CEO'S Report 03
I have started every report to date, saying that the year has been very busy. This one is going to be no different!
What is going to be slightly different with this report though, is that I am going to make explicit some of the challenges and problems still facing the BWA.
Some of these are considerable. Not insurmountable, just considerable. I have always, in past reports, downplayed them or not mentioned problems, since I have tended to get carried away by the positive attitude and enthusiasm that I feel for this job and the people I work with and for, every day. This has been a glaring mistake on my part.
However, after the last Council meeting, when some of these problems were explicitly raised, I would like to continue to raise them, in the interests of everyone working together to address and solve them.
But first, let me reiterate and in some cases, re-mention, some of the highlights of the year.
Some highlights in terms of events for 2003 have been:
IWF conference
29 January to 1 February 2003
The International Women's Forum is an organisation with which the BWA continues to forge a stronger relationship. A number of BWA members attended the South African IWF conference, at the invitation of the President, Bridgette Radebe. All of those who attended, found it to be a remarkable opportunity to learn and to network with South African thought leaders and IWF members and were extremely glad to have had the BWA give them the chance to attend a function that they would not otherwise have been able to be part of.
Database roadshow
5 - 12 February 2003
During February, a roadshow was undertaken by myself and Darrel Schreyer from Nebula Computer Technology, the company responsible for building the new database, to each of the BWA branches. The roadshow highlighted a number of issues for me. Firstly, that a visit like this by me was long overdue and secondly, again, the remarkable commitment by everyone at a regional level, to the BWA and to their branch.
Nicky Weimar Budget Speech
February 2003
For the last two years, Nicky Weimar (Veldtman), the Nedbank senior economist, has, in the immediate aftermath of the Budget speech announcement by the Trevor Manuel, the Finance Minister, visited each of the branches, to deliver a Budget presentation. The series of presentations kicked off in Johannesburg the morning after the Budget speech and then proceeded around the country. The presentation, which analysed the Budget speech and its implications for employers, employees and business owners in South Africa, was a resounding success again.
Mentoring seminar at GIBS
5 February 2003
A one day mentoring seminar was held at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, with Carole Hyatt, a woman based in New York and who has written and published extensively on the subject. The event was sold out within a few days of being advertised and had a significant number of men attending (approximately 20% of the audience). Delegates were primarily HR directors, but in some cases, also Managing Directors and CEO's of listed companies and delegates from as far a field as Richards Bay attended. The event positioned BWA well and also generated some income for the BWA.
Kim McFarland roadshow
March 2003
During the middle two weeks of March 2003, Kim McFarland, the 2002 Businesswoman of the Year, went on a roadshow to six of the BWA branches - unfortunately, she could not include P.E. in this roadshow and it looks unlikely that she will be able to make it this year.
We received very good feedback from members and from Kim, after the event. Based on this, such a trip will become a standard obligation on the part of the BWOYA winner and so doing, a standard event on the BWA calendar.
Coordinators training session
April 2003
The opportunity to have all of the branch coordinators for a training and brainstorming session, for 2 days in April, was immensely useful and valuable. This is the 3rd time that all of the coordinators have been brought to Johannesburg for a joint session and it really does help a huge amount with better understanding, assisting and rewarding them for what they are doing.
Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day
May 2003
The BWA was approached the national organisers of the "Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day project", and asked to endorse the project, which we did with great enthusiasm. The aim of the day was to get parents and other adults, to take girls to work for the day and so doing, to expose them to the opportunities and careers open to them, after school. The project was a huge success and a valuable positioning opportunity for the BWA once again.
BWA / MTN Brains Trust
June 2003
The BWA / MTN Brains Trust was launched on the 10th of June 2003, at the Hyatt Hotel in Johannesburg. Mrs. Zanele Mbeki was the guest of honour and the 7 trustees who were selected, impressed everyone present, to the degree that Mrs. Mbeki asked all of them to attend a "Women in Dialogue" conference which she was organising in Pretoria, with women from across South Africa, and asked one trustee, Hazel Shelton, to close the proceedings at the Gala Banquet, with the President, Thabo Mbeki.
I was also asked to speak at the conference and so, thanks to the goodwill generated by the Brains Trust, as well as the ongoing relationship forged with Mrs. Mbeki, by Namane, in her capacity as BWA President, the BWA is starting to build its profile in influential circles in South Africa. The goodwill and profile that is also being generated by the trustees and around them, is also valuable for the BWA.
