Tiger Brands CHRO S’ne Magagula walked away with the prestigious honour of 2024 CHRO of the Year at the 'Oscars of HR', which took place on 14 November at the Polo Room, Inanda Club.
S’ne was recognised for her role in ensuring the growth of Tiger Brands through the introduction and execution of the "agile at scale" methodology, which revolutionised the company’s innovation process. This process not only brought new products like rice chips to market swiftly, but also demonstrated the power of cross-functional collaboration.
After accepting her award from Workday’s country MD Kiv Moodley, S’ne said, “Thank you to my team, we've walked a long journey, we walked five and a half years to get a system approved and we never gave up. We are a resilient bunch.”
She also thanked her family, specifically her late mother who S’ne credits with instilling the characteristics she displays as a leader today.
Earlier in the evening, S’ne also took home the Talent Management Award, which was handed out by managing partner of Drayton Glendower and 2024 CHRO Awards judge Moula Mokhobo-Amegashie.
She also highlighted the role of her family and team in her acceptance speech. “I share this award with my team who really work tirelessly to give our people at Tiger Brands the very best. We're known for iconic brands but the people who innovate to make those brands happen are our people,” she said.
“I want to thank my mother on whose giant shoulders I stand, even though she's not here anymore, beyond the rainbows, she continues to inspire me. To my husband Justice and daughters, thank you for the immeasurable support. I wouldn’t be here if it was not for you,” she added.
The title of Young CHRO of the Year went to Palesa Matoli, head of human capital at Bidvest Bank. This award was presented by Keletjo Chiloane, career consulting senior associate at Mercer Africa.
This was Palesa’s second award for the night as well. She also scooped the 2024 Transformation & Empowerment Award, which was presented by the MD Ikigai People Advisory Services Malisha Awunor.
Palesa was celebrated for the pivotal role that she played in improving the bank's performance culture and elevating its B-BBEE rating from Level 3 to Level 1 within a year. Palesa also successfully introduced key HR benefits, including prime minus rates and paid maternity leave, demonstrating her strategic thinking and leadership skills.
“I would like to thank Bidvest Bank - it’s about changing lives, doing what’s best for ordinary South Africans,” she said, “I cannot do what I do without my team, they take my crazy, they take all of it. I thank God, he put me where I need to be. I want to dedicate this to my mom, when you come from nothing and one day you are something, you are grateful.”
It was certainly a gala evening for doubles, as Rizwana Butler, group executive for HR at Capitec Bank, received the HR & Technology Award, handed out by Malose Mabusela, head of sales at MakwaIT, and the Learning & Development Award, handed out by Lathasha Subban, head of client engagement at GIBS.
Rizwana was unable to attend and Thato Mmaditla, HR executive for retail bank at Capitec, accepted the awards on her behalf. “I would like to acknowledge all HR leaders in the room, because HR plays a role in leaving people better than we found them. I would also like to recognise my fearless leader - Rizwana - for being so intentional about being the change at Capitec, inspiring us to be better leaders and standing her ground when needs be,” he said.
Rizwana was recognised for transforming the HR function at the bank from a transactional to a strategic, people-centred approach. She also played a key role in driving accountability across the organisation, restructuring the business planning process, and fostering a more connected and aligned executive team through innovative leadership initiatives.
Hall of champions
The Employee Value Proposition Award went to Annalize van der Waal, HRVP: sub-Saharan Africa, PepsiCo and it was handed out by Qinisekile Dhlamini, head of client engagement at Momentum Corporate.
Annalize said, “A big thank you to my team, I am privileged to partner closely with such awesome people. To become an admired company in corporate South Africa is something to be proud of and it is through our EVP that we are able to retain and attract valuable people. As PepsiCo, we went through a remarkable transition where between from 2020 to 2023, the strategy was focused on building that integrated organisation. That worked well; in 2024 we’ve embarked on a new strategy. It is firmly focused on becoming the leading food and beverages company in South Africa from a growth and positive impact perspective. This award represents that the hard work has really paid off!”
The Strategy & Leadership Award was presented to Northam Platinum’s Colin Smith, who played an important role in the company's remarkable growth, transforming from a single-asset company in 2014 to four operating operations, including international ventures. This award was handed out by Lindiwe Sebesho from Old Mutual Corporate.
“I work for a great company and we, along with the exco, have grown this company from 9 000 employees in 2015 to 22 000 plus people in 2024. We have achieved great things with the exco team - especially with the support of our CEO, Paul Dunn. In 2015, we embarked on a growth strategy to increase platinum production from 310,000 ounces to one million ounces annually, and chrome from 215,000 tons to one million tons over ten years. I’m happy to announce that we are on track to meet these targets. This award is testament that we are on the right track,” he said.
The full list of 2024 CHRO Awards winners:
- Strategy & Leadership - Colin Smith,executive: HR, Northam Platinum
- Transformation & Empowerment - Palesa Matoli, executive head: human capital and transformation, Bidvest Bank
- HR & Technology - Rizwana Butler, group executive: human resources, Capitec Bank
- Learning & Development - Rizwana Butler, group executive: human resources, Capitec Bank
- Talent Management - S'ne Magagula, CHRO Tiger Brands
- Employee Value Proposition - Annalize van der Waal, HRVP: sub-Saharan Africa, PepsiCo
- Young CHRO of the Year - Palesa Matoli, executive head: human capital and transformation, Bidvest Bank
- CHRO of the Year - S'ne Magagula, CHRO Tiger Brands.
The judges for the 2024 CHRO Awards were:
- Abdullah Verachia, founder & CEO, The Strategists
- Caryn Baird, independent advisor & executive coach
- James Ramakau, chairperson, SABPP
- Moula Mokhobo-Amegashie, managing partner, Drayton Glendower
- Paul Norman, CHRO MTN group, 2019 CHRO of The Year.
- Raisibe Morathi, group CFO, Vodacom.
- Sharon Taylor, chief people & culture officer, Standard Bank, 2023 CHRO of The Year
- Shirley Zinn, Non-executive director
- Tswelo Kodisang, Group Chief People Officer, FirstRand. 2021 CHRO of The Year
- Tumelo Seaketso, Partner, STRASS Consultancy
- Vukani Mngxati, CEO, Accenture Africa
The sixth annual awards were made possible by the following partners who have thrown their support behind the "Oscars of HR": Workday, Mercer Africa, Old Mutual South Africa, MakwaIT, GIBS Business School (Gordon Institute of Business Science), Momentum Corporate.
