Long before Sheryll Kisten stepped into her role as head of HR at STADIO Higher Education, her days were devoted to nurturing, advocating and learning – not in a corporate setting, but at home, beside her unwell son.
From caring for a child with special needs to looking after an entire workforce, it was motherhood that quietly shaped Sheryll’s approach to leadership.
After finishing school, she entered a new chapter not at university, but in family life. She spent the first five years of adulthood as a full-time carer to her son, Cameron, who was born with cerebral palsy.
“I spent my first years out of school basically taking care of Cameron and getting to know more about cerebral palsy and what it meant and how to give my child quality of life.”
It was only after her husband encouraged her to consider the future that she took her first job. That push led Sheryll to a call centre, where she started as a debt collections agent, but it wasn’t long before someone took notice.
“I did that only for a short while until I was approached to become an admin assistant to the office manager. About 30 years ago, computers weren't widely used, so I didn’t know how to use one at the time. We were still working with fax machines and floppy disks. But I said yes to the opportunity and figured it out.”
Her work ethic didn’t go unnoticed and not long after, the company’s CEO asked her to help process the company’s payroll, and that moment changed everything.
“To be trusted with payroll meant they believed in my integrity and honesty, and that’s when I started getting curious and wondering what else this job entailed.”
This curiosity made her begin studying towards HR qualifications through private higher education institutions, while simultaneously building the company’s very first HR department from scratch.
A life-changing coffee
Her dedication paid off. Over the years, she rose through the ranks at the company, eventually becoming group HR director. “I did not have any industry contacts in the beginning, so I went to HR conferences, workshops and seminars and networked like crazy. That is how I grew in my field of HR. I learnt from other HR professionals and used those insights to continually grow and develop in my HR career. The organisation lacked foundational HR frameworks, including policies, procedures and disciplinary templates.”
In the male-dominated boardrooms she often found herself in, it was far from easy. “I worked hard to earn my place. HR was always the last item on the agenda, and by then, people were switching off. I fought to bring HR forward on the agenda so that when it was my turn to speak, people were still engaged.”
After 13 years, she felt it was time to move on and ventured into other industries – telecoms and then private higher education.
A chance coffee catch-up with a former executive unexpectedly changed her life.
That meeting led to an encounter with the Embury executive team, which is now STADIO Higher Education. “Without even realising it, I was being informally interviewed. By the time I got home, an offer letter was waiting in my inbox. It was one of those moments you don’t see coming, but I just knew this was it.”
Her resilience, she says, was forged long before joining STADIO.
“At the very beginning of my career, I was young, new and completely untrained,” she recalls. “There was no mentorship or guidance. One day, a supervisor angrily threw a call log sheet at me in front of others. I was deeply humiliated and broke down in tears in the bathroom.”
Leading with empathy
It was in that painful moment that she made a promise to herself to be the kind of leader she never had. “I wanted to do better, and I wanted to help people do better. So when the opportunity came to move into HR, I grabbed it. I knew that in a leadership role, I’d have the chance to create the kind of workplace I never had – one where every person who walks through the door feels seen, supported and valued.”
Nine years on at STADIO, she leads with the same values that shaped her personal journey.
“I lost my son a few years ago, but the support I received from STADIO and from the people I work with carried me through. They helped both my husband and I get through the most devastating period of our lives,” she says.
“My guiding principle has since been to embrace growth with integrity and lead with empathy. That's the kind of leader I am. It became an internal motto shaped by the experience of raising a child with special needs, teaching me to understand others deeply, while also developing the quiet strength to stand firm, because life has tested me in ways that shaped who I am today.”
Today, as head of HR at STADIO Higher Education, Sheryll has done just that, building a culture where care and strategy go hand in hand.
“I’m a huge fan of Dave Ulrich. His book Human Resource Champions also had a massive impact on how I see HR, especially around transformation and HR’s role in driving business outcomes.”
Sheryll’s HR philosophy aligns closely with STADIO’s core values: service, integrity, quality, and people focused.
“Personally, living these values is at the core of everything that I do. Whether it's in our HR policies, whether it's people management and practices or my day-to-day interactions. I believe that these values should guide our decisions and our actions.”
Providing support
“With these values in mind, we are committed to nurturing talent at STADIO, we’re cultivating a ‘grow our own timber’ philosophy. Recognising the importance of leadership development alongside our focus on our people, I prioritise allocating adequate budgetary resources for training and enhancing both our leaders and staff.”
Another initiative she’s implemented is their staff wellness and wellbeing programme.
“I believe that when employees feel supported both professionally and personally, their performance improves. Take performance management, many people assume it’s about removing underperformers, but that’s not the case. It’s about helping individuals get back on track. When we hire someone, we see their potential. If they’re struggling, it means something didn’t go right, and it’s our responsibility to understand why and provide the necessary support.”
“When I ask my team to do something, I explain why. Everyone should understand the bigger picture. That’s how you create buy-in and purpose.”
In a competitive education sector, attracting and keeping great talent, especially lecturers, is a constant challenge. However, she says STADIO’s unique culture gives them an edge and to constantly look for ways to support their staff and ensure as the company grows, their staff benefit too.
