THE 13 finalists for the 2017 Businesswomen of the Year awards have been chosen.
They will battle it out for top honours at the gala dinner event in Joburg on 7 September. This is the third year the Businesswomen of the Year Awards have been sponsored by Sasol.
Organisers of the awards, the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa, said the awards were aimed at women whose companies make a big difference in communities where they work.
Matshepo Msibi, executive director of the women’s association, said that the event, in it’s 37th year, is organised under the theme: “Women with no filter – celebrating leaders who honour themselves and others”.
Farzanah Mall, the association’s national president, said: “It is exciting to celebrate and acknowledge these women, especially given the tough economy they operate in.”
Finalists
Corporate
- Faith Khanyile, CEO and founding member of WDB Investment Holdings.
- Nompumelelo Madisa, an executive director at Bidvest SA.
- Michelle Williams-Swartz, operations director for Johnson and Johnson.
- Taryn Woodbridge, chartered accountant and senior manager of finance and control at Mercedes-Benz South Africa.
Entrepreneurship
- Barbara Farrell, owner and managing director of the UDEC Group, a leader in specialchemicals for the petrochemical refining and mining industries.
- Susan Rose Hadcroft, founder and managing director of Cubicle Manufacturing Solutions, which manufactures water resistant and durable toilet and shower cubicles, lockers and benches.
- Johanna Mukoki, co-founder and group CEO of Travel with Flair.
Social entrepreneurship
- Alison Smeeton, founder of EmployAbility, who provide job support for mentally disabled people.
- Dr Shaheda Omar, clinical director of the Teddy Bear Clinic.
- Sue Wildish, managing director of the LunchBox Fund NPO, which feeds kids.
Education
- Prof Cheryl de la Rey, vice-chancellor and principal of University of Pretoria.
- Associate Prof Katijah Khoza-Shangase, former head of department in speech pathology and audiology at Wits.
- Associate Prof Mzikazi Nduna, lecturer and researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand.
