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By Sinazo Mkoko

Old Mutual Group director of Group Strategy & Group Human Capital, Celiwe Ross, was awarded the Standard Bank Top Woman Business Leader of the Year at the 2022 Standard Bank Top Women Awards. 

This accolade is awarded to a female leader who shows astute business acumen, strategic foresight and a passion for gender empowerment. It celebrates women who have a track record of exceptional business performance but who also implement innovative policies to empower fellow women. 

Women scooping this award are inspirational leaders who ensure they use their platform to drive economic and social empowerment for others.

Celiwe started her career in the mining industry, after graduating as a mining engineer. She then completed her MBA before transitioning to a career in investment banking. She joined the Old Mutual Group in 2017 as the Chief of Staff in the Chief Executive Officer’s office. According to Old Mutual, It was while she was leading the financial services practice of global search and leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder that she met and worked closely with the Exco and Board of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, conducting team effectiveness reviews and assessing their readiness to operate as Old Mutual Limited in a listed environment.

Celiwe’s many remarkable achievements include graduating as the first black female mining engineer in South Africa, and being recognised as one of the top 100 final-year students in the country, having taken part in the Brightest Young Minds conference, a platform aimed at nurturing South Africa’s young, upcoming talent. 

In 2016, she was recognised as Gauteng’s Businesswoman of the Year in the Corporate Sector by the Businesswomen’s Association.

Known as the fastest growing gender-empowered awards platform, the Standard Bank Top Women Awards this year were celebrated under the theme, ‘Rise Above the Noise’- an initiative which is aimed at uplifting and celebrating companies and women that continue to do great work in their respective fields.

The event saw over 700 attendees and a combination of over 30 phenomenal women across Africa and organisations advocating for gender equality and women empowerment that have been honoured for their work at the Standard Bank Top Women Awards 2022.

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