INTERVIEW | SA women revving things up in the wheel world

Brenwin Naidu speaks to three women helping to steer the future of motoring in Mzansi.

MAMPHO XIPHULA: Isuzu SA

Talk us through your background:

I was born and bred in Gqeberha. I hail from the streets of New Brighton and I was raised by my maternal grandmother. I come from a background of strong women; while growing up they took the role of mom and dad for all of us in the house.

My grandmother is one of the most incredible women I have ever come across, I think I can attribute any form of zeal, discipline and urge for self-development to her.

My mom was a nurse, recently retired after 40 years in the profession. 

I learnt the value of a high work ethic and absolute dedication from her.  

I started my schooling career at David Vuku Primary School in New Brighton, and for the betterment of my junior school education, I attended Parkside Primary School in the northern suburbs of Gqeberha. I later attended the then Trinity High School, now known as St Dominic’s High school  (1990), where I matriculated.

At this stage, I was still sleeping on my grandmother’s floor in her room, I had no sense of privacy or entitlement because my whole life been about sharing and community.

Being enrolled at this school was the single biggest investment my mother made into developing the person I am today — the value of a good education, though she couldn’t afford it. 

As I entered the world, I was armed with the strength of the women who had sacrificed so much for me and raised me to look the world in the eye. I went to university, completed a national diploma in HR, then did BTech in HR (part-time while working full-time) and decided at the age of 40 to register for my MBA (which I had been putting off for years), I knew even then I had a responsibility to show my daughters that it can be done.    

Walk us through a day in your role

My job, in a nutshell, is to ensure Isuzu attracts, develops and retains the best talent in the industry. Individuals with heart, character and strong leadership to drive organisational effectiveness for the future sustainability of the business. 

This means the team and I partner with the business functions to understand their strategic priorities and gain insights which helps me find talent solutions which support high performance, a strong leadership culture characterised by accountability and professional maturity. 

Challenges and rewards of your position?

Working with people is not easy; it’s a thankless job and I don’t take that negatively — I have learnt not to look for external validation and instil the same in my team. In our line of work we employ an internal rather than external locus of control. 

When we know, as a team, we have done well and have achieved a win for the business, we are able to pat ourselves on the back and celebrate, even the smallest of wins. 

Generally, as HR people, we tend to shy away from celebrating ourselves and that has to change. Thankfully, at Isuzu the human capital function has a dedicated seat at the table which is testament to the leadership culture and an appreciation of what drives any organisation — its people.

In which areas can the local motor industry improve?

I think the industry has a reputation for being male-dominated, but that narrative is changing. However, there is still a golden opportunity to create a balanced and diverse boardroom. There is a need to fast track that change at all levels in industry and do away with outdated narratives.

BRIDGET HARPUR: VWSA

Talk us through your background

I grew up in a small town in the Western Cape and studied performance arts, after which I did my post graduate in advertising at the AAA College. I worked in advertising for just more than 10 years in media strategy and account management until my path led me to Volkswagen SA. In my time at Volkswagen I’ve held roles in brand marketing, then had a position in sales for three years, after which I found my way back to marketing, my home ground. While my first love is marketing, my role in sales was an unbelievable growth curve, teaching me skills I didn’t even know I lacked.

Walk us through a day in your role

Like most corporates, we have a lot of meetings, discussions and presentations. We meet regularly with the three world-class agencies that support us and develop the creative work South Africans see on a daily basis.

In my role, the most important function is overseeing the marketing activities from brand marketing, digital and customer events, to race events and PR, ensuring all activities amplify our overall brand strategy. These activities need to steer the brand in the best way to position us for success next month, next year and 10 years from now.

We engage in healthy debate almost daily, as we are a very diverse team of 12, all from different walks of life and with varying expertise and skills.

We also have a lot of cross-functional collaborations between the other departments or disciplines within Volkswagen, making sure all areas of the business have been considered and represented correctly in our advertising.  

