What makes them so special?

MARSHA GOVENDER, ASSISTANT COMPANY SECRETARY

Law-degreed Marsha Govender is being primed to take over from Campbell McKie Thomson as company secretary when he retires in 2012. This is a huge task for anyone, but this “little” woman, this gentle woman, has embraced this group-wide responsibility with the full force of her generous personality. She is the first woman and first black person to hold this post in Scaw and the many companies it has acquired over the past decade.
 
She says, “I think in my current role the most important function is to mitigate risk within the organisation. This is quite challenging and at the same time most enjoyable in that there are so many different facets to this. I appreciate the fact that I get to use my tertiary qualifications and am able to learn continuously by interacting with different people inside and outside Scaw, and dealing with a variety of issues.

“The depth of knowledge and insight that Campbell has, based on his experiences within Haggie and Scaw, is remarkable and I am most grateful for having a teacher and mentor like him.
“I think being part of the Company Secretarial team is brilliant! Each member of the team contributes a different skill and as a team we leverage off this to ensure that we meet our deliverables.”

Marsha qualified from KwaZulu-Natal University with an LLB (law) degree in 2001. She joined Scaw as procurement superintendent in 2007, after having worked for other companies. She says she enjoys working for Scaw because “it is large enough to learn, grow and develop but at the same time small enough so that, as an employee, you’re not just a clock card number.”

STEVE VAN WYK, ASSET OPTIMISATION MANAGER

Steve van Wyk was so excited about a new opportunity at Scaw South Africa that he returned from AltaSteel in Canada (where he worked for 2,5 years) to Johannesburg at the beginning of this year to join the team in the new Corporate Office as asset optimisation manager.

As his title implies, he looks for ways to optimise the assets inherent in the group. This is something he is good at, having done a lot of that for Union Junction for 19 years.

Of his experience as vice president of operations at AltaSteel in Edmonton, Canada, he says, “I have experienced -40°C and I have the T-shirt to prove it!” And adds, “I had a great time working with Chris Jager (who heads the operation) and his team, implementing a world-class maintenance system known as PMI. Their warmth offset the below-freezing winters.”

He continues, “I am really excited about the future of Scaw. We have weathered the economic downturn relatively well. We have been given a wonderful opportunity to re-establish some important functions and implement some  new initiatives necessary for our success. What inspires me most is the enthusiasm and determination to succeed that I witness as I travel throughout the group.”

Steve’s first job at Scaw, In 1993, was rolled products metallurgist. From there he took on increasingly more responsible positions in operations until he became manager, Mills division, in 2004. “We developed new products, new technology and new processes, always striving to improve the way we do things, particularly in the manufacture of wire rod.”