Women in Automotive Sector honoured at Festival of Motoring

Aug 24, 2019 Gumtree, Women in Autos, Kyalami, Festival of motoring, Jeff Osborne, Claire Cobbledeck

Women in Automotive Sector honoured at Festival of Motoring

The second annual Gumtree Women in Autos Conference, hosted by The Festival of Motoring in women’s month, honoured women from the automotive industry with peer-nominated awards. 

A teenage mom from the township who rose to the executive level of Nissan Africa, the first black female dealer principal to manage two branches, the new Commercial Director of NAACAM and the Head of Brand for Volkswagen South Africa are just some of the inspiring profiles featured at this year's Gumtree Women in Autos' event, hosted by the Festival of Motoring.

"There is no shortage of inspiring women in the automotive industry," says Gumtree Director-GM Claire Cobbledick. "But they don't step into the limelight often enough. We wanted to create a space for women of all backgrounds in the industry – from apprentices to CEOs, directors to sales staff, journalists and race drivers – to come together and share their experiences. We are delighted that this event has grown to the extent that it has."

"A theme from last year's event was Women honouring Women which is why we decided to let the motoring industry nominate candidates for their work across categories such as Human Resources, Admin and Finance, Marketing, Retail and Leadership. The public and their peers then voted for their favourites. We received hundreds of nominations and thousands of entries," continued Cobbledick. 

This year's event will also award five women with awards of recognition for their contribution to the industry, as voted for by their peers. Nominees include Meredith Kelly and Tarryn Knight from VWSA, Charmagne Mavudzi of Volvo, Basetsana Msimanga of Toyota, Tashta Bhana of Audi and three nominees from Jaguar Landrover, including Baxolile Msomi, Lisa Mallett and Nakie Nepfumbada. The public can have their say by voting for candidates at http://www.gumtreewomeninautos.co.za.

In keeping with the event theme Driving Progress, Driving Power Gumtree will bring young scholars from the surrounding townships to the Festival of Motoring and Women in Autos event to learn more about the industry. "We want to inspire the next generation of women in autos, particularly young women of colour," says Cobbledick.

The awards were preceded by inspiring speeches from top women in the industry including Commercial Director of NAACAM Shivani Singh, Ford CX manager Maja Smith and Head of Volkswagen Brand Martina Biene, Inspectacar CEO Pertunia Sibanyoni, Nissan Africa Head of Corporate Relations and Communications Nthabiseng Motsepe,  while South Africa's first black superbike racer, Morongoa Mahope shared the stage with her 12-year old daughter and fellow racer Tsholofelo.

The winners included: 

·      Janine van der Post, Wheels24 – Winner: Excellence in Journalism 

·      Marcia Mayaba, Dealer Principal: Barloworld Motor Retail – Winner: Excellence in Leadership

·      Emma Demmer, Dealer Principal: McCarthy Volkswagen Umhlanga – Winner: Excellence in Purchasing and/or Retail

·      Tashta Bhana, PR Manager: Audi South Africa – Winner: Excellence in Marketing & Communications 

·      Lisa Mallett, Marketing & Communications Director: Landrover Jaguar South Africa – Winner: Excellent Performance as an Executive 

·      Nolwazi Ntshingila, HR Clerk: McCarthy – Winner: Excellence in HR, Finance and/or Admin

There were also special nominations honouring race driver and road safety advocate Clare Vale, the first female to participate in the premier national Wesbank V8 Supercar series, as well as a special Career Achievement award for Gumtree's own Linda du Preez, the first female fleet sales manager in South Africa. 

Photo Gallery

• Gumtree, Women in Autos, Kyalami, Festival of motoring, Jeff Osborne, Claire Cobbledeck