Changing Faces: EA to First Rand Group CEO

So, where did you grow up?

I grew up in a township in the East Rand called Vosloorus.

What do you now?
I work as the Executive Assistant to the FirstRand Group CEO and the Head of the FNB Innovators Programme

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?
I studied Actuarial Science. I use the way in which I have been taught to think and solve complex and non-standard problems. Not so much the exact application of the technical skills taught.

How long have you been working and what do you miss about student life?
I have been working for 5 years.
I miss having that much free time!! I could have used it more effectively though.

Tell us about your work typical day.
I typically start my day with a bout of exercise (if I am not held hostage by my snooze button) and then head to the office and kick off my day before 7am
I get through emails and make final preparations for the day, which would have been started the night before. I attend a number of project meetings, management committee meetings and board meetings. I also do a fair bit of writing reports for different reasons and the research and reading that comes with it. No two days are the same.
My day usually ends at 6.30 and I head home for supper and do a last bit of work thereafter to prepare for the next day.

Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA?
There will always be challenges, regardless of race, gender or any other factor on which people may use to discriminate against you.
What sets the ones who succeed apart from those who don't is how they deal with it

Taking what you've said in your previous answer into consideration. Can you give an example of one particular experience and how u think it could be countered/managed going forward? 
Years ago in my first management job, working for an older white male with invaluable experience, I sat in a meeting that I was chairing and the two other people in the room just never looked at me and addressed all their attention and questions to my boss. I was the youngest and only black person in the room. It was uncomfortable and didn't leave me feeling happy at all. I resolved then to always have my work speak for me as it could not be debated and had the ability to transcend prejudice. Recently one of those two people in that meeting, who have left the business had tracked me down on LinkedIn to keep in touch and work together in future as well as being one of the first people to congratulate me on recent promotion.

Three tips for people keen to join your line of work?
Be clear on what you want out of your career 
Be deliberate, don't be a victim of chance
Don't be afraid to float away from the norm and develop a unique set of skills

Changing Faces: Brand Manager

Thank you for being a sport, now let’s take it back to where it all began.

I was born in KZN stayed in Umlazi till I was about 8 before moving to the suburbs. Didn't know it as a kid but we were quite poor but my parents never showed it or made us feel it. Was raised by my dad and older sister when my mom took work overseas to initially settle her debt from a business she had started. Loved my childhood. Honestly can't remember not having gotten anything I wanted. Because of the strong Christian home I was raised in I also didn't have much room to be naughty, had the fear of God in me! Haha. My dad was quite firm about always being respectful, elders are never wrong, girls shouldn't wear make-up etc so I only wore make up for the first time at 18. Even getting braids was a struggle! A key thing for my parents was: regardless of what's going on, study! 

And now you are…

I'm a brand manager in the marketing department of a multinational health care company

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

Initially I signed up for a b.com heading in the CA route because that's how I got a bursary to get into the varsity and that would make it easier on my parents. After day 1 of doing vac work at KPMG I remember crying to my dad telling him how much I hated it & had made a mistake so after much debated I switched to a B.Com degree in Marketing. Did my Honours at Unisa and followed it up with a Management Advancement Program at Wits nominated by me employer. Planning on doing my MBA next year. 

How long have you been working and what do you miss about being a full time student?

Been working since 2011. To be honest I don't miss not working, I have money and freedom now. I shouldn't say this out loud but I hate studying. I just now it needs to be done and so I do it. 

What’s your typical day like?

It’s filled with project management

Entails writing briefs, managing agencies, senior stake holders and analysing numbers. Marketing is glamorous but also requires a lot of ground work hay people aren't exposed too. I can go a week without taking lunch 

Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA?

Plenty!!! I find corporate quite racist and classicist. I am well aware that because people think I am privileged and sees well that I am treated differently to the black colleagues with African sounding accents. Never believed my parents when they told me it would happen 

I also feel as Black females we aren't raised with EQ. Instead we are raised to be humble. The white girls are more aggressive and proud to talk up their accomplishments even if they aren't theirs and are actually yours. 

I've also found I have to work harder & longer than my white female counter parts and deliver more work even though we get the same amount of credit 

Because I don't like small chat or attending after work drinks I am aware I've missed out on many opportunities to get a promotion. Honestly wish someone would have just told me. Would have made appearances sooner. 

Lastly: I wish I had been myself from the time I started working. I was quite timid the first 16 months at least because unfortunately I encountered black on blacks manager syndrome. Never a support environment nje. I had to fight back 

Lastly, can you give those keen to join your line of work three “how-to” tips?

