W
hat makes Sandi Mbutuma’s rise so
interesting are two things. Firstly, to study to
become a Quantity Surveyor (QS) requires
real mathematical aptitude, and our society
tends to think women do not have that talent. Mbutuma’s
success evidently belies that. Then, secondly, Mbutuma’s
workplace is by and large in the construction environment,
yet another male domain, and here too she is helping to
shatter the glass ceiling. In fact, she is on the speaker
circuit discussing this very topic.
In an interview just after receiving her award, Mbutuma
explained that her company is at the forefront of building
development, specialising in corporate head offices and
office park developments; retail developments, including
refurbishments and fit-outs; hotel and leisure projects; and
residential facilities, nationally and internationally. “A typical
day at the office for me,” she says, “entails ensuring that my
projects are adequately resourced and efficiently running,
meeting clients to ensure client satisfaction, and meeting
potential clients. I’m constantly in communication with
the other shareholders about matters of the business.” It
is a dynamic set-up and one can see where Mbutuma’s
abundant energy obviously works
in her favour. “My role is to attract
business from clients we have
never engaged with for business
transactions. In a space of six
months, I managed to secure
projects to a value of over R1.5
billion with various clients. At
Pentad, I have also introduced
Women Events to create a networking platform for women
who have been forced to accept the landscape of how
men socialise.”
It had been a long academic slog for Mbutuma to reach
her current position. She started with a national diploma
and followed it with a B Tech in Quantity Surveying at the
University of Johannesburg. She then did a Programme
in Management Development at the Gordon Institute of
Business Science (GIBS) in Jozi and thereafter completed
a Programme in Property Development at the University of
Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB).
Mbutuma is no stranger to awards, previously having
been nominated as a Rising Star in the Women in Property
Network. If one was looking for a good case study of how
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