Zanele L. Macalagh serves as a Director at Thomson Wilks Inc., focusing on business rescue mandates, insolvency administration and complex disputes. As both a Qualified Director (IoDSA) and a Licensed Business Rescue Practitioner, she applies board level governance insight to restructurings that safeguard enterprise value and satisfy creditor expectations.

Zanele’s practice is distinguished by repeat appointments from the Master of the High Court as a liquidator and by her work designing court-approved rescue plans for distressed companies. She routinely drafts and argues pleadings, conducts forensic audits to uncover misappropriated assets, and develops creditor frameworks that prioritise continuity of operations. Her recent matters include leading a forensic investigation that recovered significant funds for stakeholders and preparing a structured rescue proposal that enabled a manufacturing client to resume trading within statutory timelines.

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Core Focus

Zanele advises executive teams and boards on:

• Business rescue strategy, statutory compliance and post-rescue governance.
• Insolvency proceedings, including liquidations and creditor negotiations.
• Commercial litigation before the High Court and arbitration tribunals, with an emphasis on contract enforcement and fraud recovery.
• Risk-management frameworks that integrate legal obligations with operational resilience.

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Qualifications & Professional Designations

• Qualified Director (QD) SA, 2025
• Licensed Business Rescue Practitioner, 2023
• Panel Liquidator, Master of the High Court (since 2020)
• Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, 2015
• LLB, University of the Witwatersrand, 2014

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For a confidential discussion regarding business rescue options or dispute-resolution strategies, contact Zanele at zanele@thomsonwilks.co.za