Cover Story: Nonkululeko Gobodo – So awakened to her true self

En route to her residence in the north of Joburg, I’m going to great pains reviewing my questions for a weekday morning interview.

There’s so much to talk about: her fabled career, Awakened Global, and her debut memoir (Awakened to My True Self), among other things. But today, when we meet, it’s hard on the heels of the news of her appointment as the new chancellor of Walter Sisulu University (WSU). Naturally, we broach the subject.

Working on the book was a schlep, she says. ‘I share about my journey of healing. I also talk about race and gender … Writing is a creative process, and you learn very quickly that creativity comes in waves. So, I had occasional bouts of writer’s block, but I really enjoyed writing the book.’

Nonkululeko is speaking from the expansive living room of her Tuscan-themed house which is tucked somewhere off the M1. The woman we meet today is even more gorgeous in real life than the Nonkululeko we see on TV. With her full cheekbones, she’s fresh-faced in person, charming and totally loveable.

‘The looks are a bit of a mixed blessing what with social media and all these young men [vying for attention],’ she chuckles. ‘Speaking of which, there’s one who’s been irritating me now and I’m going “I’m your mother”. Just yesterday he came on and said “Let’s do lunch”.’

‘Seriously, I think it’s genes. All my sisters are anti-ageing. Like we have this youthful look about us. For the longest time, people would say my mom is our sister. Needless to say, we’d be so offended.’

THE GENESIS OF AWAKENED GLOBAL

So much for prettiness and social media admirers. We revert to the interview, asking about the circumstances around the formation of Awakened Global. ‘It’s a social initiative that focuses on redressing race and gender inequality,’ she says.

‘I see this as a movement. I’ve always burned with real fire for issues around race and gender. My infuriation invariably came from the idea that our own struggle and transformation depend on others changing. That consistently fuels my frustration. I just could never understand that concept.

‘Surely there must be something that we can do to change our situation − especially after political freedom, yet here we are still dealing with issues of racism. In spite of all the progress we’ve had around gender, we are still dealing with huge gender inequality.’

Born in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, Nonkululeko is of course the first black female chartered accountant in South Africa. In 1992, at the height of apartheid, she started out in business launching Gobodo, her venerable accounting and audit firm. In the ensuing years, the practice became SizweNtsalubaGobodo (SNG), the largest black accounting firm in the country.

TOKEN BOARD APPOINTMENTS AN ABOMINATION

Nonkululeko went on to serve on the boards of the Clicks Group, Imperial, Mercedes-Benz, the SA Maritime Authority, and the SARS audit committee, among others.

‘I’m always clear when I join a board that it must be a board where I’m comfortable in terms of cultural fit and people who understand that I’ll never be a token to anyone. I make that crystal clear in the interview so that you don’t take me if you’re looking for a token,’ she says.

She’s averse to the idea of young professionals in the habit of competing for board positions. ‘The whole idea of sitting on boards has become so glamorous, but I always say in a board you bring your experience, you bring your qualifications as well as your talents, which you are still developing as a young person,’ she says.

‘It’s through life’s experiences that you begin to recognise your real strengths. So I don’t really encourage the idea of people wanting to sit on boards early. I’m not sure what the right age is though. I would say that young people should start focusing on building the critical mass of their own experience in executive positions. The gold rush [to sit on boards] among young CAs is not really helpful − we need seasoned leaders in South Africa.’

She’s also very big on the idea of leaving a legacy. ‘We need to believe as black people that (we can achieve anything we set our sights on),’ she says. ‘We can establish our own little firms and grow them into medium-sized firms. The idea is that the next generation shouldn’t have to start where we started.’

Awakened Global was launched with an aim to call for Africans and women to awaken to their authentic power, adding that she hopes to impact society where it concerns mindset. ‘There’s a whole new world waiting for us once black people and women awaken to who they truly are.’

A CALL FOR RENEWED MINDSETS

‘The idea is to bring people to an understanding that they can deal with their limiting beliefs. Their (beliefs) don’t after all really define who they are. So that’s, for me, the movement of people who are suddenly releasing themselves from these myths and limiting beliefs − when people find their true selves.

