Full Name: Shabnum Dawood

Position and Company Name: Country manager for South Africa and member of the Middle East and Africa management board at DHL Global Forwarding

Main Activity of the Company: DHL Global Forwarding is a logistics and freight forwarding company

Date and Place of Birth: March 6, 1982, Durban, South Africa

Schools and Tertiary Education: Protea Secondary School, Durban University of Technology, and Gordon Institute of Business Science

First Job: Office administrator at DANZAS on a six-month contract

Size of First Pay Packet: R1 600 a month

Career Path to Date: Ocean import manager, business development and key accounts manager, operations manager, branch manager, country head and CEO

Value of Assets under Your Control: From an asset perspective, R2.8-billion; from an equity perspective, R1.1-billion

Number of People under Your Leadership: 350

Management Style: I am results driven, goal orientated and purposeful, while highly collaborative, kind, empathetic and enthusiastic, and social

Personal Best Achievement: Leading a highly complex, diverse and high-performing business in a country like South Africa; the positive turnaround and results achieved in managing the Durban and Port Elizabeth branches and Oceanfreight for South Africa; and becoming a facilitator and trainer at DHL Global Forwarding, which allows me to give back to our people

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

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: My previous CEO, Clement Blanc – he helped me manage my imposter syndrome by continuously steering me into roles that I didn’t think I was ready for at the time. His confidence in my ability when I couldn’t see it at the time was unwavering. It has continuously pushed me out of my comfort zone and enabled me to achieve the exceptional results I have attained to date

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern. She was the youngest female head of government, and gave birth to her daughter while in office. She is progressive and I have nothing but praise and admiration for the manner in which she handled the Christchurch Mosque shootings. Her quote that stands out for me is: “One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be compassionate and strong.”

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: DHL Global Forwarding Middle East and Africa CEO Amadou Diallo. The culture he has created in our region is truly unique and special; it exemplifies and celebrates diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. He is a leader for the people and strives to achieve future-ready environments, with happy employees

Philosophy of Life: Ubuntu – the spirit of Ubuntu resides in me, for “I am, because We are”. It’s a form of humanism valuing survival, solidarity, spirit, compassion, respect and dignity.

Biggest Ever Opportunity: To be the country head for South Africa at DHL Global Forwarding

Biggest Ever Disappointment: None

Hope for the Future: A more stable political environment and better government-managed infrastructure in this incredible country of ours, which has so much to offer. I also hope that DHL Global Forwarding South Africa achieves the Number 1 spot for best-performing country in our region on at least one of our three bottom lines

Favourite Reading: Think Again, by Adam Grant; Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl; Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah; and any fiction by Jojo Moyes

Favourite TV Programme: Game of Thrones and MasterChef Australia

Favourite Food/Drink: Indian food/coffee

Favourite Music: Most 90s music

Favourite Sport: Formula 1

Hobbies: Road trips and travelling to new places and trying new food

Car: Mercedes-Benz

Pets: None

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Reptiles and red-eye flights

Married: No

Children: None

Clubs: None – I’ve just changed cities