Charles is an attorney and ADR specialist. He is a CEDR accredited commercial mediator and has served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Cape Town. He was previously a director of Tokiso and is the executive chairman of Stratalign. He is also a director of an attorneys’ firm Harris Nupen Molebatsi Inc.

Charles was previously the executive director of the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa (IMSSA). He has conducted several hundred mediations and arbitrations across all sectors of the SA Economy. Under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO) he assisted in the establishment of the CCMA, and served as its first executive director. Thereafter he directed technical co-operation projects in Africa for the ILO.Charles’ experience includes: chairing the Soweto Peace Committee; a Commissioner of the IEC which conducted South Africa’s first national democratic Elections; facilitating labour-law reform projects and the establishment of national dispute settlement initiatives in SA, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. He has also worked with the tripartite partners in Angola, Nigeria and Tanzania. Since 2008 he has managed major multi-stakeholder negotiations in the public and private sectors.

In 2009 he received Tokiso’s Mediator of the Year award. Significant interventions include: co-facilitating the creation of the Financial Services Sector Empowerment Charter; co-mediating the 2007 public sector strike; facilitating a conference leading to the establishment of the Pan African Business Coalition on HIV/Aids; chairing the National Bargaining Forum for the  Auto Industry; chairing the negotiation forum for SAA and its pilots, and leading the facilitation team which managed negotiations  between the taxi industry and the City of Johannesburg toward the introduction of two phases of the Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system. This work won an international CEDR award. He has also facilitated the introduction of a new Employee Relations Strategy for SASOL; facilitated the establishment of the Millennium Labour Council and the Private Healthcare Forum; project managed programmes in the clothing, textile and tourism sectors. He has served on the board of Resource Africa and on the Board of Governors of Michaelhouse. He currently serves on the Board of Ububele, an early childhood development centre serving the community of Alexandra.