A
s South Africa’s most economically active
region, Gauteng naturally conducts a lot of
business - and any branch located in this
area will inevitably be busy. And as General
Manager for First Distribution’s Johannesburg branch, Tamzin is well-aware that she is
assuming a large amount of responsibility.
It’s something that she is well-accustomed to however,
having most recently been responsible for the strategic
management of the overall channel business for IBM South
Africa, across the hardware, software and services
business portfolios.
Tamzin was ready to study industrial psychology and had
a Plan B to be a racing driver - IT never really entered the
equation until she went to help a friend out at an IT company one day. The rest, as they say, is history.
Having started her career in the South African distribution
industry in 1996 and joining IBM in 1998 as an SMB sales
executive, Tamzin quickly became a valuable employee,
being recognised by IBM’s 100% Club for a number
of years.
As part of the Lenovo acquisition of the IBM Personal
Computing Division in 2005, she was appointed as the
Lenovo country channel manager, leading the channel team
through an immensely successful growth curve over a five
year period, before returning to IBM as solutions sales manager for the South African business partner sales team.
She went on to be appointed the CSI manager for the
System Integrator and ISV team in South Africa in September 2011, with a mandate to develop the local CSI strategy
and build a new team as part of IBM’s 2015 Africa Growth
Strategy, forging new partnerships with global and local
CSI partners.
Has she found attitudes within the industry towards women
changing at all? Becoming more ‘accepting’ perhaps?
“Most definitely” she replies.
“When I started out, the majority of ladies worked the reception and the phones on the technical support desks. There
were a select few female brand and account managers,
and certainly no females in management or running any of
the top IT companies in SA. I was always fortunate to work
with fairly senior men who were accepting of females and
respected that women could add tremendous value in the
workplace. So I have had it easier than most.”
In that vein, she doesn’t allow herself to be discriminated
against either.
“I don’t give off an energy that would be accepting of that
type of treatment or behaviour. I have seen this type of
behaviour over the years, but I have not been a victim of it”
she says.
Tamzin quotes the ‘amazing team of general managers and
managers that we have in the business and the way that
everyone binds together to get the job done’ as her favourite thing about working for First Distribution so far.
“We communicate well and because we have all known one
another for many years” she states. “We understand each
other and we play to our strengths and weaknesses. It’s
great being a part of such a dynamic team.”
“Business results are any organisation’s top priority” she
continues. “But there are different ways in which to achieve
those. My approach is to create an environment where employees are engaged. Engaged employees are extremely
productive, and this delivers business results for
any organisation.”
“It’s also important to me that every member of our team
is growing as a person, that we are mentoring, coaching,
educating and affording our people opportunities for
personal growth.”
Tamzin not only brings a wealth of industry knowledge and
management experience, as well as exceptionally strong
executive relationships with key business partners and IBM
– one of First Distribution’s key partners – to the table, but
is a strong advocate of women in business as well.
As a mother of three, she is a keen speaker on the topic,
and regularly shares her ‘Juggling in Heels’ presentation
at women’s conferences, including tips on how to integrate
work and life, and juggle the two accordingly.
She readily comments on the unique qualities and traits
which women bring to the workplace, saying that “There are
plenty of qualities which women bring to the workplace - as
do men. At the end of the day however, we are all individuals from different cultures and backgrounds. So I prefer not
to separate our qualities or uniqueness into two categories
for men and women. It’s about mutual respect and equality
for everyone.”
Tamzin refers to (Facebook COO) Sheryl Sandberg when
asked if she has any role models. “I often refer to the advice
which she freely provides in her book ‘Lean In’” she says.
She was also recently nominated for the South African
Rising Star Awards and was announced the winner by the
Human Capital Institute of South Africa for the ICT Sector in
August 2013. Whilst at IBM, she was a member of the IBM
South Africa Women’s Advisory Board and the MEA Women’s Leadership Academy, and currently is actively involved
with mentor and coaching programmes, both in industry as
well as in a personal capacity.
Amazingly, Tamzin has also found the time to obtain her
Masters Degree in Business Administration through Henley
Business School, part of Reading University in London,
as well as a Business Industry Insights certification from
London Business School.
With all that going on in her life, how does she relax in
whatever little spare time she has?
“I enjoy travelling, reading and coach netball when I can”
she says with a smile. “And weekends are for family and
friends, good company, good food, good music and
good wine.”
17 | www.firstdistribution.co.za