Regional Business Achievers Awards
June 2003
The RBAA were held for the second year running at each of the 7 BWA Branches in June and July of this year. I have to commend not only the branch coordinators, for pulling off remarkable events in each of the regions, but also the branch chairs, who I know, also put a huge amount of effort into finding and showcasing winners and getting huge benefit and value for BWA and for Nedbank. Thanks also to Sandy Drew, the previous Pretoria coordinator, for managing the entire process nationally and being the central point not only for BWA, but also for Nedbank.
The addition of a third "start-up" category, seems to have added a lot of value to the process and I look forward to hearing back from the branches when doing the debrief for this years Awards, to see if they felt this to be true too.
Nelspruit
20 June 2003
A new BWA branch was opened in June 2003, in Nelspruit, under the guidance of Jo-anne Csaplar. Nanette Cooper, Dawne Murray and myself attended the inaugural function in June and were really extremely impressed not only at the turnout (approximately 200 women), but also at the quality and nature of the event. It certainly exceeded all of our expectations. Dawne has since also offered a considerable amount of mentoring and support to the branch, for which I am very grateful.
A subsequent function was held by the branch in July, and was attended by Namane, Rita and me. Namane was the guest speaker and did a great job. The branch and committee have a full calendar of events planned until well into 2004 and there is a coordinator in place, who works part time for the BWA and part time for Jo-anne. All in all, it seems to be going well and with an abundant amount of energy.
Internship
June - August 2003
Rita Sikhondze joined the BWA for a 2 month internship in June, after a 1 week internship in New York, with Catalyst, the largest and most significant U.S. NGO, dealing with women in business. Rita proved to be a very valuable asset and source of assistance. We used the opportunity of her internship, to expose her to as many aspects of South African business and business leaders and she certainly made the most of all opportunities which were given to her.
Businesswoman of the Year Award
28 August 2003
The 24th Annual BWOYA was held on the 28th of August. As I write this report, the function has yet to be held, but it looks to be a truly wonderful affair. Approximately 1000 guests are expected to attend and to pay R700, which will certainly provide a good boost for the Bursary Fund. The finalists for this years Award are also of a calibre that does BWA and the sponsors, Nedbank, proud. The criteria for nominees this year were changed, for the first time in a number of years.
The most notable change was that the minimum required budget under control, was increased from R2 million, to R 50 million. We also managed to bring together a truly stellar array of judges, including Cyril Ramaphosa, Carol Scott, Edwin Jay, Pearl Mashabela and Hixonia Nyasulu. Carol especially, who has been part of a number of judging process for BWOYA, told us that she thought that this years process was the best one she had ever been part of - a compliment and statement that I took to heart and which I think, speaks volumes about the way in which the Award has grown and the professionalism with which it is run.
International Links: Catalyst, FCEM and Harvard Business School
With Rita's help, a proposal was drafted, which was approved by Catalyst in the US, for the BWA to form the South African leg of a global Census which Catalyst undertakes, on the representation of senior women on boards and in senior executive decision making positions. The findings of the recent Catalyst survey were profiled not only in the Harvard Business Review, but were also featured in "The Economist" and so by aligning ourselves with this organisation, the BWA is really poised to make waves not only locally, but build valuable strategic relationships globally.
The Census will cost approximately R400 000 to conduct. The BWA identified Empowerdex, as the research house with which it would make the most strategic sense to work and Empowerdex has submitted a proposal to us. The full sponsorship proposal has been taken to Nedbank, and we are certain that once the BWOYA is out of the way, they will approve it as they can see, as can we, the tremendous strategic and branding value to be gained from the exercise.
Elaine Strydom and Dorothy Blacklaws, both longstanding members of NAWBO, approached Namane and me with the intention for the BWA and FCEM to rekindle their relationship. This matter has been on the agenda since last year and has finally been resolved from FCEM's side and they have confirmed that the BWA, with its mix of entrepreneurial and corporate women, is still eligible to join FCEM's global network. The matter of outstanding FCEM subscriptions that BWA will need to pay (approximately R15 000), still needs to be resolved but Pam Golding has committed to support the BWA in raising the funds.
More details on the links being forged between BWA and HBS, and the possibility for future events, are contained in Namane's report, but these are certainly exciting and I thank Namane for the great work she is doing.
All in all, a fruitful year to date, in many ways.