‘I had thought that I’d use my leadership consultancy [her consulting business] for this passion, but I soon realised that it was restrictive. I got some pushback from corporates. They expect you to play by their rule book. There’s no seriousness really around these diversity and inclusion programmes. Awakened Global seeks to see true liberation against racism and prejudice for the disadvantaged, particularly women and black people,’ she says.

‘I see this as a movement for me. I’m not starting an organisation because I just feel that if you want to destroy something, you start an organisation. Because people will always come up with their own ideas of what this thing should be.

‘People will come along to help and support, but this is a movement in the sense that the only way to transform society is through a movement because through a movement you are able to transforms minds. And once minds are transformed, we don’t know what that liberation will bring for people whose minds are free.’

ON ETHICS

The conversation swings to the subject of moral fabric and Nonkululeko starts talking in broad strokes, referencing rogue CAs(SA) as well as ethics in the workplace.

‘I come from an era of accountants who couldn’t even advertise their services,’ she says. ‘It wasn’t the done thing. It was that strict. There was no substitute for ethics.

‘The whole thing [rogue accountants in the news] of course is very sad. And I always say that we can’t just blame accountants when the whole moral fibre of the nation is in question and we’re creating this unethical culture. We’ve seen in fact how it’s going to impact even sacred professions like ours − to see that we are not insulated from a national culture that is developing.

‘We can’t separate people from the culture of their country … because we created this culture of corruption, it became so pervasive that it even impacted a noble profession like ours. That for me was unthinkable.’

For all the rot in the fraternity, there’s always a silver lining, she says. ’But I’m always an optimist to say we fall so that we can wake up and rise because obviously at some point we took our eyes off the ball. We live in a world where greed is sort of the driving force …’

She swears by an almost-puritan ethic. ‘CAs must not just be independent − they must be seen to be independent,’ she explains. ‘That’s how we were socialised when we were growing up.

‘You know, when we went into the profession we were very clear that that’s not where the riches are. I never went into the profession to be rich − I knew there were no riches in the profession. You came into the sector for the love of the profession.

‘We have to go back to basics and restore the integrity of our profession … It starts with us as chartered accountants − we have the duty to rescue our profession and create the kind of environment where we go back to ethics that if you don’t live our values then you don’t belong here.’

Now pushing 63, she still has a bit of time before retirement, and certainly ample time before the twilight years. Looking back, she has no regrets for embracing her ambitions, although it came at a price.

‘My children paid a very high price and I had to go through a whole healing journey with them because, in their twenties, they were now complaining about how I was not there for some of their important moments,’ she says.

‘There may be a price to pay. My children are all successful in their own endeavours … but I’m not saying it’s not important to find that balance, creating that environment at home for our children, but what does Nonkululeko really want? Because at the end of your life, you are going to be dissatisfied. I’m very happy with my life in spite of all these challenges that I’m sharing with you.’

No sooner does she say this than she gives an Irish blessing, praying for the SAICA team before

Decorated matriarch Nonkululeko Gobodo has ascended among the ranks of one of the most venerated multi-hyphenates in finance, business and in-betweens.

In the early 1980s, right in the throes of state-sponsored racial discrimination, she resolved to become a CA(SA), forging a path for posterity. As it happens, she is the first black African woman to qualify as a chartered accountant in South Africa.

As business goes, she literally started at ground zero, going on to become a founding member and chairman of SizweNtsalubaGobodo, now SNG Grant Thornton.

Self-effacing Nonkululeko gets kudos for leading the successful merger of SizweNtsalubaGobodo, which became the fifth largest accounting firm in South Africa. Certainly one for the books, the merger has been referenced for changing the landscape of the accounting profession.

Oblivious to the comforts of C-suite existence, and in what is arguably her biggest undertaking yet, Nonkululeko has now set out to lead a movement whose aim is to transform minds.

Author Mpho Tshikhudo | Photographer Theana Breugem