Full Name: Magauta Mphahlele

Position and Company Name: Executive director of the South African Credit and Risk Reporting Association (SACRRA)

Main Activity of the Company: SACRRA facilitates the reporting to, and the sharing of consumer credit and risk-profile information with, the credit bureaux that have been approved by the National Credit Regulator to host payment profile information. SACRRA members are credit providers, telecoms companies, insurers, debt sellers and buyers, as well as credit bureaux and analytics firms providing services to the data-contributing and bureau members

Date and Place of Birth: November 24, 1967, Koster, North West

Schools and Tertiary Education: Selope Thema Primary School, in Orlando East, Soweto; Bona High School, in Orlando East, Soweto; BA (Psychology and Applied Linguistics), University of the Witwatersrand (Wits); BA (Hons) in Applied Linguistics, Wits; International Executive Development Programme in Development Finance, Wits

First Job: Junior lecturer in applied linguistics at Wits

Size of First Pay Packet: R4 000 a month

Career Path to Date: I served in various roles – from assistant director to director and project manager: consumer law reform – at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) from 1999 to 2007. I was a full member of the National Consumer Tribunal from 2007 to 2009, CEO of the National Debt Mediation Association (NDMA) from 2009 to 2013, and ombudsman of the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud Office from 2018 until the end of March this year, when I left to assume my current position as the executive director of SACRRA. I am also the founder of Ithuseng Credit Solutions, a wholly female-owned private company that has, since 2013, been working mainly in the mining sector to reduce the abuse of the payroll system by assessing and challenging illegal garnishee and administration orders. I have also served as a nonexecutive director on the boards of numerous companies and entities

Value of Assets under Your Control: Not stated

Number of People under Your Leadership: 14

Management Style: A combination of visionary, coaching, collaborative and transformational leadership

Personal Best Achievement: Setting up Ithuseng Credit Solutions, which has serviced listed mines in South Africa and employs young people. Ithuseng has assisted thousands of mineworkers who were struggling with debt and reduced payroll abuses substantially. We have been able to run Ithuseng while holding full-time executive positions

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My grandmother

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: All the women who were my leaders at the beginning of my career, especially when I started at the DTIC. They threw me in the deep end while making sure I did not drown

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: My grandmother, who passed away when I was 12 but by then she had instilled in me all the values I live by today

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: I draw inspiration from a range of individuals

Philosophy of Life: My grandmother always told me to be a useful human being. As a result, I make sure that I excel at everything I do and that everything that I do positively impacts on the lives of others

Biggest Ever Opportunity: The decision by the credit industry members of the NDMA to allow me to use the funds left over after the NDMA was closed down to continue the work that the NDMA was doing through Ithuseng Credit Solutions

Biggest Ever Disappointment: All the major events that I thought were disappointments were actually opportunities to create something better or become better at something

Hope for the Future: An honest and thriving South Africa

Favourite Reading: Cookbooks and gardening guides

Favourite TV Programme: Anything that has to do with cooking and gardening

Favourite Food/Drink: Wine and well-prepared wholesome food

Favourite Music: All music – from dance and gospel to traditional

Favourite Sport: None

Hobbies: Gardening, hosting and cooking

Car: Audi Q5 Sport Coupe

Pets: None

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Laziness, dishonesty and being unhelpful

Married: I have never married

Children: Tebogo, 30; Ofentse, 25

Clubs: A stokvel of women I attended university with. We have been meeting monthly for the past 30 years