NDAMU SANDU
There are certain attributes that define Eunice Ganyawu-Magwali (pictured). The Nestlé MD for Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi loves motorsports and has religiously followed Formula 1 for the past 20 years, rooting for the Mercedes team.
Apart from the excitement of wheel to wheel racing, the glamour, intrigue, controversies, politics or the rivalries, what fascinates her most fascination is the speed, cutting edge technology, how the drivers must be on the absolute edge of performance for every second of the race, fearlessness, the apex of athletic skills, shocking outcomes and teamwork that goes with it.
“F1 is essentially a team sport and the driver relies on his team to plan the perfect strategy for the race.
The F1 series gives me a sense of community and something to passionately root for collectively over and above the reflections and refreshing thoughts around what goes into building a successful team and the transferable elements to the world of business, especially around leadership and building endurable brands from the Lewis [Hamilton] case of success,” Ganyawu-Magwali told Business Times.
Her philosophy is underpinned by the notion that progress or bravery over perfection is the core that has consistently steered her towards achieving meaningful outcomes in every aspect of life. This has kept her focused, positive, grounded and inspired in making decisions in life, “realising fully that perfection is unattainable but being fearless at trying things and perfecting is”.
To her, ambition is progressive which has made the executive to embrace each opportunity, day after day and “appreciate that I was building something block by block”.
“It kept me optimistic yet realistic to remain cautious of accelerating too fast but applying honest and consistent effort and action with ripple effect. It has helped me to chart a course that places me in the right organisations or places, at the right time, in order to take advantage of market conditions that amplify my collective strengths,” she said.
The strengths also had to change and improve over time to make sure that one remains valuable and relevant at any given time, the executive said.
“The philosophy speaks to my commitment and determination to be a lifetime learner and an adapter to changing environments, to make mistakes and learn from them, to go for opportunities with courage and never to be afraid of fear, keeping in mind that no matter what, in the end I am going to have a magical story to tell,” Ganyawu-Magwali said.
She became the first female MD of the cluster that has Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
While the appointment was a first, it was ultimately confirmation that many women can aim to come and occupy the same position with confidence, and it will become commonplace and cease to be remarkable or notable, she said, as she looks forward to “that day when it will be very normal and no longer newsworthy that a female MD/ CEO has been appointed and focus is on what they will bring to the table not that they are female”.
For her the appointment was a culmination of years of work by the global food processor to build a trend of “sustainable diversity, cutting across gender, racial, and many other dimensions, through its Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging policies”.
“The 21st century has confirmed clearly that now more than ever what is needed is strong leadership and resilient organisations and what matters more is a person’s ability, values, experiences, interest; then matched to a specific organisation/ institution and there are no hormones for those attributes as alluded to by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in a 2012 Tedtalk,” she said.
She said the appointment of some female executives to senior leadership position such as Clara Mlambo (COO- Liquid Telecoms Southern Africa) Shuvai Mugadza ( Country Manager- DHL), Sibongile Moyo ( MD-Nedbank), Felistus Ndawi (GM-SeedCo Vegetables), Precious Murena- Nyika (CEO-Lafarge Holcim), among others, illustrate one can balance a family with a high powered job.
“.. that idea of balance has always been intimidating for many women as implies there’s an easy balance, that the two parts should be equally weighted,” she said.
Her CV has over a decade of experience in the FMCG sector having worked for Delta, National Foods and Dairibord before joining the Swiss-headquartered concern.
Reflecting on her previous assignments, Ganyawu-Magwali has adopted a glass half full approach. There is no right answer, and sometimes no answer at all, there is strategy, execution, and iteration, she said.
“As I took up each position with increased responsibility, the hardest thing I had to get over is the fear that I was not going to have the right answers, because I don’t have the experience, the perspective, the time to perfectly organise myself for success,” she said, adding that the journey up the corporate ladder has not been a straight line but zigzagging, dotted, sometimes broken line, with pauses and detours.
Her advice is one has to be bold and willing to take risks as it unlocks opportunities and leads to personal growth as there is no single path to success notwithstanding a number of detours.
This realisation has freed her to move fast and “get things done in the best way that I could”.
Ganyawu-Magwali learnt the true sense of general management at Dairibord where, as group Commercial Executive, she had to lead a commercial team for a business that was consolidating three subsidiaries into one and going through a transformation journey.
The shift from internal to external focus was immediate as the role required attendance at industry events, attending meetings with government stakeholders and beyond superficial interactions with the Group Chief Executive Officer, she said.
“The experience helped me to cultivate deep appreciation of my strengths, weaknesses, tendencies under pressure, insight about impact as a leader, perspective on managing the corporate brand, reputation, perceptions of analysts and the media as well as leadership readiness.
I carried from the role the passion for problem-solving, process improvement and efficiency, visibility to external audiences and my voice and instincts when managing high stakes interactions that helped me find success and I am able to apply it with confidence and more broadly in my current role.”