Study 1 extra course, ALWAYS. Marketing is seen to be the go-to course so you need to differentiate yourself and very quickly. 

Don't treat marketing as a one channel job. Immerse yourself in other knowledge such as supply chain & operations. It will make you (more) well-rounded 

Forget everything you learned in school and be adaptable 

*names and faces have been purposely omitted 

Changing Faces: Network Security Engineer

Thank you for being a sport on this; in one sentence, describe how you grew up.
Single parent household, went to relatively good public schools and now I’m grown.

So what do you do now that you’re “grown”?
 I’m a Network Security Engineer, basically I’m a glorified security guard for the network cloud. I have the power to say no and watch other people squirm for my yes. If my friends saw me at work they wouldn’t recognise me because I’m very arrogant, I have to be.

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?
I studied Electrical Engineering, oh joy! Nope, I’m not using it…I have a bunch of other certifications which actually matter for what I do and I’m always studying, I just don’t make it a thing because like it’s part of what I do. I need to be abreast with the latest technologies and so on and so forth.

How long have you been working and now that you’re working, are there any things you miss about being a student?
Since 2010 officially. I miss nothing about not working because the financial freedom having a career has given me is waaaay better!

Time for second base - tell us about your work typical day.
Honestly, I don’t have a typical work day so I’ll describe two type of days, a)  a ‘normal’ one and b) a ‘something is broken’ one.
SCENARIO A
Get to the office at about 8/8:30. (No one really cares what time I come in really)
Check emails and make sure that I didn’t sleep on anything
Start “working” on any pending projects, this usually entails designing, planning, configuring, testing (anything from a day to a month) and finally handing over to a project manager (every engineers nemesis).
Meetings usually just pop up in my notifications then in the midst of things I’ll attend one or I just get called into a conference call while I’m minding my own business.
I actually hate meetings and Project Managers love them!
Then at about 4/4h30/5 I leave depending on my mood.
SCENARIO B
I get to work or I get woken up by a phone call from either a project manager/my manager/some or other type of specialist/a call centre agent or whomever to tell me that the network is down!!!
Then I go into ‘panic’ mode or at least pretend to because everything is meant to stop while I troubleshoot and try to figure out what’s wrong.
Depending on the impact and nature of the problem, they’ll be a war room (a bunch of engineers dial into a conference and do end to end testing) or they’ll be a bunch of emails flying back and forth.
For every sec the network is down, the company loses money so I’m supposed to really be under pressure but not really….
These are the days when I leave the office late or go work from home till late
And when the problem is finally fixed, I carry on with my normal day…
The most painful part of my job is working standby because then your time is not your own, I was once called to work while at a club…yes a club


Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA?
I think the one thing that has helped me overcome the perception that black female engineers need to be spoon fed, is my work. My work speaks for itself and that’s where my confidence lies.
So when I encounter a new stereotype/challenge, I silently think to myself, ‘wait till I start working’. I’m good at what I do and although I’m not the best, I’m not just average.
I’m also fortunate to have a good team in my corner who want to see me succeed and be better…so I try not to focus on the challenges but on where I am (read title) and where I’m going.


Three tips on people keen to join your line of work?You are boss, no seriously, you are the boss. No one takes you seriously if you are timid, unsure and expect to be mothered…at least I don’t.
Study anything with science and maths so that you can learn early how to be an analytical thinker.
Say hello to learning how to work under pressure and remember, no one really cares about you.

Changing Faces: Regulations and Stakeholder Management Lawyer

You were obviously born in the late 80’s (80’s kids are the coolest) meaning you experienced your childhood years in the 90’s, how was growing up like for you?

I grew up with 2 loving parents and 4 siblings in a little town in Northern KZN called Empangeni. Apparently we didn’t have much, I was unaware of this for most of my life. My parents did well to ensure that I always had what I needed when I needed it. I was an active young girl, and in hindsight, quite the little achiever!   

Sounds like you were quite the busy body, where have all your achievements brought you to now?

Right now I work in the Regulatory and stakeholder management department of a multinational.

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

 In my undergrad, I read Law and graduated with an LLB degree. Thereafter, I picked up a few post grad diplomas in Economics, Media Studies and Intellectual Property Law. I am not using my formal training much. My role requires a lot of business acumen and is not a traditional legal role as would be understood by most.

How long have you been working and now that you’re working, are there any things you miss about being a student?

 I have four years post admission experience, however if one considers my 2 years as a Candidate Attorney, I have been in the labour market for 6 years.

