Meaning • Leadership • Behavioural Science • Navigating Change & Adversity • Sustainable Performance • Personal Finance • Employee Financial Wellness
Frank is particularly effective for leadership conferences, financial-services events, employee wellbeing programmes, transformation initiatives and corporate audiences navigating change or uncertainty. He combines an inspiring personal story with rigorous research and practical tools, ensuring audiences leave with more than motivation—they leave with ideas they can put into action.
His philosophy is simple but powerful: Don’t just live. Thrive.