She says the MD’s position is structurally unique, and that prior preparation can never be complete; specifically, the immediate demands of sudden visibility and scrutiny, broad and deep communication, board relationships, and personal exposure.
“Being adaptable, resilient, flexible, and above all ready is the new normal for me over and above the ability to accept—and drive—change while developing a heightened comfort level with ambiguity and uncertainty especially in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ganyawu-Magwali said, adding the journey is worth the work despite one having to wait longer to enjoy the dividends of one’s labour.
Covid-19 baptism
Barely three months into her tenure, had Covid-19 struck changing the way companies operate. She was just coming from an induction at Nestlé East and Southern Africa (Nestlé ESAR) and an end of year break in December.
“As the magnitude of Covid 19 and its far-reaching impact on all our lives became very clear we realised that we had four key priorities as a business: first safeguarding the health, safety and well-being of our people, a swift transition to working remotely, securing business continuity to seamlessly meet dramatically increasing consumer demand and supporting our partners and communities in the fight against the pandemic,” she said.
The pandemic coincided with the roll out of Nestlé new purpose by CEO Mark Schneider: – “We unlock the power of food to enhance the quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come”.
“Our product portfolio which is fortified with essential micronutrients became extremely relevant for the challenge that was at hand and the added further angle of accessible and affordable nutrition became key differentiators of how we were going to contribute for impact towards the health and well- being of all across the value chain, most importantly quickly adapting to the changing consumer perceptions in a sustainable manner,” she said.
The pandemic brought four lessons for the new MD. A lesson learnt is the bottom line is people matter.
For Ganyawu-Magwali, everyone in the ecosystem matters from an individual, teammates, suppliers of goods and services, communities, customers, consumers, local authorities, civic organisations, among others.
“All the metrics that we track as business leaders: -productivity, quality, performance, customer experience, innovation to mention and many other are all human outcomes.
A deeper and collective sense of responsibility ensures better decisions; frequent, empathetic and transparent communication is a prerequisite for effective collaboration in the face the unknown,” she said.
For Nestlé, the safety of all was paramount: the health and safety of employees, business partners and the communities where it operates.
The executive learnt that business continuity and working together on inclusive and integrated crisis management and response was key.
At the outbreak of the pandemic, Nestlé group rolled out an inclusive and integrated crisis management and response approach with Schneider announcing travel restrictions.
The approach, Ganyawu-Magwali said, sailed as it had strong regional and national ownership with committed leadership and an effective coordination mechanism in support of a unified framework of action across the business.
“Sharing experiences from first mover countries were made available swiftly, learning logs were created and updated regularly to reflect lessons which allowed many markets to proactively prepare to respond to the pandemic while securing business continuity despite the anticipated hurdles from the pandemic,” she said.
Covid-19, Ganyawu-Magwali said, has also taught her that firms have to provide a helping hand to the communities and the food and beverages concern was “right there with them in fighting this significant global challenge with flexibility, resilience, courage, and a caring heart
She said the Covid-19 pandemic was unchartered waters for “all of us and there was no learning log to refer to worsened by the complex and rapidly evolving nature of the crisis which naturally would impact any coherent and coordinated approach”.
But the pandemic has also brought changes in the way companies operate. Companies, the executive said, were forced to revisit their supply chain plans with the view of reducing heavy dependence on foreign manufacturing and stretched supply chains across the globe and towards understanding the capability of suppliers that are local.
This has forced a number of buyers to appreciate that the time to routinely overlook these ‘expensive’ neighbours is gone and that there is plenty of opportunity to unlock the potential of local suppliers, she said.
“As a first we strongly recognise that if local partners do not have the capabilities required, they can be developed to produce scale. This is known as ‘supplier development’,” she said, adding Nestle provides technical assistance to suppliers to support their expansion and development of new capabilities.
The indefatigable executive is a member of Chapman Golf Club and Cleveland Shooting Club. She is also a member of Divine Network, a women in leadership social club where members regularly to share experiences as women in leadership, celebrate each other’s achievements, create and strengthen business relationships among women, sharing best business practices and the latest industries insights from industry leaders, community leaders, government officials and doers. The network is brainchild of Securico founder Divine Ndhlukula.
“These organisations not only make it less lonely for one as a woman in leadership or entrepreneur, they help one better prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, in a fun and social setting,” she said.
Ganyawu-Magwali is a firm believer that it takes a family to achieve more in life. Her husband, Pride Methuseli Magwali, has been supportive and has done household chores without making her “feel like I am inadequate as a wife.”
“Most importantly a husband who has never been intimidated by my career goals and has been my permanent cheer leader which has anchored my professional and personal journey while he was also handling his own hectic professional journey which he was equally committed to,” she said.
The support from the family has enabled Ganyawu-Magwali to raise four children while growing her career which has not been a stroll in the park but “doable” at the same time.
