“True leadership is not measured by titles, but by the lives we impact.” With this conviction, Dr. Harold Mayaba has charted a path from rural Zambia to global stages, an odyssey powered by purpose, hope, and resilience.
Born to teenage parents and orphaned at fourteen, Dr. Mayaba spent parts of his adolescence knocking on doors for temporary shelter. Education became his anchor, the vehicle that transformed his life, setting him on a journey from uncertainty to influence. He would ultimately earn a PhD in Applied Economics (Agribusiness) from Lincoln University in New Zealand, specialising in consumer behaviour and welfare economics.
Today, Dr. Mayaba’s work bridges academia, industry, and inspiration. He is the Founder of H|M Agri-Food Consulting & Speaking, an integrated platform for agribusiness market research, leadership training, keynote speaking, and coaching. He is also the Founder of TRADEit Zambia, an e-commerce initiative that promotes digital trade and entrepreneurship by connecting producers, consumers, and service providers in an inclusive marketplace. “My mission is to build bridges between education, entrepreneurship, and social transformation,” he says.
His professional portfolio reflects a rare blend of rigour and empathy. As an agribusiness consultant, lecturer, and researcher, Dr. Mayaba has examined how consumer choices affect welfare and markets, work that included evaluating willingness-to-pay for cage-free eggs and animal-welfare transitions using discrete choice experiments. In industry roles across New Zealand’s agrifood sector, he managed dairy and poultry businesses and led process improvements that delivered productivity gains of over 10 percent. “I lead with analytical clarity shaped by research and compassion shaped by life,” he notes.
The accolades that followed are both scholarly and societal. Alongside his doctorate from Lincoln University, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Transformative Leadership & Resilience from American Management University (USA), recognising his contributions to education and community uplift. He has serves as an adjunct lecturer at Rusangu University in Zambia, mentoring the next generation of agribusiness leaders.
“True leadership transforms followers into leaders,” he says, an ethos that echoes through his classrooms and keynotes alike.
A sought-after global speaker, Dr. Mayaba, has been featured at the Rise to Greater Heights Summit in Calgary (Trailblazers Convention). He has also presented for five consecutive years at both the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) Conference in Australia and the New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (NZARES) Conference, sharing insights on consumer behaviour, agri-food policy, and market dynamics.
What drives this reach is a philosophy forged in adversity. “Purpose transforms pain into power,” Dr. Mayaba reflects. His leadership style is purpose-driven, empathetic, and transformational “not about authority, but about creating spaces where others can grow, think, and shine.” The motto he lives by “Lead with purpose, live with hope, and build with resilience” is more than a line; it is a leadership operating system.
Dr. Mayaba is candid about strengths and growing edges. Resilience, “the ability to adapt, rebuild, and lead with faith amid uncertainty” is his superpower. His weakness? Taking on too much in the desire to serve. The fix, he says, is disciplined delegation and building “purpose-aligned teams” to multiply impact. This is consistency in practice: the scholar-operator applying evidence-based thinking to human systems, not just markets.
Balance, for him, begins with clarity. “Success is not just achievement but harmony between impact, wellbeing, and relationships.” Between travel and public engagements, he keeps space for reflection, faith, and family. He unwinds through long walks, reading, journaling, movies and, perhaps most tellingly, mentoring young people and engaging in community initiatives: “It recharges me to see hope revived in someone’s eyes.” Music and good food round out the picture of a grounded, grateful life.
Looking ahead, Dr. Mayaba’s ambition is unabashedly expansive: to help build a global, purpose-driven ecosystem where individuals and organisations align vision with impact, bridging Africa, New Zealand, and the world, and to inspire one million people to rediscover purpose and turn adversity into a platform for greatness. “No circumstance is final when purpose becomes your compass,” he says.
His message to readers distils the arc of his journey into a call to action: “Your background does not define your destiny, your choices do.” In an era of disruption, he offers navigational tools accessible to everyone: “Purpose is your compass, hope is your map, and resilience is the strength that keeps you moving forward.” The measure of success, he insists, is not only what you achieve, but “who you become while inspiring others along the way.”
From a teenager searching for shelter to a global voice shaping conversations in agribusiness, education, and leadership, Dr. Harold Mayaba embodies the thesis he champions, that purpose, hope, and resilience are not abstract virtues, they are practical levers for change. And when pulled together, they can turn even the humblest beginnings into a blueprint for meaningful impact.
