Business & Career
The Winning Women of WestProp
GROWING up the versatile women in WestProp had different life aspirations. They however shared one similar dream of owning homes, but never imagined they would work for the most successful real estate company in Zimbabwe. In separate interviews they gave insights of how they have managed to stay afloat in this cut throat business driven by passion and vision. WestProp has a deliberate recruitment policy promoting equity and equality of both men and women.
This month is Women’s Month and on the 8th of March is International Women’s Day. In alignment with this year’s theme to #InspireInclusion, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to celebrate the women of #WestProp. By showcasing them, we hope to inspire inclusion because as Lisa Wingate… pic.twitter.com/Zum9qFGtHb
— WestProp Holdings (@WestPropZim) March 4, 2024
Five women sit in the WestProp C-suite – the decision making body outside the board. These are Mrs Tatiana Ellis, Mrs Joanna Sharpe, Ms Marilyn Mosha, Ms Tatiana Sharpe and Mrs Kerry Leigh-Meikle. Their departments have other powerful women leading sections driving the company’s heart and soul.
Mrs. Tatiana Ellis
Company CEO is Mr Ken Sharpe and below him is the multiple award winning and investor chief operating officer Mrs Ellis who sits on the WestProp Holdings Ltd board. “When at work I never realise I am a woman. I just execute the tasks like any other employee at WestProp Holdings. “The realization only comes when I have to do my womanly duties at home or when I have to use a gender specific facility at work. Our work environment does not segregate according to one’s gender,” she says. She runs the company’s operations with the agility of an army general and passion of a nurse. She has vast experience having worked in Ukraine, Dubai and South Africa in different multi-cultural settings. She is a mother and proud spouse.
Ms Rumbi Madziva
Working for WestProp has been one of the most rewarding experiences for Ms Rumbi Madziva the Finance Manager. “Although my job brief is finance – I find myself dealing with bricks, cement, roofing materials and construction equipment. I have learnt a lot with what goes on in the real estate business.
“I can safely say I have become a financial builder. I now see money in the form of bricks, mortar and built up structures,” she says.
Marilyn Mosha
Marilyn Mosha the Chief of Sales and Marketing is at the top of her game at WestProp. Having been with the company for five years, she worked hard, learned fast, and built a reputation for being honest, reliable, and professional. Her choleric personality has helped her to lead a winning team, concluding best deals, negotiating the best terms, and satisfying the most demanding clients. She is not afraid to take risks, challenge stereotypes, and break barriers.
Another top woman at WestProp is Mrs Joanna Sharpe the Chief of Relations. She is the typical goal getter – a woman who fears no challenge and always ready to tackle even the most problematic of situations. She traverses the world talking to potential investors and exciting diasporans and foreigners to invest in “beautiful Zimbabwe”. She is a role model for many women who want to pursue careers in the real estate sector. She is proud of what she has achieved, but is not complacent always looking for new opportunities, markets, and ways to grow. She is not just a real estate agent, she is a real estate mogul. Besides her sojourn at WestProp Holdings Ltd, Mrs Sharpe is a director at West Group Security company.
Mrs Kerry Leigh-Meikle
One of the C-suite women is Mrs Kerry Leigh-Meikle who enjoys working in the background just like an engine enclosed in the bonnet but making a huge difference to power huge and small automobiles. She is one of the longest serving employees having joined in 2008 as a personal assistant to the then managing director Mr Michael Van Blerk. Because of her work ethic and ability to multi task she later had an added responsibility of being the personal assistant to the founding chairman and now chief executive officer Mr Sharpe. She soon became a repository of knowledge and experience in the company operations and was upgraded to the ‘C suite’ when the company restructured. She now works as the chief administration officer reporting directly to Mr Sharpe. Her biggest asset is “experience and character”. “I have watched the company grow from strength to strength over the years and I am pleased to see the projects become a reality. A natural athlete – Kerry as she is popularly known in the office is a lawn bowler. She plays the sport competitively at district and national level. In 2018 she brought a bronze medal from Botswana where she played against teams from the hosts, Namibia and South Africa.
Ms Zothile Ndhlovu
Ms Zothile Ndhlovu, a trained Civil Engineer is the site manager at WestProp construction sites. She feels the honour and trust bestowed on her in the previously male dominated industry. “The industry is full of men but it has been an amazing opportunity to be part of the WestProp family as a woman. I have run projects where flats, modern townhouses, roads, water and sewer reticulation are done from start to finish. I work with various contracted construction professionals such as mechanical, structural and other civil engineers in a male dominated field where there are few women. I feel this makes me special. Our company treats us as equals without any bias towards any gender. When the history of the real estate sector is mentioned in Zimbabwe – I am happy I have laid my hand through the trailblazing developments,” she reckons.
Shantel Magodo
Then there is the always smiling and jovial Shantel Magodo – a property sales executive who has penetrated the industry with vigour. She joined WestProp in 2022 and has never turned her back managing to score huge sales and assisting the company maintain its sales records. She has spent five years in the property industry where she has set sights to be one of the leading women in property business. She aims to climb the corporate ladder and lead from the front as she fulfils the WestProp 50-50 gender parity drive. She is customer centric and always thrives to leave a smile on her clients’ faces. She quips; “My job is never done until the client is happy”. The multi-talented Shantel is a NUST graduate with a degree in Property Development & Estate Management, a post graduate diploma in Project Management (PMZ) and a Digital Marketing Certificate (Google Digital Skills for Africa).
@shanteljean Come to work with me as i show of this gorgeous unit in Borrowdale West! #realestate #realtorsoftiktok #harare
Mrs. Mpokiseng Moyo
Another woman to celebrate is Mrs. Mpokiseng Moyo a Quantity Surveyor for 22 years. She holds a Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honors Degree) from the National University of Science and Technology and a National Diploma in Quantity Surveying from the Bulawayo Polytechnic. “I get fulfilment from my job, especially when I look at the structures I would have worked on,” she says. Because of the age old stereotypes that assign certain roles to men, Mrs Moyo always goes the extra mile to tell her male colleagues that she has capable hands. “I always joke with my male colleagues saying, “what men can do women can do better”. I don’t just joke about it, I make sure that they realise it whenever I am conducting my duties. She has worked for the Namibian Government and private construction companies in Botswana and Namibia.
Mr Sharpe says the company vision in terms of employment is to experience a 50/50 balance between men and women and to accord the assignees respect and recognition that helps the company to achieve the one billion brick mark by 2050. “Homes and families are built by men and women. In our company we believe in the joint effort between men and women hence our thrust to strike a balance in populating our employment structures,” he says.
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