Salute to my teachers, mentors and leaders

On this third day of the Month of Gratitude 2016, Respect! and thank you to all those wonderful women and men who have passed through my life and selflessly imparted a bit of their wisdom, skill, knowledge and a great deal of time to help save me from myself (and possibly save others in the process).

I loved my schooling because of the great start I had with Mrs Dawson. Sr. Theresilla, Sr. Roberts and all the other nuns at the Convent. (I am deliberately not going to mention Mr Patrick Shelver because of the armpit incident – and I know he reads my blog all the way from Australia).

Then there was my beloved Mr Miles, Mr Swart, Miss Sass, Mrs McGladdery, Mrs Ford and all my High School teachers who made leaving school quite an unbearable thought. There was a new headmaster toward the end of my term, can’t remember his name right now, just that there was a rhyme “don’t bend for a friend” that rings a bell.

The following years of independence should best be described as an “experiment without the requirement for relationships with any real adults”; so I can barely remember any lecturer names never mind recall what impact they made on me, which clearly wasn’t much. It is quite a blur actually.

I have also had the greatest privilege of having worked with some of the best leaders and inspirational women in my career. Each interaction has been valuable and all relationships appreciated.

Mmmmm… I’ve been working for a while now and I don’t want to leave anyone out but honorable mentions must go to Wendy Fisher (Sun International/IAMS), Tristan Kaatze (Sun International), Livio Contini (Sun International), Ruben Gooranah (Sun International), Nikki Twomey (Standard Bank), Sim Tshabalala (Standard Bank), Jacko Maree (Standard Bank), Jacqui Carnelley (Standard Bank), Sarah-Anne Orphanides (Standard Bank/AVI), Janet Proudfoot (Standard Bank/eTV), David Wingfield (Barclays Africa Group), Tim Kiy (Barclays Africa Group), Vukani Magubane (Coca-Cola), Nomvula Matlare (TBWA/Standard Bank)….*

Every meeting I chair, every presentation I deliver, every project I manage – will forever carry the imprint of a lesson gained or observation made from one or more career mentors or guides. For this I will always be grateful.

This does not include all the life lessons from friends and family along the way.

I am what I am because of you.

Namaste!

*If I left your name off and there is a pretty high chance that you will be offering attractive career opportunities in the next 3-5 years, please feel free to shout at me in the Comment section. Let’s be friends.