Heidi Kornmuller, head of talent at Coronation Fund Managers, has been with the fund management company for over two decades and she remains as committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace as she did on her very first day.
Heidi Kornmuller is not simply the head of talent management at Coronation Fund Managers – she’s a force for change within the traditionally conservative world of South African finance. Her journey, marked by both personal triumph and a drive to uplift others, speaks volumes about her character and commitment.
“I started off studying medicine and realised that my dad would kill me if I dropped to a social science degree, so the business science psychology was the compromise. The plan was to become a clinical psychologist,” she recalls.
However, life had other plans. After completing her studies, she felt too young to dive straight into a master's programme and travelled for a year.
Upon returning to South Africa, she landed a job with a recruiter. “Whilst I was working for a recruiter, one of my clients was Investec, and another recruiter approached me to go for an interview for an HR job there.”
Intrigued by the opportunity and drawn to the company culture, she accepted the position, becoming the first HR consultant for Investec in the Cape Town region. This unplanned path paved the way for a fulfilling career. “I think I then realised I preferred working with people in that way – actually finding the right people, making sure you set them up for success, supporting them, and developing them.”
Speaking of her role at Coronation, she described the satisfaction of building the HR department from the ground up. She studied along the way, adding an honours in financial analysis and portfolio management, a labour law certificate, as well as an executive coaching course, to her qualifications.
Creating inclusivity
“I’ve worked at Coronation for 22 years. It is a long time, but there’s always been something to do with new challenges continuously presenting themselves; I am also good at finding something new for myself to do. It was a great opportunity to build an HR function and be able to set things up in a way that I thought worked. Now we employ 333 people, still fairly small, but when I joined, it was about 50 to 60 people.”
Her early experiences shaped her perspective and solidified her commitment to creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace. One of Heidi’s most impactful initiatives is the Coronation Catapult programme, aimed at developing black talent within the financial sector. “A lot of our clients ask us to direct brokerage towards developing black-owned stockbrokers. These are often small businesses breaking into the stockbroking industry who benefit from this brokerage support.”
In a conversation with Coronation’s head of dealing, Philip van der Merwe, the idea for the Coronation Catapult programme was born. Philip agreed to support with brokerage funding and Heidi committed to finding young black talent to help the black-owned stockbrokers grow their businesses.
Heidi spearheaded the programme to provide young black graduates with work experience, training, and mentorship. “We started with eight graduates in 2023, last year we had 12, and then going into 2025 we hope to have about 13. We place these graduates either as trainee equity analysts, trainee traders, or trade support administrators, and then we train them for two weeks on a work readiness programme before they start working at the stockbrokers,” she explains.
“We provide them with communication skills training, excel training, financial markets, and personal awareness to set them up so that when they start working, they feel more prepared and are set up for success.”
Outlining the various ways in which the programme benefits Coronation and its stakeholders, she says, “The company wanted to make sure the money was being directed to something meaningful and make sure that we are supporting these businesses. For me personally, I’m doing it because I want to create employment.”
She continued to explain this approach to preparing graduates for success in the workplace, stating, “It’s not just about getting them a job, but about them being successful. We ensure they have a line manager who is committed to their development, and then we do a lot of coaching around their personal development. So, it's not just about the work but about the person as a whole.”
The coaching addresses common themes of imposter syndrome, how to manage finances and how to connect with different colleagues.
Heidi's own experiences with imposter syndrome have given her a unique understanding of the challenges faced by those who feel like they don’t belong. She questioned whether she had made the right choice. “So, I struggled with questioning myself for a while. As an HR professional in a hard skills environment, I often felt like I am speaking German but everyone around me is French!”
Connecting with others
Heidi's passion for coaching and transformation extends beyond the Catapult programme. “It’s definitely something that I feel very strongly about. I really enjoy coaching young black talent and women navigating the corporate world,” she shares. She states that she recognises the unique challenges faced by these individuals in a predominantly male dominated corporate environment. “Being a woman in the workplace can be difficult, so if I can coach a young woman to navigate that more easily, that's quite important to me,” she adds.
She described her commitment to diversity and inclusion as not just about creating a more equitable workplace, but also about recognising and valuing the unique contributions that individuals from different backgrounds bring to the table.
“I am passionate about ensuring that transformation is done honestly and with the right support. I think it’s important to help people who are disadvantaged in the corporate world succeed to ensure greater diversity and inclusion,” she says.
Heidi is also a dedicated mother and sees parenting as one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences in life. “Parenting is one of the best and hardest things I have done. You learn a whole lot about yourself and continuously make mistakes along the way.”
She continues to encourage young people to build strong relationships and connect with others, both personally and professionally.
“I constantly remind them to be ensuring that every aspect of their wellbeing is given attention. Learning how to take care of every aspect of your wellbeing is essential to survival in the workplace,” she says.
