Nobantu Mtimde
Nobantu Mtimde was recently appointed as Director; Tirhani Auctioneers which is a subsidiary company of the Tirhani Group – SA’s largest black owned integrated group of companies offering clients one stop asset management and disposal solutions.
After spending over 5 years in the retail banking environment Nobantu woke up one morning and knew that it was time for a change.
She knew nothing at all about auctions and asset disposal and decided to challenge herself and take this industry on. This industry like many in South Africa is still dominated by previously advantaged individuals, specifically male and she saw this as an opportunity for her as a woman to ‘start something.’
Nobantu is Swazi but was born and bred in Johannesburg which is where she met her Xhosa husband. Her first major achievement in life was in 1997/8 when she was appointed as the first black head prefect at Wendywood High. Her first real job was in a small private equity firm where her duties involved project coordination. After a short stint in the mining sector she moved to FNB where she was appointed as an Executive PA and excelled to become a Marketing Manager for one of the JV credit card brands.
Nobantu’s best experience at FNB was being part of the 2010 Employee Games. Although this concept mirrored the popular customer game where consumers had the opportunity to win tickets to the 2010 Fifa World Cup by transacting, staff had to learn more about the business units they belonged to. However the most exciting was that staff also had to learn about business units that they knew nothing about. The strategy was to create a fun online learning system that encouraged each of them to go beyond what was in front of us and explore the different working cultures that made up the world of FNB.
This is the culture that led her to take a leap of faith into Tirhani Auctioneers. Being a part of Tirhani Auctioneers has exposed her to so many gaps in the way in which business in South Africa views the disposal of assets. Take a look around in your business at all the assets that you are no longer using whether it is because they have become obsolete or are no longer suitable for your business. The truth is that you are looking at valuable money that can be used to re-invest in your business. For businesses to continue to be sustainable it is important that the disposal of assets is included in the business cycle. The reality is that if your business holds assets these should only stay on your books until they reach a 40% depreciation rate. This will ensure that you can realise a sufficient return on investment to use in funding growth and expansion plans whilst maintaining the highest quality service for your clients.
Nobantu’s role is about creating opportunities to expose these strategic principles to as many businesses as possible. The rewards in this business are endless not only financially, but Tirhani Auctioneers are building a sustainable business value chain for professionals involved in the disposal of assets...from the accountant, insolvency practitioner and valuer, to the auctioneer.
Nobantu, we salute you!