I miss the lack of responsibility and accountability, I miss the long holidays.

Time for second base - tell us about your work typical day.

My typical day entails being in different countries in a single day as the portfolio under my care is all the countries in the SADC region! Thank God for technology because most things I am able to action from my desk in South Africa.  For these countries, I would be involved in negotiations, telecons, putting together parliamentary submissions, regulatory risk management, training of younger staff etc and general massaging of egos :)

Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA?

Yes I do. Being in the technology space, I am often surrounded by senior, white men. When I was a little younger and wet behind the ears, I was tempted to be a “man in a skirt” at work. I thought this was necessary in order to avoid being overlooked or undermined. It was a continuous effort to be tough and assertive. However, with age, I have realized that being a woman in the workplace is my absolute strength. My femininity affords me a different perspective to issues and I bring a different skills set altogether, either than my formal training of course. In negotiations I have an intuition that I find lacking in men. I know when to push, when to relent or to simply be quite.

Three tips for people keen to join your line of work?

Honestly, I would love to see more young women of colour breaking into other disciplines. I would like to open my Sunday paper one morning and read about a Mbali Khuzwayo who has just returned from space. However, for those who insist on being lawyers, my single biggest tip is that the best lawyer is one who is able to think like a businessman. Once you understand your client, you are better equipped to assist and advise. Further, never stop equipping yourself, success is simply a meeting of preparation and opportunity. Let your moment find you ready!

*names and faces have been omitted purposely

Changing Faces: Sponsorship & Promotions Implementation Specialist

You were obviously born in the late 80’s (80’s kids are the coolest) meaning you experienced your childhood years in the 90’s, how was growing up like for you?

I grew up with my mom and step dad in various locations from Kempton Park, Carletonville and later Alberton where they currently reside. My sister and I lived with them along with a stepsister for a couple of years. My sister and I’s dad was always in our lives and we often went to visit him over the weekends or school holidays.

I also have a half-brother he is my biological father’s child.

So what do you now? No need to go into detail here, we're still getting there.

I am a Sponsorship and Promotions: Implementation Specialist

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?

Marketing, yes there are elements of marketing in my current role

Now that you’re working, are there any things you miss about being a student?

Not having to pay bills, still being my parents’ responsibility.

Time for second base - tell us about your work typical day.

The day starts off with a daily status meeting, after which I often have client and internal meetings throughout the day to update clients and internal stakeholders on the campaigns currently running on the radio stations.

Throughout the day I’ll will chase creative agencies for digital/ on air elements these will then need to be sent by myself to the radio stations after which client will need to approve all recordings, screenshots etc.

I am constantly pre-empting problems, solving problems and ensuring all campaign run to clients’ satisfaction.

Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA?

Yes, our company in particular doesn't have many black individuals in management never mind any black women and thus many people don’t have confidence in our abilities no matter how much we prove ourselves. There is still a lot of work to be done.

Three tips for people keen to join your line of work?

You must be able to multi-task, manage various stakeholders and remain calm under pressure.

Thus I would advise anyone who wants to do what we do to find a stress reliever to keep them sane i.e.gym.

Always think before you speak.

Remember it’s not personal it’s about the bottom line.


*names and faces have been omitted purposely

Changing Faces: Intro - Millennial women

Millennial women, or " burnt-out by age 30", as they have been described, are the ambitious generation of women born between 1980 and 1995. 
Career-focused and impatient to reach the top, they are likely to see off old stereotypes and change the workplace faster than their predecessors.
At SA universities, women now outnumber men by almost two to one in obtaining tertiary qualifications, says Amrop Landelahni.
Graduates in accounting reflected a 50/50 gender split in 1999. By 2011, women represented 58% of all graduates and the trend is up in the sciences, engineering and information & communication technology.
And 53% of graduates coming into corporate jobs are millennial women.
Millennial women are more career-focused than their mums and delay having children into their 30s. This is because they have grown up in an output-driven and high-performance environment.
"Burnt out by age 30 and focused on their career, they are task-driven and seek out a high-performance environment. They perform markedly better than men".
Source: Financial Mail 28 Aug 2014 


The extract above is from an article I came across while doing some random research and it turned out to inspire this series I am about to introduce to you, right about now.

I have decided to dedicate the next couple of weeks to a series I call "Changing Faces" - a story of how young black women are changing the face of corporate South Africa. 

