Thea is also responsible for analyzing, forecasting and reporting on economic developments in the Southern Africa region (South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia among other countries). Previously she was a financial economist at ING Barings, specializing in macro and financial economic analysis of the South Africa economy and was also the head econometrician at ABSA Bank.

She earned a bachelor's degree in Econometrics (Honors) from the University of Pretoria. Her expertise includes sovereign risk analysis, econometric modelling and analyzing key developments within the Sub-Saharan African region and reporting through report writing and presentations. Thea is fluent in English and Afrikaans.