INSPIRING stories of different journeys into different careers were heard in Windhoek late on Monday afternoon when the latest edition of Who’s Who Namibia was launched.
What editor Thea Visser described as a book of different lessons with inspiring stories, is a volume packed with useful information and reference material about Namibia, its people and the businesses and organisations which drive it.
About 10 of the people who are featured in the book attended the launch, and briefly told their stories.
One such person was Johannes !Gawaxab, the former managing director of Old Mutual Africa, and ex-chairman of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor).
He said when his team arrived at Namcor, they found the company technically insolvent, but they left Namcor with a healthy cash balance and financial standing when their term came to an end in September 2016. This is a sign of good leadership in the man who is well-known in the Namibian economy.
!Gawaxab left his audience awe-struck when he spoke about the recipe for being a successful leader.
“We should learn to lead with limited resources, and our aspirations should exceed our resources,” he noted.
Letshego Bank’s chief executive Ester Kali spoke about how her school teacher always taunted her that she would never realise her dream of working in a bank, but she had proved the teacher wrong.
Kali led the team which managed to secure a banking licence for Letshego.
“When I was a bank clerk those years at Ondangwa, I wanted to do everything. I observed what those who held positions I dreamt of having were doing,” she said.
“I was working hard, and did not even wait to be asked if I could assist,” she added.
She cautioned that people should not just think that everyone who made it got what they have on a silver platter, saying the stories of tears people shed on the way are not always told.
Owner of Slow Town restaurant, where the launch took place, Dennis de Wet, spoke about the importance of doing what one loves.
After obtaining his university degree, he worked as a financial analyst. After years of ‘making a living’, he decided he had to be honest with himself as he started hating his job because of the routine he never liked.
“I hated the whole routine of waking up and being at work from 8 to 5,” he said, adding that people need to find out what they are most passionate about.
He, however, cautioned people not to regret or feel bad that they wasted time doing something else. He said they should instead use that opportunity to their advantage.
“Now, I have to use those skills of numbers when I am balancing my business books.
Elke le Roux’s journey in the local economy started five years ago when she came to Namibia to work as an architect.
Like De Wet, the young and brave South African woman decided to do what she loved, and left her architect job last year to become a fulltime ceramic artist.
“I became exhausted, and stopped getting inspired,” she said, adding that she is happy now that she is a part-time architect and full-time artist, unlike when these roles were the other way around.
She also strongly spoke about the hard work she puts in.
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