1 September 2004

Futhi Mtoba, deputy chairman and recently appointed chairman designate at Deloitte & Touche, has been named South Africa's 2004 Businesswoman of the Year by the Businesswomen's Association (BWA).

Mtoba, the first black African woman to be appointed as a partner by one of South Africa's top four accounting firms, got the nod from a panel of experts ahead of four other finalists: Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate CEO Ingrid Diesel, Transnet chief financial officer Sindi Mabaso, Grey Worldwide SA CEO Ann Nurock, and IDCS Beyond Outsourcing CEO Suzanne Ravenall.

Previous winners of SA's premier award for women in business, now in its 25th year, include Nicky Newton-King of the JSE Securities Exchange (2003), Kim McFarland of Investec Asset Management (2002), Maria Ramos when she was with the National Treasury (2001), and Irene Charnley of Johnnic Holdings (2000).

BWA president Namane Magau, speaking at the award ceremony in Johannesburg on 25 August, said Mtoba was not only "a winner that does justice to the previous 25 years of the Award, but she is a winner that heralds great things for the next 25 years, given what she has achieved and all that she represents about this country and its women."

Mtoba, who joined Deloitte & Touche in 1988, was the first black woman to be appointed to the company's board, and was recently appointed as the first black woman deputy chairman of Deloitte.

A member of the financial sector working group that was responsible for the formulation of South Africa's financial sector transformation charter, Mtoba notes that transformation "is a journey that Deloitte started in the early 1980s.

"Building on our strategy of growing leadership from within, there has been significant progress over the past year. Nine black partners were appointed on 1 June 2004, and currently 16% of our partners and 38% of our executive leadership respectively are black."

Three of Deloitte's board members are women, and 28 of its 220 partners (13%) are women.

Mtoba also serves as chairman of the Investment Committee of the Public Investment Commissioners, a non-banking financial intermediary responsible for the investment of public sector pension and provident funds, with assets under management of R302-billion (US$43-billion).

She is also a member of the Nepad (New Partnership for Africa's Development) Business Group, which works with the Nepad secretariat to develop effective public-private partnerships to support the African Union's socio-economic recovery plan.

The Businesswoman of the Year award, sponsored by Nedbank, seeks to honour the achievements of South African women business leaders, and to help create a cadre of women role models.

It also makes a sustainable contribution to the next generation of women business leaders, as all proceeds of the annual awards banquet go to the Businesswomen's Association's Bursary Fund, which has assisted more than 45 women to further their tertiary business studies since 1988.

BWA CEO Niven Postma says the association provides South African businesswomen with access to information and opportunities.

"Our combined intellect is formidable, and by networking, our members have improved access to business opportunities. This networking isn't only confined to South Africa, but extends throughout the African continent and beyond."

SouthAfrica.info reporter

	Growing leadership from within ... Futhi Mtoba, the first black African woman to be appointed as a partner by one of SA's top four accounting firms (Photo: Businesswomen's Association)

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Businesswomen's Association - The largest association of business and professional women in South Africa.

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