Born: Brakpan. First job: Telkom - purchasing clerk. Freight industry start: I grew up in a business environment – my father had a transport company. At first I followed my own career, met my husband who was a director at AW Charters, who also grew up in the transport industry, and we started our own company. Industry challenges: Make sure you are willing to learn and use your instincts. One can be a lady, manage a hundred trucks and rough-bearded drivers, and earn their respect and loyalty without having to be a man-eater. Influential person in shaping your career: My father and definitely my husband Gerrie Coetzee. Best personal/professional achievement: When we became the first South African company to open the route by road from South Africa to Angola in 1993 while the war was still in progress, and when we took abnormal loads up the Liba pass in Angola – something that had never been done before. Recipe for success: Don’t be scared of failure, it is just another opportunity, and it means you have another chance to try again and again – persevere! Business icon: Anton Rupert. Meaningful quote: Successful people do what unsuccessful people find inconvenient to do. Outside interests: Deep sea fishing, scuba diving, hunting, exploring Africa, art.
