Young business talent from various sectors in South Africa were acknowledged and celebrated at the 2014 Standard Bank Rising Star Awards, which took place at the Hilton Sandton in Johannesburg last night.
The Standard Bank Rising Star Awards, now celebrating their third year, were established to "recognise, celebrate and connect young, talented individuals (aged 40 or younger) in an effort to raise awareness of local talent".
The ICT category was won by P:Cubed's business intelligence analyst, Muthe Rambuwani, who beat four other finalists, namely Noleen Ilunga-Muleya of Wipro, Thato Padi of Innovation Group, Clara Namnick of Business Connexion and Tamika Mercedes of Innovation Group.
MD of BlackBark Productions who organised the Rising Star programme, Laura Barker, says a 'rigorous' judging process is followed to ensure that real talent is discovered.
"For a country to continue to grow and excel, we must identify, recognise, develop and celebrate those exceptional individuals who make a difference and lead the way," she adds.
She says the Rising Star Programme is not an awards ceremony only. "The programme will establish a living community of young South African talent that will be developed, mentored and provided with necessary platforms for development and communication. This will enable them to become role models, opinion leaders and the inspiration for other future South African talent. In short, the programme will nurture these organisational and national assets who are set to play a key role in shaping the country and our continent."
Stefan Ferreira, commercial director of CEB South Africa (sponsor and managers of the rigorous judging process), says: "Organisations need to invest in identifying top talent and developing their potential to ensure they have the right talent to drive future productivity, innovation and performance."
The winners in the other categories are as follows:
* Caren Robb of afb for the Banking & Financial Services sector.
* Adriana de Beer of Sasol for the Energy & Chemicals sector.
* Harry Welby-Cooke of ActionCOACH for the Entrepreneur & SMME sector.
* Leeanne Soobramoney of The Point of Purchase Warehouse for the Logistics & Supply Chain sector.
* Rohitesh Dhawan of KPMG for the Professional Services sector.
* Andrew Jackson of DionWired for the Manufacturing, Retail & FMCG sector.
* Glen Nwaila of Sibanye Gold for the Mining & Industrials sector.
* Joey Johannah Legodi of SABC for the Media & Marketing sector.
* Wiebke Toussaint of Engineers Without Borders for the Service: Public & Private sector.
* Craig Donaldson of Hilton Worldwide for the Tourism & Hospitality sector.
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