NATURAL FIT

Exxaro's brand-new CEO Dr Nombasa Tsengwa on influential leadership, greening the mineral resources industry and the fine balance of managing business, natural resources and environmental needs.

- YESHIEL PANCHIA

DR NOMBASA TSENGWA CUTS A STRONG personality even across a computer screen, with her acute mind and high energy driving clear, well-thought-out responses – appropriate given that she is about to take up the mantle of CEO of Exxaro, one of the largest heavy minerals mining companies in South Africa.

While the position seems a natural fit now, having an established reputation both within the company and the mining industry, the journey from botany and agronomy to a female executive in the traditionally male-dominated mineral resources industry was engaging, and not without challenges.

Growing up in rural Transkei, Tsengwa’s father drove home the importance of academic success, which eventually led to her obtaining her PhD, and her mother’s passion and success in gardening led to her field of study in botany and agronomy.

“… being raised by a father who was a disciplinarian and teacher… I’ve got to really be successful academically,” Tsengwa recalls with some fondness. It is to his stern focus on success that she credits her determination and drive to succeed. Identifying which direction this success would take was less clear in the beginning.

After graduation, Tsengwa began her career in the civil services working at the Department of Environmental Affairs, where the work she was suited to began to reveal itself; implementing and ensuring compliance with environmental policies, particularly with the imminent threat of climate change.

“It was great to create impacts in the country in terms of environmental stewardship, and making sure that the standards in the country are upheld.”