In her book, "Lean In" (which I quote a little too much a little too often), Sheryl Sandberg addresses the issues that prevent women from climbing the corporate ladder as fast as their male counterparts. She slightly touches on the subject of how women of colour are faced with even greater barriers in this regard. I appreciate that she merely touched on it, knowing that she cannot tell a story that is not her own...



I've worked for three companies, none of which have had a black representative on the board, let alone a woman. I am not complaining or suggesting these positions should just be handed out all willy-nilly but it would be nice to have a familiar face that one can identify with, someone to make you believe that it's attainable, know what I mean? 

When I was still a student I met an amazing woman called Phuti Mahanyele, she was the person who made it seem possible for me, I thought hey, if she can get there, so can I. Little did I know the Phuti's of this world a few and far between. When I entered corporate I was just like "hawu, kanti where is everyone? (but where is everyone - sorry, can't translate hawu)". By everyone I meant people who looked like me, people who showed me that people like us can get there too. 
What I've grown to learn is that they are all here, they are my peers and some, my very close friends. They may not be holding those high-flying positions right now but best believe they are well on their way! 



So, over the next couple of weeks, allow me to introduce you to the new face of corporate South Africa:

She's young, she's beautiful, she's smart and yes, she's black.
Her place is in the boardroom, high heeled and present!



P.S All the women who will be featured in this series will be those born between 1980 and 1990. Though they will not be named, I'm sure they will inspire at least one reader, and that's enough for me!
P.P.S One favour from me, please share with any young women you think may benefit from these?
#okthanksbye


Sheryl Sandberg's TED Talk which is basically a summary of her book can be found here

Laughing straight to the bank

“So, what exactly do you do?” is a question I get asked, a lot.

First thing’s first, let's get this right, not everybody who works in a bank is a banker.

Firstly, there’s front office (FO) vs. Back Office (BO):
No, this has nothing to do with where you sit like how back in school the naughty kids would sit at the back of the class…unless you were in my 11th grade English class where we were seated according to marks, the higher, the further back.

FO are the client facing guys, they are the revenue generators and interact directly with the clients - the Bankers and Traders.
BO are more of the support people, the record keepers who make sure that the engine is running smoothly - Finance (the accountants), IT, Risk, Compliance etc.
There are also the fence sitters who can't decide (OK, I kid) , the middle office, these are those who do a bit of both, they support FO as BO and may from time to time have some sort of client interaction - Researchers, Credit Analysts, Legal. 

Though everybody works harmoniously singing Kumbaya, there are also a lot of egos flying around, like FO people look down on BO people and within FO, the Investment Bankers are; how can I put this, the Kanye Wests of the bank!

Banking is so wide and varied that if I had to break it down in a detailed manner it would take roughly my whole life and most of you would stop reading halfway anyway so I'll stick to one particular division for now. Naturally it would be where I sit, Debt Capital Markets (DCM), which in my case, falls under Investment Banking (IB). 

Before I moved to DCM I struggled with getting the low down on this side of banking as most available info out there focuses on IB as most would know it - Project Finance/M&A/Advisory, which is all good and well except I'm not required to build models and I work, on average 60 hour weeks as opposed to 80 hours like some of my IB friends.

DCM in a nutshell:

As the name suggests, this division solely focuses on raising funds by means of issuing debt. The process goes more or less as follows:

1. Client issues a document called an RfP (Request for Proposal) - in which they basically state that they require a certain amount of funding to either pump into a new or existing project or pay off some other debt.

2. Banks then respond to the RfP in the form of the infamous pitchbook where they recommend the type of debt (loan/bond).

3. Client then mandates which banks they would like to work on the deal (can be one or multi, depending on deal size).

4. A whole lot of preps and emails and inter-bank meetings take place.

5. In the case of bonds - Investor meetings known as roadshows are set up - this is the bank's chance to sell the bond to various potential investors across the world. This usually takes place over 4-5 days meaning you could be in New York on Monday, LA on Tuesday, Frankfurt on Wednesday, London on Thursday. And by "you" I certainly don't mean me because only Associate Directors (AD) and up cover this part, Analysts & Associates however will help with the preps including investor profiles and timetables (so you're part of the action in some way lol).

6. The day comes to launch the bond, from the time the markets open, so does the orderbook. Think of is as an auction where investors are the bidders. Throughout the day you track the orderbook closely (because juniors are required to write up a deal review at the end of the day).

7. The book will finally close at a time agreed upon by the parties involved (mandated banks and the issuer). Sometimes this may be around dinner time, only you are not having dinner because this is the point where all the mandated banks have a conference call where the bond is priced and terms (interest rate, years to maturity, terms and conditions, etc.) are concluded.

