Operations Director, Commercial Consultancy, Kenya
My first role was to programme manage a national roll-out of retail branches in South Africa.
Most recently I've led the merger of our cost consultancy business here with MMQS, a local South African firm, and I'm now Head of Cost Consultancy for the merged MMQSMace business.
The diversity – in clients, projects and the people I work with. South Africa is a very diverse country but the difference with Mace is that the company allows you to fully explore any and all opportunities due to its entrepreneurial nature.
It's difficult to choose, but I will say that the recent merger with MMQS is something I have been part of since day one and I feel very proud about what we have achieved so far; I’m passionate about the relationship and its future. It has definitely been one of my most favourite relationships to develop in my working career. I believe in MMQSMace - we are going to experience many proud moments and achievements.
Give it your best, in each and every situation you find yourself in. Looking back at my first few years of working, I thought I had made the biggest mistake with my career choice and was seconded to difficult clients with hardly any support from my then employer. After that, and even to this day, I often find myself drawing from some of the experiences and lessons I learned during that time.
The big opportunities will be in major projects, especially in infrastructure. However, the current and ongoing changes in the political environment in South Africa will bring uncertainty around some of the major projects we are targeting.
The widely expected improvement in commodity prices will have a positive effect on activity in mining and all associated sectors. We are well positioned with some of the major mining and transport clients, and will need to continue delivering top quality services to ensure we are one of the preferred consultants when activity starts increasing in these sectors. This will keep us very busy for the next three to five years.