Welcome to another exciting edition of our e-Zine. Two individuals who have stood the test of time are Bruce Lindsay FCIS, from Cape Town who celebrated his 100th birthday on 6 September and our logistics manager, Baldwin Masethla who has worked for the Institute for 40 years. Rebecca Letshabo shares how she has progressed from a personal secretary to become company secretary of the Botswana Development Corporation. Shireen Lutchan, who graduated on 29 September, says: “Students tackling the course should be positive, never give up, and should not see themselves as failures if they don’t make the grade at a particular point in time.” Mercy Mbonjani has worked her way up and is now a director of Blackrock Business Solutions, a consulting firm. You can read more about them below.

Bob Lees, international vice president of ICSA, and I attended the 4th Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) Council meeting on 21 September and the 1st International Corporate Governance Conference hosted by CSIA on 22 - 23 September, 2011 in Shanghai, China. We were both astonished at the size of Shanghai, which has a population of 23 million, about half of SA’s total population. This is a city of high-rise buildings and is also the commercial hub of China.

The conference was attended by approximately 189 delegates from around the world. In addition to Bob and myself, there were four delegates from South Africa, namely Alice Mathew (SANRAL), Ephy Moeti (Industrial Development Corporation), Abdul Haffejee (Central Energy Fund) and Edjar Maphopha (Ebony Insurance, Limpopo). Together we managed to put Southern Africa on the map.

The conference looked at western and non-western approaches to corporate governance and evaluated whether we were moving towards a global model. Hakeem Ogunniran from Nigeria spoke about corporate governance in Africa and included some ideas from King III. There were a number of speakers from China representing bodies such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, China Shenhua Energy, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Sinotrans Ltd, Hutchinson Whompoa and Nankai University. Katherine Combs, President of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, gave an excellent overview of corporate governance in the USA. Ben Matthews, company secretary of Rio Tinto plc, also gave an interesting insight into corporate governance in the United Kingdom.

A special lunch was held at Kelvin Grove Club in Newlands (where a good number of valued CSSA functions have been held in the past) on 14 September in celebration of this marvellous milestone. Amongst those that attended were other long standing members - former Cape Town Branch Chairmen – Brian Hardie, Jack Kevitt, Colin Boyes, Stan Kelly and Richard Grant; present Cape Town Branch Chairman – Rob Tiffin, present Cape Town Branch Committee members with “Bruce Lindsay” connections – Merle Dyer and Lionel Janari; two other high profile Cape Town Branch Members in prior years – Eric Lawrence and Eric Dahl and another high profile Institute representative who now lives in Cape Town – Gavin Barnett.

Left: Rob Tiffin presenting Bruce with the 100th Birthday Certificate from CSSA
Right: Lunch at Kelvin Grove in Newlands

Mr Bruce Clement Lindsay was born on the 6th September 1911 in Sea Point. He has been a member of Chartered Secretaries Southern Africa for over 70 years. He began his studies in Cape Town in the 1930s and did very well. He joined Standard Bank (Adderley street branch) where he earned 10 pounds per month and drew his salary in gold coinage. He progressed slowly through the ranks. He was awarded a number of cash prizes for his performances in the examinations and with one such prize purchased a dictionary for himself, which he still uses today.

Whilst still a student, Bruce teamed up with John Jeffreys (the Company Secretary of Imperial Cold Storage) to form the Cape Town Students Society. This in turn grew into the Cape Town Branch and Bruce served on the Cape Town Branch Committee for many years (including some years as Branch Chairman) before moving north to Pretoria in the 1950s. The Branch was very active at that time with regular luncheons at the Here XVII Club – a venue the Branch continued to use for their lunches and other functions for many years.

Bruce was away from the Cape until 1968 but continued to support CSSA activities. He returned to Cape Town in that year to take up the position of Manager of the ABC Branch of the Standard Bank and although he was no longer involved on the Branch Committee, he continued to provide very active support to Branch functions and maintained close links with many members of the Institute in Cape Town at that time. Bruce has two children and two grandchildren and was married to his wife Avalynn for over 50 years.

It was an honour chatting to Mr Lindsay (as it’s not every day you get to speak to a person who is 100 years old). He speaks with a cheery voice and ends off the meeting saying he is most pleased to see the progress of the Institute and he wishes us the very best for the next 100 years.

The Premier Corporate Governance conference took place on 13 and 14 September 2011 at the Wanderers Club in Illovo and by all accounts was our most successful to date. We had a record attendance and our top class panel of speakers gave the delegates great value for their time and money. MC for the event, Chris Gibbons, sums it up in his own words:

"This year's CSSA conference was by far and away the best I have been to so far this year, in terms of speaker expertise and content. The professional value offered to delegates was quite superb!"

The gala dinner offered guests a chance to experience food from around the world while being entertained by comedian Chris Forrest in a setting that was transformed from black and white décor to a dazzling multi-coloured surrounding in line with this year’s conference theme – Corporate Governance in living colour: the companies Act in black and white.



Top: Chris Gibbons (MC); Gala Dinner; CSSA staff welcome guests at registration

Bottom: David Shapiro & Prandhana Naidu; Farad Abdul Haffejee (Company Secretary, CEF Group), Andre Van de Zee (Trifecta Capital), Stephen Sadie (CEO Chartered Secretaries), Zubair Wadee (Partner-Director PwC); Conference Ballroom

  Baldwin Masethla
  celebrates 40 years with
  the institute

It all began in 1971 at the age of 20 when “uncle” (as he is affectionately known to everyone) joined Chartered Secretaries and what a journey it has been since then. When asked what has kept him going for so long he simply said “Perseverance!”. Baldwin has been through the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows with CSSA and seen many colleagues, directors, presidents and CEOs come and go. His first job as a messenger earned him R7 a week and he has steadily progressed through various roles including that of assistant librarian and supervisor to become the logistics and customer service manager.

