ABOUT US.

Southern Transitions is a climate and transition think tank working to advance just transitions in the global South. We are focused on transformative economic opportunities for systems that are changing, emerging, and scaling up in the transition.

Embedded in the global South, we are experienced in bridging public and private actors and driving an entrepreneurial, innovative and implementation focus in all our work. We draw on our growing network to collaboratively generate ideas, evidence and experiments for transition.

HOW WE WORK.

  • AN EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH
    We are embedded in the Global South and geared to meet the underserved need for Global South generated evidence, technical knowledge and real voices. 

  • A BRIDGE-BUILDING ROLE
    We cut across spheres and engage meaningfully with a broad range of actors in public and private sectors and civil society to identify overlapping interests and incentives and drive implementation.

  • AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
    We bring cutting-edge research capability, implementation experience, and networks that cut across entrepreneurial business development and policy implementation at different scales.

  • REALISTIC AND ACTION-ORIENTED WORK
    We understand the challenges in unlocking viable just transition opportunities and support actors implementing initiatives (policies, programmes and projects) in the just transition space.  

  • CONSTRUCTIVE, TRUSTED THINKING
    We are an ‘inside track’ organisation working within systems to drive realistic and appropriate change at a manageable pace and level of ambition. 

  • A SPECIALIST PARTNER
    We focus where we bring the strongest experience, expertise and value — transitions in and for the Global South.

AN INVESTED AND EMBEDDED TEAM.

The team has a track record for successfully developing value-adding solutions and project management. Individually and together, team members work collaboratively and foster long-term trusted relationships, entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment to delivering impactful solutions to meet the challenge of just transitions to net-zero development pathways.

Lauren Hermanus, Founding Director of Southern Transitions, seated outdoors at a café table with a city street in the background.

LAUREN HERMANUS
Founding Director

    • Sustainable development expert with 14 years of experience focused on climate and development, energy, urban infrastructure/resilience, and institutions and governance through government, consulting, academia, and experimental and entrepreneurial projects

    • Contributing author to South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP)

    • Member of the Just Transition Lab, exploring Global South commercial opportunities in the transition

    • Founder of How We Adapt (2016-present), a network-based consultancy leading the Just Urban Transitions Project and a five-year partnership with Stockholm Resilience Centre on Transforming Change and Catalysing Change programmes

    • Experienced in futures thinking and other sense-making and strategic process design and facilitation

    • Research associate at the University of Cape Town’s African Centre for Cities

    • Master's degrees in Complexity and Philosophy (Stellenbosch University, South Africa) and Development Policy (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

Anthony Dane, Founding Director of Southern Transitions, wearing glasses and a suit jacket, photographed indoors.

ANTHONY DANE
Founding Director

    • Sustainability expert with over 15 years of experience, focusing on energy, climate change and just transitions

    • Founded organisations and worked in think tanks, the consulting sector, clean energy and just transition start-ups, academia and the mining industry

    • Contributing author to South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP)

    • Member of the Just Transition Lab, exploring Global South commercial opportunities in the transition.

    • Strategic thinker focusing on real action, with a track record for successful development of value-adding solutions, project management, working collaboratively and fostering of long-term trusted relationships

    • Entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to delivering impactful solutions to meet the climate challenge

    • Master's degrees in Applied Economics (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, Founding Director of Southern Transitions, in a suit and tie against a neutral background.

GAYLOR MONTMASSON-CLAIR
Founding Director

    • Economist, political scientist, and policy strategist with 15 years of experience 

    • Expert on policy frameworks, green industrial development, just transition and value chains from a global South perspective

    • Former Senior Economist and core management team member at Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), a leading economic policy research institute in South Africa

    • Facilitator of the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) 

    • Lead author of South Africa's Just Transition Framework and New Energy Vehicle White Paper

    • Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg's Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development  

    • Master's degrees in International Affairs (Sciences Po Grenoble, France) and in Energy and Environment Economics (Grenoble Faculty of Economics, France)

Manav Khanna, Programme Manager for Just Transition at Southern Transitions, smiling in a suit and tie with lanyard, photographed outdoors at an event.

MANAV KHANNA​
Programme Manager: Just Transition

    • Sustainability, circular economy, climate change mitigation, climate finance, and carbon markets expert with six years of experience

    • Specialised expertise in multilateral governance and the interplay between local climate actions and sustainable solutions for the Global South and the global climate regime

    • Reviewer for the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report 

    • Recipient of World Bank and IMF fellowships, Erasmus Mobility Scholarship at the University of Oxford, Italian National Scholarship, and POSCO Asia Fellowship

    • Master's degree in International Trade, Finance, and Management (Yonsei University, South Korea)

    • PhD in Management in Innovation, Sustainability and Healthcare (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Italy and University of Oxford, UK), focusing on the relevance of circular economy principles in climate change strategies

Leanne Govindsamy, Head of Just Transition at Southern Transitions, wearing glasses and a white collared shirt, photographed against a light background.

LEANNE GOVINDSAMY
Head: Just Transition

    • Human rights and environmental lawyer with 16 years of legal experience 

    • Experienced in working to advance social, environmental and climate justice through law and policy reform, strategic impact litigation, research and advocacy

    • Former Head of the Corporate Accountability and Transparency programme at the Centre for Environmental Rights, an ‘activist lawyer’ organisation in South Africa

    • Leading role in establishing the Fair Finance Coalition Southern Africa and the Fair Steel Coalition

    • Past roles include a clerkship at the Constitutional Court, attorney practice at Cheadle Thompson and Haysom, and Head of Legal and Investigations at Corruption Watch

    • Master of Laws (LLM) in International Human Rights Law (University of Notre Dame, USA) and Master’s degree in Anthropology (University of Witwatersrand, South Africa)

ARMANDO A​YALA
Head of Finance: Just Transition

    • Climate-finance and impact-investment specialist with 15+ years’ experience in development finance, ESG, and project delivery

    • Expert at aligning finance architectures with just transition outcomes and implementation-ready solutions

    • Pragmatic thinker working at the nexus of finance, policy, and movement-building

    • Connecting DFIs, regulators, corporates, and communities to get things done

    • Spent over a decade at the World Bank Group delivering structured-finance initiatives focused on financial inclusivity, sustainability, and economic development

    • Recent work spans industry decarbonisation, shareholder activism, and coalition-and capacity-building across private sector and civil society

    • Proven track record of mobilising stakeholders and translating policy into investable initiatives with measurable impact

    • Master’s in Business (University of Cape Town)