Full Name: Tafadzwa Chibanguza – my friends and colleagues call me Taffie

Position and Company Name: COO of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa)

Main Activity of the Company: Seifsa is an advocacy, lobby and collective bargaining employer federation of 18 member associations representing 1 200 companies that employ in excess of 150 000 employees in the metals and engineering sector

Date and Place of Birth: May 1989, Harare, Zimbabwe

Education: BCom (Economics and Econometrics), University of Johannesburg; BCom (Hons) in Economic Policy, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits); MCom (Economic Policy), Wits; and I am scheduled to complete an MSc in Mining Engineering at Wits in 2022

First Job: I started a car wash company which employed three people, including me, in 2003, but my first formal job, after high school and before university, was in insurance sales

Size of First Pay Packet: R2 500 a month

Career Path To Date: After university, I started within the FirstRand Group at FNB Private Clients and then moved to Rand Merchant Bank (as a technical investment analyst). In 2013, I joined Seifsa as a junior economist and rose to senior economist, before moving to Minerals Council South Africa, where I worked as an economist until my return to Seifsa in 2022

Value of Assets under Your Control: Seifsa is registered with the Department of Employment and Labour as a federation of employer associations and, by virtue of its registration certificate, is deemed to operate on a not-for-gain basis

Number of People under Your Leadership: As COO, I work closely with and in support of the CEO. The organisation employs 21 employees across three main business units, namely Industrial Relations Services; Human Capital and Skills Development Services; and Economic and Commercial Services. These, together with Marketing, Sales, Communications and Finance, make up Seifa’s staff complement

Management Style: Collaborative – encouraging all opinions results in refined decisions

Personal Best Achievement: Becoming a father

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

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Henk Langenhoven, a former boss, mentor and friend

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Former US President Barack Obama

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita

Philosophy of Life: The race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant; time and chance happen to them all

Biggest Ever Opportunity: Thus far, the opportunity to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to Seifa’s story in my capacity as the organisation’s COO Biggest Ever Disappointment: Missing cum laude on my first master’s degree programme by a mere 2%

Hope For the Future: That there is greater collaboration between the private and public sectors across all spheres (economic, social, security and education, besides others) so that there are sustainable outcomes for the country

Favourite Reading: Biographies and books on economic history. My favourite book of all time is Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson

Favourite TV Programme: Big Bang Theory and The Office

Favourite Food/Drink: Ribs and Rock Shandy

Favourite Music: Anything by Bob Marley

Favourite Sport: Formular 1 and watching marathons

Hobbies: I enjoy running – 5 km to 6 km every weekday morning and a half marathon on weekends when time permits

Car: Audi

Pets: None yet, but as my young daughter gets older, I suspect a request is loading

Miscellaneous Dislikes: People who do not fully invest themselves in the task at hand – be it a small or major task – in both their family and professional lives

Married: To Rebone Chibanguza

Children: I have a daughter, Nashe Chibanguza

Clubs: Christian Men’s Ministry – a nondenominational platform for professionals and businesspeople that trains leaders for the marketplace, family life and faith