Changing places: Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa decided to take the job at Naspers after she met the top team and was surprised by how humble they were. (Paul Botes/M&G)
Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa, chief executive of global internet company Naspers, has held senior posts in investment and development banking. She tells Tshegofatso Mathe about her family life in Soweto and her career, including with Cyril Ramaphosa before he went back to politics
Raised in Dobsonville, what kind of child were you?
I was a child that listened. My mom was a Xhosa woman, and she was strict. My dad did not believe in corporal punishment. But now and then, mom hit us.
So I picked up this habit that I would keep quiet until I heard my dad’s car come in, then I would start screaming [laughs].
But it had an impact on me. It made me realise that you can have a way of dealing with issues without any physical engagement.
My parents had routines for us. Routines on what to do after school and cleaning our home, but sometimes we would not follow it. I liked to read. I loved it so much that I would go to little corners in the house so that I could. It was also a way to get away from doing housework.
I enjoyed ballet as well, but in grade 11, my mom told me to stop and focus on my studies. But in my heart, I still had this thing that I could go and become a ballerina once I was done here.
Your mother died when you were just 17. Your father, now deceased, stepped in and ensured that you went to school, while also teaching you how to navigate life. How did you cope with losing her?
It happened at the beginning of the year, and I had finished my matric. I was due to leave to study business at Douglas College, where I obtained my first degree in economics in 1993.
I would go to the kitchen and I could smell my mom. I could feel her presence everywhere in the house.
She worked at a fashion house and she always had these models at our home, and they would come and play jazz. When she died, she left a huge void.
But being overseas for me was like I could get away from it. For someone like my sister, it was much more challenging because my dad was always travelling. But for me being away, learning new things, meeting new people was a great time for me — to sort of put this away.
You’ve held numerous executive positions. What traits did you need to develop and how did you work your way to the top?
It was not easy nor a natural process, because all my life I was a shy person. But I credit the ability to speak in front of people to my English teacher, who ensured that I participated in public speaking. After completing my economics degree, I worked at my father’s company, National Sorghum Breweries. Then I left for another job in Cape Town.
I was still trying to find my place. I got into the job because they were trying to employ a black person in management. But the job had no content. All I was required to do was just be there when there were public events or take pictures.
In the same company, I saw people in advertising being busy and thought that is where I needed to be. I applied for an agency job in Joburg. But I left to go to the United Kingdom to study for a master of business administration [and] while writing my MBA thesis, I thought that investment banking would be the right place for me to be.
You had a stroke in 2013, where you lost your short-term memory and couldn’t work. How did that experience change your life?
Having a stroke made an impression on me. There was something wrong with my lifestyle and, for me, it appeared that there was nothing wrong because I loved my work. But what I did not realise is that I ignored the rest of my life.
It made me realise that you need a balance in life. You need to spend time with your family and your work as well. I make time for my family now. This past Sunday, I also watched a documentary on Tiger Woods’ life.
You worked with President Cyril Ramaphosa while you were at Shanduka Group. How was it? And what do you think about the job he has done so far as president?
I know it was not an easy decision for him to make to go back to the government. On the one hand, he loves and is committed to the ANC, but he had an incredible life from where I am sitting. He has an amazing family life. He cooks. He is the person who makes stuff for himself, and he has an interest in doing things in his home. He always had the love to change the lives of people.
It’s difficult to advise, but what I can say is that corporate South Africa is ready and available to provide him with any support he requires in executing the work that he needs to do.
Many say Covid-19 will allow the country to fix previous issues it had. How can we rebuild the country?
I think one thing we need to focus on is rebuilding our education system. I honestly believe that there is a lot more that can be done in education. The sad thing is our biggest budget is in education, and yet we do not see those changes.
The government needs to bring people that have the skills to be in charge. I think we should let the politicians do the work of engaging with communities.
But when it comes to dealing with education or managing a state enterprise, bring private sector people with the skills. Have proper performance incentives. We need to stop having people in jobs for years and never account for what they are doing.
How did you scoop the position at Naspers?
I was working in my firm, Sigma Capital. I was very comfortable. I was doing the work I had done for many years. Then Naspers approached me. I thought it was a board position thing. So I said no because I was currently on various boards and it was a lot of work. Then I was told it was an executive position.
What I knew was the Naspers of 2007, print and television. I did not understand what Naspers had become. Meeting the team and Bob van Dijk [the Naspers group chief executive], I was taken aback to see how humble they were, and these were people who run this big organisation. So I made up my mind that if they chose me, I would come on board.
Naspers, which owns Media24, has closed some of its print publications. Where does this leave print media now?
You cannot avoid where the world is going. You are either going to be part of the growth that is happening, or you are not. And Media 24 has done a lot of work in becoming more of a digital business, and it’s actually working very well for customers. South Africans are actually a lot more digitally based now than in the past.
And Covid-19 has accelerated that process. We are the ageing population that still enjoys reading the paper. Most people want to look at things online.
Other parts of it have moved faster. It does not mean the media is dying; it’s just that the mode of engaging with the media has changed, from the physical to online.
Tshegofatso Mathe is an Adamela Trust business reporter at the M&G
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