Mandy Edison brings passion to her role as executive director of Astra Centre, a sheltered employment non-profit organisation in Gardens, Cape Town. Providing employment opportunities for Jewish adult men and women with intellectual and/or mental illness, Astra also has three group homes, a kosher coffee shop, and a gift shop. “By helping adults with disabilities to work, we give them a purpose to get up in the morning as well as social interaction and job satisfaction,” she says. Having started her career at Astra Centre in 2011 as a personal assistant and office manager, Edison was promoted to her current role in 2021 in recognition of her dedication to the organisation. Her nonjudgemental nature and desire to treat everyone she meets in the same light regardless of their circumstances make her a natural fit for the position. She prioritises collaborating and connecting with those who surround her. “I have deep empathy for others, and will go to the end of the earth to support family, friends, and strangers with whom I cross paths,” she says. As a younger leader, Edison has initiated new ideas and is particularly proud of her perseverance in securing media coverage for Astra, which led to memorable career moments. “Being given the opportunity to be interviewed on three radio stations was a first for me, and I was thrilled and proud to speak about Astra Centre,” she says. “I have proven to the committee and staff that I’m confident, driven, and determined to increase awareness of the centre. I have shown initiative in this cause, recognising that Astra is a sheltered employment centre with different entities, and understanding the importance of showcasing all the aspects to the Jewish and broader community.” Edison has an open-door policy for staff and beneficiaries, and believes in empowering her people to uplift themselves and succeed. “I have gradually introduced changes to the way things are done to allow staff to adapt to change as not everybody likes or accepts change,” she says, discussing her leadership style. “I do things in my own way. I strive to ensure that I devote time to everybody, listen, and don’t react in a negative light during a conversation. I come up with new ideas and innovations, and focus hard to get them implemented for the benefit of all.” Continuous improvement is a priority for Edison, and she’s proud to have received a certificate in the Eliot Osrin Leadership Institute 2021/2022 leadership programme. She’s also recently started working with a coach. “She has supported me and shown me that I have the strength to go even further in my aspirations for Astra,” she says. Maintaining a work-life balance comes with challenges, Edison admits. Yet, over time she’s developed strategies to manage it. “I don’t have access to work emails on my personal phone. In the evenings, if I’m not attending after-work events, I devote time to my husband and children, switching the ‘work off’ button. Work will be there in the morning.” Lesley Cowan L esley Cowan, a passionate squash player and coach, became involved in squash outreach programme Egoli Squash in 2011 when it expanded its offerings to train coaches. “Squash is more a way of life than just a sport,” she says. As she found her niche in “coaching the coaches”, Cowan saw that young females weren’t getting the attention they deserved, and so became the girls’ coach. Cowan found herself sometimes training more than 20 girls on one court, and so helped identify the need for a more holistic approach to uplifting youth. And so, in 2021, she helped launch a non-profit company called Egoli Youth Empowerment (EYE). “EYE is a holistic development programme that focuses on empowering and enabling young people to contribute positively to the upliftment of their communities and society at large,” Cowan says. Today, she serves as one of its two actively working directors, where she consistently fulfils her passion for empowering young South Africans. “What you see is what you get,” she says, reflecting on what makes her unique. “Even though I’m in management, I’m at grassroots level all the time. I’m a ‘bottom up’ not ‘top down’ kind of person. I elevate my young players from their everyday world into a sense of confidence, passion, and purpose. I’m able to channel my teenage self to be able to become ‘one of the players’.” EYE evaluates its success by the number of players who get employment and bursaries through the programme. “Several of our graduates are now fulltime squash coaches in different provinces,” says Cowan. “Due to their squash skills, a number of our players have been awarded bursaries at universities and schools.” Cowan, who has also run a successful accounting practice for the past 30 years, is particularly proud of an Egoli player whom she brought into the business. “I took a chance on one of my players who did an accounting course after school,” she says. “Khanyi is now my top employee, rising above and beyond every occasion, including beating me at squash. I’m training her to take over my business within five years, at which point I will have more time to dedicate to EYE.” Cowan has always been solutions-oriented, managing to find a way out of any challenge. “I have been a stutterer since childhood, and have used this to my advantage,” she says. “I have been fortunate to come from parents who gave me the confidence to challenge anything. People create problems and not solutions. I once said to one of my child’s teachers, ‘Everyone has problems; that’s not the problem, it’s how we manage the problem.’ We became the best of friends.” Cowan believes commitment and consistency are vital to true leadership. “I’m not scared of hard work,” she says. “In addition to being part of the whole organisation at every level, I enjoy relating to everyone, no matter who they are. I treat everyone the same, from the minister of sport to my players.” Reeva Forman Mandy Edison Reeva Forman has an “overriding passion for helping people – especially the marginalised – realise the potential they have to overcome adversity, repair broken lives, relationships, and achieve their dreams,” she says. Forman has long made her mark on Jewish communal and religious organisations as well as on the wider South African population. Her multiple positions include honorary life fellow of the World Zionist Organisation; chairperson of Temple Israel; national executive committee member of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies; and much more. Yet, it’s in the story of establishing, losing, and reviving her business, REEVA Beauty & Health, that she feels she can best inspire others never to lose hope. In 1991, when Forman was “up there with the multimillionaires”, she took out a bond to build her Parktown offices and decided not to fix bond interest rates as financial gurus predicted a booming economy with rates decreasing to 8% or less. When rates, in fact, skyrocketed, the REEVA business was cash strapped. “By 2004, the Reeva Forman Building was sold on auction,” she says. “Our 3 000-strong salesforce had dwindled to less than 100. Turnover plunged. With the help of the Almighty, REEVA is still here. My story hopefully can be an example to the many that have lost loved ones or felt the pain of failure in their personal life or business not to give up. To retain faith and hope – hatikvah – in a better tomorrow.” Forman believes hope is essential to leadership. “Only this mindset or emotion determines the outcome,” she says. “There’s no great achievement without major setbacks. Hope and faith give one the ability to face adversity and overcome obstacles.” It’s hope, she says, that enabled the Jewish nation to survive great tragedies and earn the title of “the eternal people”. REEVA Beauty & Health has evolved over the years. “We are, with partners, developing an online job creation and training portal for young, unemployed, digitally savvy people to start their own REEVA business,” Forman says. “There are also exciting prospects ahead due to our being a direct marketing company with strong brand awareness. We’re in an excellent position to take advantage of this ‘new’ digital 4IR [fourth industrial revolution] era, brought centre stage by the restrictive demands of a COVID-19 pandemic.” Despite the challenges South Africa has faced through government corruption and greed, Forman believes that the spirit of ubuntu, the concept of expressing collective responsibility for the other, is alive and well. To improve conditions locally and internationally, Forman says we must create awareness of what’s positive in a situation rather than only reinforcing the bad. “While still recognising the evil that exists, we must promote a glass half full as opposed to half-empty ethos. We must rethink government and big business economic policy to focus on expenditure, creating employment by fixing infrastructure, roads, and so on. We must stimulate job creation by supporting the small entrepreneur, be they local or immigrant.” Bendeta Gordon A pioneer in franchise development, Bendeta Gordon believes that if you’re a leader, you should empower people and serve others, while learning and growing as a person. “I aim to empower wherever I can – from the unregistered Zimbabwean builder without a mother or father, to the proven businessman who establishes an organisation to raise $100 million [R1.77 billion] for philanthropic purposes.” It’s this philosophy that has informed Gordon’s multifaceted career and businesses, most notably Franchize Directions. The company is regarded as the leading franchise service provider in South Africa, and has dramatically aided job creation in South Africa. “Franchize Directions and the team helped grow the franchise sector, which comprises an estimated 700 franchised systems and 69 000 franchised business units,” says Gordon. “These offer direct employment for more than 500 000 people and indirect employment for 1.5 million people.” Gordon says she works only on projects or businesses she believes in. “I take risks as an entrepreneur only when I’m passionate about the project or business. I’m not scared to try new ventures after doing the necessary research and analysis. Developing people to be the best they can be is my ultimate reward in any business or project I am involved in.” Gordon isn’t just known for her contribution to franchising but is also actively involved in the property sector. She manages Bendet Shapiro Holdings, property investment partnership that she inherited from her family, runs a homeowner’s association, and is a successful property developer. Having recently sold a property she owned and developed into student accommodation in Mowbray, Cape Town, Gordon now plans to develop her next property in Israel. “I’m an ardent Zionist and believe that as Jews in the diaspora, we have a responsibility to help Israel,” she says. A qualified chartered accountant, Gordon says she has straddled multiple fields during her decadeslong career, leveraging her specialisation to develop new skills. “My specialisation is that of a distribution development strategist, which has translated into me developing as a strategist, a management consultant, a researcher, a trainer, and an expert witness,” she says. Her path has also led her to the exciting world of developing the products and services the franchise sector needs. “The proof is the sustainable businesses I have helped develop with my clients,” she says. “The core of my skill is the financial feasibility and management of every project I’m involved in.” Gordon has established herself as a formidable entrepreneur, while also being a wife, the mother of three sons, and an active member of the community. “I have a passion for giving back, and I teach at HA Jack with The Link,” she says. “I also periodically do small projects to help a school for adult students in Sharpeville. It’s a tough world and a scary place post 7 October. In my own small way, I do what I can to make the world a better place.” 32 Europcar Women in Leadership Award nominees
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