Full Name: Lusanda Vuyelwa Raphulu

Position and Company Name: Head of dispute resolution at Bowmans

Main Activity of the Company: Bowmans is a law firm

Date and Place of Birth: February 12, 1978, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Education: Bachelor of Social Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Bachelor of Laws, University of the Witwatersrand

First Job: Candidate attorney at Bowmans, in 2004

Size of First Pay Packet: About R8 000 a month

Career Path to Date: I have been with Bowmans my whole career, moving from candidate attorney to associate, senior associate and then partner in 2012. I was appointed head of the Employment and Benefits Practice in 2019 and head of the Africa-wide Dispute Resolution Department in 2022

Value of Assets under Your Leadership: Not stated

Number of People under Your Leadership: 108 employees

Management Style: I believe that I am an inclusive leader. I see my role as allowing and supporting each individual to be the best they can be and allowing each of the different practice groups in the Dispute Resolution Department to be the best they can be

Personal Best Achievement: Becoming a partner at Bowmans

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My mother – she instilled in me the value of hard work, the importance of strong female role models, and the importance of financial independence

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Various senior partners at Bowmans who have influenced, sponsored and supported my career over the past 18 years

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: There is no single person that I idolise; I enjoy meeting all types of people – from all walks of life

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: No one in particular; I am impressed by businesspeople who work hard and have successful businesses, but treat their employees well and give back to the wider community

Philosophy of Life: Positive impact - make the world a better place because you were in it

Biggest Ever Opportunity: Serving articles at Bowmans

Biggest Ever Disappointment: My mother being diagnosed with dementia in 2014 and losing all the experiences and memories that I thought we would still have together to give back to her after all she did for me and others

Hope for the Future: That we fix the damage that we have done to the world – from climate change to corruption and all forms of abuse of others

Favourite Reading: I have been hijacked by Netflix and Showmax and am currently not much of a reader

Favourite TV Programme: The Wife, on Showmax

Favourite Food/Drink: Having been raised in Durban, Indian food has always been a part of my life. There is also African food that I cannot go too long without, such as my mother’s steamed bread recipe, samp, pap and maas

Favourite Music: I listen to all types of music; it depends on what is going on in my life, the setting, the company and all sorts of other variables

Favourite Sport: Football – mainly because my younger son is a football fanatic

Hobbies: I am a great fan of art galleries and a foodie, and am always excited to try out a new eating spot. I also love exercising and am currently into barre classes. I took online guitar lessons in 2020 and 2021 to deal with lockdown cabin fever

Car: Audi

Pets: We currently have two dogs, a yellow Labrador called Krypto and a German Shorthead Pointer called Impi. We also used to have a chocolate brown Labrador called Mimi, but she passed away from old age a few years ago

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Racism, abuse, corruption, greed, hatred; on a lighter note, I also really hate cold weather

Married: To Marubini Raphulu

Children: Tendani, 14; Thabelo, 11

Clubs: I am part of a book club that is less active than it was before lockdown, but is a great way to keep in touch with others in this busy and time-constrained world we live in