It’s important for our team to stay inspired and keeping creativity at the centre of everything that we do, so I also like to read articles, attend webinars and talks and leave a little bit of time for fun as a team.

Each day is different, though, and that’s why I love my job.

Challenges and rewards of your position?

Developing creative advertising that resonates with South Africans is my most important reward. As a local brand, we strive to represent a German brand that has a South African heart. Relatable, human and funny, but innovative. Bringing this character to life on a daily basis surely must be the most rewarding job. I have an amazing, diverse, supportive team who help navigate me through tricky corners at times. 

The motor industry has faced multiple challenges over the past few years and we have been forced to stay fluid. It’s been tough at times to not get despondent and stay positive. On a personal level it can be challenging to find the balance between work, travel and leaving time for my beloved family and friends, but I’m well practised at imposing strict boundaries and living comfortably in organised chaos.

In which areas can the local motor industry improve?

Diversity in all areas is one we can improve on. In sales and marketing the representation of women is fairly healthy, but in the more traditionally male roles, such as engineering, there is much room for improvement. We need to encourage young girls to participate in these careers and continually show them how exciting the motor industry is and how rewarding their participation can be. We also need to rapidly meet changing consumer needs and this is not always easy in an industry than plans 10 years in advance.       

JYOTHI DHOODHANATH: Ford SA

Talk us through your background

I grew up in Durban, coming from a family of five (two sisters, mom and dad). My parents passed on values of integrity, perseverance, kindness and courage. The importance of education and using it as an enabler to improve lives has always been emphasised by my parents. Growing up, I was fond of numbers and at the age of 11, I decided I wanted to pursue a career as a chartered accountant. I was awarded a bursary at Deloitte, enabling me to complete my tertiary education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I went on to complete my articles and secondment at Deloitte SA and Deloitte USA, qualifying in 2013. I am keen on mentorship and personal development, and I am a mentor and SA Institute of Chartered Accountants assessor, helping trainees and graduates achieve competencies and professional goals.    

I am completing my international executive MBA at Henley Business School and enjoying the transformational experience of learning and growing. I see myself as a lifelong learner and aspire to be the best version of myself. In my spare time, I love travelling and learning about different cultures, exercise, daily meditation, listening to music and spending time with family.     

Through audit engagements I was first exposed to the automotive industry. I joined Ford in 2016 and have been exposed to various departments, including product development, engineering, profits, corporate and operations accounting. My experience and business partnering in the various departments, and being a curious person allowed me to be exposed to many automotive topics that enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the industry. I am excited about being at Ford now as I believe Ford is on the rise with our next generation Ranger, digital disruption and our global electric vehicle evolution.

Walk us through a day in your role

My day starts with a morning team meeting, where I check-in with my team; we align on deliverable and priorities for the day. My team and I partner and collaborate with the engineering, launch and the logistics department daily to ensure our next generation Ranger test units are successfully shipped, on time to the various countries. We also ensure we bill all locations and all accounting is recorded accurately to reflect the substance of transactions. I review dashboards and metrics to ensure we are managing our working capital efficiently, by collecting cash on time from debtors and paying suppliers per pay term. The latter part of the day, I have one-on-one sessions with my team.

Challenges and rewards of your position?

Being in an operational role means you must be agile, action orientated and find quick solutions in an eight-hour day, with many meetings and emails. Partnering with operations means I am exposed to a lot of non-financial topics which pushes my boundaries to find simple quick solutions, process improvements and add value. Managing working capital efficiently, simplifying processes, being agile and supporting operations contributes to achieving the Ford Plus plan which I find rewarding and gives me purpose. I also find coaching and mentoring my team, helping to uplift them, rewarding, as I can affect a life positively.

In which areas can the local motor industry improve?

I believe the industry, on the whole, can continue improving the local content of vehicles produced in SA. Improving local content will result in vehicles being more cost-effective and affordable to customers. Increasing the local content of vehicles also increases business activity for suppliers, resulting in more job creation and an acceleration of the economy.

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