8. The deal is finally announced on Bloomberg. Note: up to this point, everything you've been doing has been considered insider information. Up to this point the deal has been called by some random project name like "Project Umhlabauyalingana" or something. Up to this point you don't know whether you're working for a bank or the CIA.

9. Once the deal has been announced, your work is done and it's passed on to the traders who monitor its activity in the secondary market. 

Deals obviously don't come by every day so in between, work is usually around keeping clients informed about that's happening in the markets, prepping for meetings for potential deals just to keep the relationship going so you're top of mind when one comes up, keeping up to date with the global economy and prepping for any drastic changes that may pop up as a result of. 


Quite a mouthful I know but that was as succinct as I could make it. Hope it's brought some enlightenment and thank you for stopping by!


P.S: Working on a concept that’ll showcase different industries and jobs in a cool and interesting way that I’ll hopefully be sharing with you guys in the near future.

Prologue

If you could rewrite the past, would you? 
Would you rewind and set the wrongs right? 
How frequently would you make amendments and at what point would you be happy with the results? 
When would enough be good enough and when would it all simply be ENOUGH? 

This was the pop quiz playing in my head after I watched About Time starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams (still looking exactly as she did in The Notebook – what pill is she taking?). The story is of a young man who, on his 21st birthday discovers that he has the ability to travel in time. As you’d probably guess, the movie naturally revolves around him constantly and conveniently going back to the past to improve his future. 

Similarly in the sense that both depict the tale of having 100% control of your future is a movie called Ruby Sparks where a young author, battling with his romance life, writes his ideal girlfriend to life; she is and does exactly what he wants – how’s that for “ticking all the boxes”?

As cool as it sounds, if a genie were to appear to me tomorrow, none of my three wishes would be wasted on time travel. I believe that everything that happens in our lives occurs exactly when it’s meant to. To tamper with life in that manner would simply be a disservice to really living.

You know you often hear about how people who've worked in corporate suddenly "find their music" and leave their handsomely paying jobs to open a cake shop or travel to Africa in efforts to stop hunger, and perhaps adopt a poor African child or two? For me my music was not found outside of corporate but rather in a different industry. 

One of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make has been an oxymoron because it was also the easiest – taking the plunge and making a drastic career switch to do exactly what I’ve always wanted to do. I tried this in my first year of working and again in my second year but as time would have it; it just wasn’t the right time. It wasn’t until I was well into my third year that the time seemed ripe, ironically this was when I was starting to get comfortable in my role. I was on a progressive path, I worked for an awesome company with amazing people and amazing brands but I just recall sitting in a strategy meeting for a new product launch thinking, "does the world really need another biscuit?!". Because that's what's it's all about right? Branding, regardless of what your product is, is centred within finding "the next big thing" but the next big thing is usually a slight variation of the existing BIG thing be it new packaging, new flavours, new features; we're really just…reinventing the wheel. Not to knock Marketing but as much as it came naturally to me, it really wasn’t something I wanted to wake up to five days a week, I had to make a U-turn – and so I entered the wonderful world of banking. The end goal was always either a taste of Wall Street or Canary Wharf, how, I had no idea but it was going to happened one way or another.

Investment Banking is certainly not like the movies but I’m pretty sure that there’s a doctor out there who chose their career thinking everyday life would be like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Scrubs. But as far removed from what Hollywood has sold us, I wouldn’t have had it any other way, no need to go back to the past, no need to re-write the script. 

I look back at 2014 and am grateful for every experience, the ups and the downs of starting over. The biggest downside of it is age-centric because well at certain ages we're expected to be at certain points in our lives. When I resigned from my previous company, one of my managers even sternly reminded me that I was not getting any younger, I nodded in feign acknowledgement but in my head I was thinking and that’s is exactly why I’m doing this.
 
Yes, of course it takes you back because you know your peers are going to continue to climb the ladder you once started together but it also teaches you to focus on your own path. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in a corner office 10 years from now wondering what it would’ve been like had I followed my heart. I wanted to find out immediately and I knew that putting it off would not make this any less desirable and well, you know what they say; it’s better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than halfway up one you have no desire to.

A lot of people were concerned, a lot doubted and others asked me what I’d do if I did the move and realised that the grass wasn’t greener but for me it wasn’t even about the colour of the grass but rather taking the risk and then living to tell the tale, happy ending or tragic. My tale hasn’t even started yet, the year 2014 was just the prologue.