The early years consisted of hard manual work and everything was done by hand – from his little office he would print, prepare, pack and post various bits of important CSSA material. Technology has, of course, made things much easier for him – yet he still believes in adding a personal touch and makes a point of keeping in contact with members and past students. He is the first friendly face you see when you get to the office every morning. He keeps the wheels turning and is the man on the ground. When I ask him to describe his everyday job he replies that every day is different and he really does get stuck into everything behind the scenes. He is here, there and everywhere.

He ensures all the exam venues meet the correct standards, he manages the entire process of printing and distributing question papers, he gets whatever you need from A to B on time, he ensures everything is in its place and is often called upon by past presidents and CEOs who require some information on the history of CSSA. When it comes to the Institute, he is the man to ask if you need to know who, what, where and when.

Baldy (another nickname he has) has four children and three grandchildren. He enjoys golf, is quite the cook and baker and likes to travel – his favourite destinations are the coastal regions across SA, especially Durban. Baldwin turns 60 next year and is planning on a big celebration and we have no doubt it will be one great party.

We congratulate Baldwin on achieving 40 years and for all he has contributed to the Institute over the last 4 decades. After all this time he still arrives at work each day dressed immaculately, he displays a great sense of pride in his work and is proud of how far CSSA has come. Here’s to your next 40 uncle!

In July we invited all our members to partake in our first membership survey which will be conducted more regularly going forward. We did not anticipate such a positive response. More than half the members took part and shared with us some valuable feedback. We will issue a summary of the results shortly and wish to thank the members for their participation.

CONGRATS to the following two members who were selected in a random draw – Neel Daya from Roosevelt Park in Johannesburg is off to the Fairway Hotel & Spa and Rebecca Letshabo from Gaborone Botswana is off to the Askari Lodge & Spa in Magaliesberg.

• HRD Expo 2011
  We were at this year’s Human Resources Development Expo which took place from 4-6 October at the Sandton Convention centre. For more information visit http://www.hrde.co.za
  
  
• The Annual Report Awards
  It’s time again for the Institute to host the Annual Report Awards, which will take place on
  3 November at the Sandton Sun Hotel. It promises to be an elegant affair and the results will be published in the next issue.
  
  
• Clasa Congress
  18 - 21 November 2011 info@clasa.co.za Ronel Lindeque Tel: 011 476 3217 www.clasa.co.za
  
  

Shireen Lutchan – Graduate of ICSA

I started off my career in Accounting and, being such a diverse and multi-skilled individual, I went on to further my career by doing the CIS course. I have always had an interest in governance, compliance, tax, accounting, regulatory and legislative affairs. Hence, CIS was the perfect course for me and as I progressed through the various levels it became even more stimulating. I am now the company secretary of a small business. However my responsibilities are not any less, as the role of a company secretary has become extremely demanding, taking into account the progression of governance practices internationally. I am a non-executive director of N3 Toll Concession (Pty) Ltd.

The CIS course allows me to bring in the requisite knowledge and skills to be an independent and competent company secretary.

The reason I enjoy my career is that it is diverse, in that it allows me to interact with directors and board members who bring in various skills and experiences in their deliberations at board meetings. As I broaden my experience I am likely to be involved in a number of exciting industries and businesses giving me scope for personal growth and creating new challenges. In an ever-changing business environment there is no point at which one can get bored with the work involved.

I have always been motivated by the desire to do a good job in whichever position I am. I want to excel and to be successful in my career both for my own personal satisfaction and for my employers.

CIS is not an easy course and requires a high level of commitment and dedication and I would recommend it to passionate, committed and self-driven individuals.

Students tackling the course should be positive, never give up, and should not see themselves as failures if they don’t make the grade at a particular point in time. Life does not require that we be the best but that we try our best. Once you are CIS qualified you will appreciate the finer things in life and you will have an opportunity to develop a broader understanding of how the business environment operates. A qualified company secretary ought to exhibit a high standard of morality, ethical behaviour and integrity. These values will ensure that one will have a successful professional career.

Mercy Mbonjani – Graduate of ICSA

The CIS course is very appealing as it covers a wide range of subject areas. I enjoy my career as I can take up a wide range of responsibilities in legal, secretarial, finance, accounts, and administrative departments.

I chose to do CIS because I thought it offered the best of what I was looking for. The course gave me a very good insight into my career as an accounting professional. The course also provided me with the knowledge of corporate governance, which I feel is crucial.

I have worked for several years as a bookkeeper which triggered my interest in accounting. I am currently a director of Blackrock Business Solutions, a consulting firm.

I would recommend CIS as a course to study because of its broad base of skills, uniqueness, and diversity; among other professions it is internationally recognised.

To succeed one needs a lot of self-discipline and self-control. One needs to continue to keep centred on one’s studies and continuously imply to one self what one wants to achieve. I always keep in mind something Steven Covey once said, "Begin with the end in mind".

This is the fifth edition of the Chartered Secretaries Southern Africa eZine. Should you have any suggestions or specific information you would like included in future editions, please revert to Janine Kusters, membership and marketing manager, Janine@icsa.co.za