However, some of the serious challenges which still face the BWA primarily have to do with:
Finance, Infrastructure and Resources
At the last Council meeting, I highlighted my concern about the cash flow position about the BWA and this was borne out when branch salaries were due to be paid in June. At that time, Head Office was seriously constrained and could not pay salaries. This was due to a number of things.
Firstly, a significant portion of Nedbank's annual sponsorship of the BWA, had still not been paid. Secondly, Head Office had, for six months of the year, been paying the salaries of all the regional coordinators, as well as a number of incidental costs, such as ISP costs, etc. These costs were always, in the budget, allocated to the branches but had not ever been picked up by branches.
Thirdly, membership dues were very overdue, as a result of the many problems faced with the database and which were still ongoing.
While these problems were already in place, they were exacerbated by the fact that the Manco meetings which were scheduled, from the beginning of the year, between the President, Treasurer, Yvonne Finch and me, were not happening as smoothly or as efficiently as they were intended to and so we were still faced with the problem highlighted at the beginning of the year, that we were not informed of these problems in time, and unable to take corrective action in time.
The coordinators have really improved in so far as they have been submitting timely records to the bookkeepers, but from our side, we had not been interpreting the information submitted, in a way that could steer us clear of problem areas.
This problem has been lessened by having Martina Laurie come on board as the new Treasurer. Lizel Donovan certainly did her level best to sort things out as much as she could, but Martina, being an entrepreneur and avid BWA member, is able to devote far more time than Lizel reasonably could.
However, the problems of finances for the BWA, continue to be a problem. The new sponsorship agreement which has been approved with Nedbank, will solve some of those problems, since the sponsorship has been considerably increased. However, unless we have tighter controls and better understanding, we are just going to find ourselves in the same situation again, soon. Since I was hired as CEO, Council has expressed the strong need for the BWA to have precisely such tighter procedures and controls.
As CEO, I have failed to implement such policies and procedures.
As CEO, I have also failed to find ways in which we could better access infrastructure, such as new computers and office equipment - things which no organisation can be expected to run efficiently without. And so, we have dipped into the coffers and simply bought new computers, because the old ones were quite frankly and literally, forcing people to resign.
I know and have been told, that I have done a very good job in raising the profile of the BWA and positioning it as a business organisation, that can and should be approached for informed and relevant opinions. With Namane at the helm, this type of profile that the BWA currently has, can only be enhanced.
However, with the benefit of 18 months experience, I am understanding and seeing, the dire need for the types of policies and procedures, checks and balances, that will help ensure that the BWA has a far more effectively and efficiently functioning set of daily operations. More and more, I am asking for assistance in getting them done, and identifying ways in which we can make sure that they do get done.
Martina, again, has been instrumental in helping me identify problem areas, think them through and solve them. But in the same way as all of the branch chairs are elected, the very dedicated, able and committed Treasurers and President are also obviously elected.
The CEO is a paid employee of this organisation, but increasingly, as the first CEO, I feel strongly that the CEO role in the BWA needs to be assisted with a strong COO / CFO type role - a view that I have shared with both Namane and Nedbank. It is quite simply impossible for one person to fulfil the full range of duties that are required of the CEO currently, namely, representing the BWA, forging relationships, and implementing a strategy, to the more operational, overseeing the branches, managing the finances, following through on administration, drafting policies and procedures, etc.
Or potentially it is more a case that it is simply impossible for me to fill both roles.
I would like to discuss at Council, in more detail, the ways that I have already identified, and shared with Namane and Nedbank, to tackle things next year and look forward to everyone's input. I say at every meeting where I speak of the BWA, that the level of support, commitment and dedication of the women working with and for the BWA is really quite astounding. I have valued that support over the last few months and think that the BWA is going to continue to need it.
Ultimately then, we find ourselves in a position at the end of 2003, that is very different to the end of 2002, where we had doubled our members and significantly increased our corporate members. This year, profile is up, membership and cash are down. The momentum of last year, has not been sustained this year, and again, I think that this is an area where I have failed as CEO. Again, I would like to address this at Council.
But before we chart the ways forward, for this very exciting organisation, I would like to thank Namane for being the most remarkable President.
It was a very sad time in the BWA when Boni decided to step down as our President.
However, one truly wonderful thing has fortunately come out of that dreadfully difficult situation, and that is having Namane elected as the new President.
I could not have imagined how much help I needed, and/or the amount of help I was going to get, until she came on board and I am extremely, happily, grateful for all that she has done for the BWA and for me, personally and professionally. She is really going to take the BWA to new heights.
Niven Postma
20 August 2003