Elle Boss: Meet the 6 Finalists
Tonight is the night, we announce the winner of our 2015 ELLE Boss Award in partnership with the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award. The award ceremony will take place at the Tsogo Sun at Hyde Park Corner in Joburg, and aims to celebrate women in business from both corporate and entrepreneurial categories. Here, we get to know our talented finalists a little better.
1. Lori Samantha Milner (34, Entrepreneur)
Your profession? I am the director of Beyond the Dress and the owner of Mobi Warehouse.What makes me an ELLE Boss? Every day I live the values that define what it means to be an ELLE Boss. Beyond the Dress was started with the goal of helping working women navigate the seemingly impossible challenge of juggling their professional and personal lives. I had no idea how to start the business, but I did it anyway, knowing I would learn and gain the necessary skills as I went. What started as a series of public events has grown organically into employee wellness programs aiming to equip women with the tools to become the best version of themselves.Words to live by….I believe you don’t have to know what the end game looks like in order to start. You need to have an idea that you believe in and infuse it with action and hard work to be a success. My motto is that life is choice. You choose what you think, how you act and, how you respond to situations. Make a point of being a problem solver and believe there is always a solution and a lesson to be learnt from any situation.
2. Stacey Brewer (31, Entrepreneur)
Your profession?Co-founder and CEO of SPARK Schools, EntrepreneurWhat makes me an ELLE Boss?I am an ELLE Boss as I am the proof that by just believing, one can try and tackle one of the country’s biggest problems.Words to live by… I live by ensuring that those around me are given opportunities, feel empowered and become people that they never imagined.
3.Tamsyn Ferreira (32, Entrepreneur)
Your profession?I am General Manager and co-owner of Alifurn Outdoor Living – a family owned and run outdoor furniture business – which started in 2011. From humble beginnings in a garage, Alifurn has grown in leaps and bounds, and has firmly established itself as an innovative and reliable partner in the leisure furniture sector. Drawing from my experiences in corporates such as Shell Oil Treasury Centre and Investec Private Bank, as well as my BCOM and CIMA degree’s, I am passionate about working on my vision: to combine having a meaningful career and motherhood, whilst actively investing in building a better South Africa for future generations.What makes me an ELLE Boss?Any working mom deserves a gold medal, but what makes all the chaos and pressure of growing my family as well as my business worthwhile, is the fact that I am not only investing my time and energy into building a future for my children but also for the 25 families Alifurn supports, which means it is the future of about 50 children!With more than half of my team comprising of women who are mostly single parents and sole bread winners, I feel that it is both a privilege and my responsibility to be a mentor and role model to these ladies.Words to live by…Treat everyone with respect and lead by example.
4. Sal Govender (44, Corporate)
Your profession?Sales, Marketing and Communications Leader of Cummins Southern Africa Corporate Category.What makes me an ELLE Boss?I believe in creating a legacy for tomorrow by creating a platform today for that legacy to grow. Being an authentic leader with balanced transactions in all I engage with. I invest and nurture the teams that I work with and obviate titles and hierarchies for people to prosper. My biggest success is when the individuals I work with see their dreams and aspirations seek fruition.Words to live by…Let your success not be measured by the wealth you have but by the value you have created.
Your profession?I am in the aviation sector, I am the Regional Manager for Southern Africa & Latin America, Director for Air Mauritius Pty LtdWhat makes me an ELLE Boss?Being a natural and humble leader is my daily aspiration and focus. The aviation sector is a challenging industry where the profit margins are very tight so my ongoing commitment, strength, courage, passion, innovation and confidence is what drives and fulfills me.If you put a few things on a page, you leave lots of room for imagination… I have learnt that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. In my corporate career, I have felt fear more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness and I conquered it! I have also learnt that you have to see it to be it. I am a winner.Words to live by…The heart is what matters most of all. Risk it, go for it. Life always give you another chance, another go at it. It is very important to take risks. When you teach, you learn. A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination by Mr. Nelson Mandela
6. Lynnette Nontobeko Magasa (40, Corporate)
Your profession?I am the CEO of Boniswa Corporate Solutions Pty LtdWhat makes me ELLE Boss?My business was started from scratch by myself and has gone through all the critical cycles of evolution, having made strides from inception stage to the current growth trajectory. Boniswa is a truly women empowered business, and has become a serious player in contributing towards the socio-economic development of South Africa through job creation and the upliftment of communities. The business is the brainchild of women and stands tall to be counted as a success story in our country – something that should be a motivation to the emerging female entrepreneurs. It does not matter how disadvantaged one is, there is always room for growth. I started as a receptionist and today I am able to feed more than 1000 families.Words to live by?The road to success is always under construction, the environment is constantly changing so one needs to stay abreast of changes.
The 2015 ELLE Boss Award in partnership with the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award winner will be announced tonight. Follow @ELLEMagazineSA #ELLEBoss on Twitter for all the updates!