“To truly feel empowered, our young women must see that there is a future. That is why I do the work I do today – carving a path for the future female leaders that will be our country’s change-makers”, says Buhle Hanise, Chief Operating Officer at BDO SA’s Business Restructuring division.
In today’s business landscape there is an increasing need for leaders who are agile and innovative while still being conscious and empathetic. Fortunately, we are seeing an emergence of strong females who are taking up these roles and having incredible impact as captains of industry.
Buhle Hanise epitomises one of these leaders and when asked why women are having such an impact in leadership roles, she says: “Women leaders provide a different set of skills and perspectives. Modern workplaces have evolved placing greater emphasis on qualities like listening, empathy, communication and approachability amongst the top-tier leaders. More importantly, female leaders bring structural and cultural differences to the table.”
Having started her career in accounting, Buhle took up the role of credit manager at Nedbank. “I had an amazing portfolio of clients but I wanted to challenge myself even further,” she says. After picking up more credit experience with Standard Bank she was offered the position of Senior Business Rescue Specialist & Team Leader at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), where she stayed for several successful years. In 2020, Buhle was appointed as the Chief Financial Operator (CFO) at China’s Beijing Automotive Group Co. Ltd (BAIC) SA. “I was an executive CFO working alongside the BAIC CEO and I gained invaluable experience understanding how companies work from the ground up by helping to set up BAIC’s production facility and all of its operations.”
In early 2023, Buhle moved to BDO SA to take up a role in their Business Restructuring division as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). The new role, however, isn’t completely different from her role as CFO. “Majority of the work will be analysing the financial status of companies. Every business is making a profit. The minute it makes a loss you have to worry. My job is seeing if those losses can be turned around and how to improve the revenue line to ensure business sustainability.” Although female leadership is on the rise in South Africa, we still have work to do. Buhle feels that this work is driven by strong female role models who inspire the next female generation.
“When I was in Grade 7, I wanted to be a chartered accountant just like Sindiswa Zilwa, the then second black South African female CA. It is crucial that young women have strong female role models to show them that being a woman with a family doesn’t mean you can’t be a business leader too. I’ve got a young daughter and I always say that if she doesn’t think her mom is her role model, I’ve failed. If I don’t inspire my own daughter as a leader, who will?”
