Romy Maree, Group Head of Finance at Burstone Real Estate partners, has built her career as a tribute to the women who helped to raise her and those who gave her a chance in life: both by opening a door for others who have fought to get where they are and by making sure that every female working for a brighter future knows that her voice matters.
Romy’s life was split into a decisive ‘before’ and ‘after’ by her mother’s death. ‘Losing her at a young age, and the changes her death brought to my life, definitely shaped how I show up,’ Romy says – even more so, because her mother’s deathbed words were a request to make sure that Romy reached her full potential. ‘That stuck with me. I knew that I had to fight for a better life, to honour her.’
Fighting the odds
While Romy insists that her family had more than many others, there’s no doubt that her upbringing was tough. Raised by a single mother who worked long hours and still struggled to make ends meet, the Cape Flats community where Romy spent her childhood years may have been close-knit and warm-hearted, but it was also unsafe. The family home was broken into numerous, leaving Romy with a lingering sense of trauma.
Still, that home was everything she knew – and when Romy’s mother was hospitalised suddenly when she was 14 years old, she felt the abrupt move to her grandmother’s house keenly. ‘We had been struggling for a while, as my mother had been retrenched some time earlier and couldn’t find another job. I’m convinced that the financial stress made her ill. Either way, I came home from school one day and she wasn’t there. Shortly after, my grandmother came to fetch me, and I never went home again.’
By the time doctors diagnosed cancer, there was little they could do to help Romy’s mother. Romy took time off school while the family stayed with her grandmother, because they weren’t sure how much more time they’d have together – and then, on the day she went back to class, her mother died.
Everything changed overnight, Romy says – but, she was fortunate to be surrounded by a circle of strong women, including her aunts and her grandmother, who made sure she felt supported, while her brother was (and continues to be) a pillar They all did everything they could to make Romy’s mother’s dying wish come true, and see her daughter make a mark on the world.
When Romy returned to school, she realised that one way she could do this was by completing a CA degree. ‘I didn’t know any CAs, so I found out about the profession through my own research.’ It was also her own research that helped her find the next steps towards her degree – but, although she qualified to study at UCT, she didn’t have the funds to register. And so it was back to the drawing board to find an entry point to the profession Romy had come to see as a ticket to a new life. She decided to enrol at Unisa, but because she couldn’t obtain a bursary for the institution, she studied part-time, working up to three weekend jobs to fund her studies.
It was at this point that Romy learnt the true value of people who are prepared to take a chance on you. ‘By the time I was three years into my part-time studies, I realised that I was struggling with the technical side of accounting. I decided that the best way to deepen my understanding was by doing articles, so that I could gain practical experience.’ Of course, most trainees in articles have an Honours degree; she had not yet completed her undergrad studies. Unsurprisingly, most of the firms she approached, asking for a chance, turned her down: until the human resources officer at Mazars agreed to hear her story. More than that, she agreed to give Romy a five-year articles contract.
Three years later, Romy was awarded a Tuthuka Bursary to complete her honours degree. Again, she found the power in having someone who believed she deserved to be given a chance: although her application to the University of the Western Cape was declined twice, she eventually approached the Head of the PDGA Programme, to explain why she so desperately needed this opportunity – who, after hearing her story, agreed that she should be allowed to show what she was made of.
Ensuring inclusion
Romy returned to complete her articles at Mazars (which had been put on hold) after her degree – and this is when things started to fall into place. She was sent to the organisation’s New York office, where her work in real estate ignited her passion for the field, then followed her fiancé back to Mazars Johannesburg. ‘I will always value the support I received from the organisation, and the female mentors I met there,’ she says. She strived to carry forward the tradition of giving others a hand up by becoming heavily involved in the company’s training and development programme, frequently stepping up to mentor young women – ‘especially those who have fought to get to where they are’.
Now, in her leadership role in the corporate property sector– she continues to champion empowerment of those around her. As treasurer of the SA Reit Association, Romy uses her platform to advocate for greater inclusion, ensuring that underrepresented voices are heard and valued across the industry.
Changing lives
Romy’s efforts and actions have seen her recognised as one of SAICA’s Top 35- Under-35 – but, she says, while she values this accolade, she considers her son, two-year-old Jaxson, to be her greatest achievement. ‘It’s important to me that Jaxson sees that being a great mother and pursuing a meaningful career aren’t mutually exclusive, and that he grows up knowing that women are powerful, capable and worthy of respect.’
Her interest in giving back was, in fact, shaped in no small part by her pregnancy, which made her think about all the people who had helped her in her life – and how she would like to help others. This planted the seed for The Treasury, an initiative which sees Romy collecting pre-loved professional attire which she carefully curates and distributes to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds as they take their first steps into the professional world of finance. ‘I’m not saying anyone ever got a job because they were wearing a suit, but it certainly makes a difference to how you present yourself. And that might encourage the person you are speaking to believe in you – and, sometimes, that’s all it takes to change your life.’
You are worthy
As someone with a keen interest in female empowerment, what is something Romy wishes today’s young women knew? ‘You don’t need to wait until you feel ready to make a start. We drive change when we take small, intentional actions in our own corner – and that leads to big change. It’s also important to know that you belong – you are where you are because you have what it takes. That’s perhaps even more true if you have followed an unconventional route to get there – know that your story is your superpower.’