“We offer free education to staff, discounted education to their families, and being part of a listed group, we have both an employee share option scheme, as well as a phantom share scheme, whereby staff receive payouts aligned to the dividend declared by the company. Everyone who works at STADIO has an opportunity to become a shareholder and benefit from the dividend payouts made. This creates a sense of ownership and pride.”
“People want to work for STADIO. They often tell me they’ve always wanted to get their foot in the door, which shows we’re truly becoming an employer of choice.”
Despite the successes, her role comes with difficult moments too.
Navigating the future
“The hardest part of my role is having to retrench someone or let them go. People don’t work just because they want to, they work because they need to. I’ll never forget when my husband was retrenched from the bank years ago and walked in with that Section 189 letter. At that moment, my world fell apart. So when I sit across from someone going through the same thing, I know exactly how their world is falling apart too.”
“Letting someone go due to no-fault operational requirements is never easy. But when it comes to cases where someone is at fault, I’ve learnt to cope by reminding myself that we wouldn’t be in that situation if they hadn’t done something wrong. It took me a long time to come to terms with that.”
Sheryll is also helping STADIO navigate the future of work through AI integration. She’s co-leading a cross-functional task team that includes HR, IT, academics and finance.
“AI is here, and I always tell my team not to fear it. Let AI handle the repetitive tasks, so that we can focus on the human side of HR. When someone walks into your office upset, you now have the time to sit with them, listen and support them and that’s something AI can never replace.”
She’s also pushing for upskilling in data analytics and encouraging her team to attend workshops and take online courses. “It’s no longer enough to be an HR generalist because the field is expanding, and I want them ready for what’s next.”
What keeps her inspired is this next generation of professionals she’s helping shape.
“Watching the younger generation come in is incredibly rewarding. In an educational environment, you’re surrounded by bright young minds full of ideas. It’s important not to stifle that, we need to give them the space to learn, grow and explore. I see the same potential in my HR team and I’m committed to creating those opportunities for them too.”
“It's never about sitting in a meeting and listening to what I believe we should do, but I work in collaboration with them and let the ideas come from them. Yes, I do guide them along the way, but it’s very rewarding for me to grow, mentor, and develop them.”
New adventures
A lifelong lover of travel, Sheryll opens up about life after five.
“In my free time, I’m usually planning a holiday and while I’m on that holiday, I’m already planning the next one! I absolutely love to travel. Honestly, if I wasn’t in HR, I think I would’ve been a travel agent. I don’t even need to go on the trip myself, I genuinely enjoy planning holidays for other people too.”
“I hit the gym sometimes, not as often as I should, but once I get motivated, I just get going.”
Sheryll and her husband, Andrew, live in Cape Town, a move they made after they lost Cameron.
“Cammy passed away five years ago and it was the hardest, most painful experience of my life. It was absolutely heart-wrenching. But somehow, from somewhere, I found the strength to keep going.”
At the time, they were living in Durban. “My line manager, who was the CEO of Embury then, would often ask if I’d consider moving to Cape Town, and I’d always say no because my support system for my son was in Durban. I have a mom, one sister, two nephews, and my best friend, that’s my family. A very small, close-knit family.”
“About a month after Cameron’s passing, he reached out again. Everything was still so raw. I didn’t know what I was feeling, and I had no real understanding of what grieving truly meant. But after some reflection, we made the decision to move to Cape Town. And now, looking back, it was the right choice, we absolutely love it here.”
Now, every weekend is an adventure. “There are so many wine farms to explore and I love wine!”
Life, she says, has given her a second wind. “I dedicated almost 30 years of my life to my son. My career was demanding; I travelled a lot. I literally lived out of a suitcase. That George Clooney movie Up in the Air? That was my life.”
Now, she acknowledges that she and her husband are living life in reverse. “The things I should have done in my 20s, back when I was caring for a very sick child, we’re doing now. We’re enjoying life.”
Her most memorable trip? “New York City. Central Park, especially in autumn when the trees turn that orangey-brown colour, is my favourite place on Earth. If I could move there, I would. I don’t know if my husband would come with me, but I’d definitely go.”
Her next destination? Hong Kong. “My husband and I are finally going to Disney World this year. As stated – I’m living my life in reverse.”
Behind the well-travelled passport, she’s picked up a new, unexpected hobby: gardening. “I’ve never enjoyed gardening, but now I seem to have green fingers. I grew chillies and some herbs, and they’re just flourishing.”
But Sheryll’s biggest recent achievement isn’t growing chillies, but academics.
“I am not an academic but I co-wrote a paper with Professor Divya Singh, our chief academic officer. She let me take the lead, and I presented the paper at a conference at Middlesex University in Mauritius. No administrative staff at STADIO had ever done that before, it was the first, and I did it.”
“The paper focused on steering staff development in the 21st century: technological competences of academic staff as a critical driver of teaching and learning. It was completely out of my comfort zone, but also one of the most incredible experiences of my life.”
And, she is nowhere near done with her accomplishments yet. “At 53, I've just registered for my BBA Honours. Age is no barrier; you don’t always need to start with university. I became a mother first, then pursued my studies. If finances are tight, start working and study alongside – it's never too late to succeed.”
