Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane is a force to be reckoned with. Described in Finding the Woman Within:  How to thrive in a male dominated society as being a shatterer of glass ceilings and someone who rewrote the rules, she has won multiple awards which have honoured her work as CEO of a variety of highly recognised companies.

Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane was born in Peddie in the Eastern Cape South Africa where she grew up and then studied. She spent 10 years working for auditing firms (Aitken and Peat; now KPMG and Ernst and Young) where she finished her articles in auditing.

She then joined Transnet in 1998 as East London Port Manager as the first woman in this then male dominated role.  Some of these awards are:

• • The CEO of the Year Award, in 2014, which was awarded by the Institute of People Management,

• • The Business Woman of the Year Award in the corporate category which was awarded to her in
    2015

• • The Woman in Logistics Award in SADC in 2015.

Nosipho started off her studies with an accounting degree. After she qualified, Nosipho spent several years in South Africa’s highly regarded auditing firms before turning her focus to port logistics.

Although her current career path is very male dominated, she has not let this stop her from achieving excellence. She is the current chairman of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal and is the first South African CEO of the Bombela Operating Company (Pty) Ltd which operates the Gautrain.

In addition to her work in logistics, Nosipho is a Global Motivational Speaker, being trained by Les Brown, as well as a John Maxwell-certified coach and mentor. She owns her own company through which she regularly gives motivational lectures.

Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane is high regarded among her peers, with many positive endorsements about her work and her as a person. Says Nikki Mbengashe, Chief Operating Officer at Woolworths Financial Services and Non-Executive Board Member of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation:  “Nosipho is a true transformational leader who really lives up to the phrase ‘paying it forward’.

Her passion and genuine caring about others are some of the reasons I am where I am today. She is passionate about career development, especially that of other women.”