Young women empowered by Trustco – Junior Board appointed
Trustco Group Holdings Limited in an initiative to acknowledge and develop skills of talented and potential local female leadership in business and State Owned Enterprises, appointed a Junior Board this week.
Trustco decided on a Junior Board mentorship programme after the overwhelming interest shown by young professionals in response to the Trustco board member recruitment campaign that was run over a very short period of time in March.
The newly appointed Junior Board will be tasked, trained and tested on a series of responsibilities and challenges which will require research capabilities, practical problem solving capacity and the encouragement of strategic thinking.
The training of young talent for the demanding board room environment already commenced and the intensive Trustco mentorship programme will continue at least until May 2019. Their induction and first lesson was conducted by Prof Lana Weldon and encompassed the principles of King IV and its importance to good corporate governance.
The Junior Board consists of 4 external young candidates and 5 internal (Trustco-employed) candidates.
The external junior board members consist of:
Loide Ndahafelao Angula (26) has a B.Juris and a LLB from the University of Namibia. She is busy with her final year at University of South Africa for a Master of Law in Corporate Law. She is employed as a senior legal officer at the Ministry of Justice and an admitted Legal practitioner of the High Court of Namibia.
Kristofina Shimpanda (35) has a Master of Business Administration, degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Honours), Degree of Bachelor of Education and is registered as engineer in training with the Engineering Council of Namibia. She currently works at Roads Contractor Company as a Civil Engineer.
Tulimekondjo Ruben Iishitle (37) has a Master of Philosophy in Future Studies (long term strategic planning) from the University of Stellenbosch and a Bachelor Degree in Economics from the University of Namibia. She is currently employed by the Khomas Regional Council as a Deputy Director: Rural Services and is responsible for the implementation and management of income generating and livelihood improvements projects.
Lydia Mbahepa (35) has Master of Business Administration from Bremen University and a Bachelors degree in Business Administration – Strategic marketing management. She is employed at the International University of Management as a lecturer.
The Internal Trustco junior board members are:
Hipa Murangi – (33) has a Diploma in Personal Computers Engineering (NQF:6) and a Bachelors degree of Business management (NQF7) first year. He is currently COO of ICT Learning and Distribution at Trustco and is a member of the Top 40 employees of Trustco.
Jaco Klynsmith (33) has a Diploma in Professional Acting for Camera and BTech Degree (Cum Laude) in Public Relations Management from Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He is appointed as Head of Media at Trustco and serves as a Top 40 member.
Elizabeth Lukas (31) has a National Diploma and Bachelors of Technology in Natural Resource obtained from the Polytechnic of Namibia (now NUST) and Nelson Mandela University (NMU) (previous NMMU), South Africa, respectively as well as a Certificate in ISO 14001: Environmental Management System from FIRI. She is currently completing her Masters of Science at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). She currently holds the position of Environmental Officer at Trustco.
Marlida Jacobs (34) commenced employment at Trustco more than 12 years ago as a debtors clerk. The growth opportunities and challenges at Trustco has made her whole career an exciting and enriching journey. Marlida was appointed to the Trustco Top 40 and has now served 3 consecutive years. Marlida holds the position of acting Head: Treasury.
Katrina Basson (34) is currently enrolled for a Bachelor of Business Administration and holds the position of COO of the regional offices. She manages and oversees the operations of all the regional offices in Namibia, is a Top 40 member and has been in the employ of the group for more than 13 years.
Confirming the appointment of the Junior Board, Adv. Raymond Heathcote, chairman of the board of directors of Trustco Group Holdings, said that this initiative endeavours not only to empower young women, but to assist in fast tracking a female board presence in the boardrooms of the nation.
“I want to welcome the newly appointed members for both our main and junior boards to the hub of Trustco innovation, entrepreneurship and strategic transformation. This unique set of challenges and opportunities will surely produce individuals that will have the strength of will and sense of commitment to forge a successful nation and private sector with efficient governance on all levels. They will follow in a legacy of a long line of Trustconians who broke convention in propelling this group to where it is today, ‘’ Adv. Heathcote said.
“Being elected as the future custodians of a promising and vibrant Namibian economy will require that you must fly to where there is no limits, in order to reach the greater heights. You will ensure that more individuals share in the growing wealth and improvement of the Namibian House,” Adv. Heathcote added.
