It was a bright and sunny Thursday morning on the 12th of November 2020 at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) campus. The air abuzz with excitement from human interaction, as the 25 Insurance Leadership Development Program (ILDP) delegates gathered for a light breakfast in the foyer. All social distancing protocol was observed. The agenda for the day included the syndicates final Action Learning Programme (ALP) presentations, followed by the much anticipated 2020 ILDP graduation.
The morning kicked off with a welcome from Lerato Mahlasela, Director of Custom Programmes at GIBS, who ululated with excitement and pride at what the delegate had been able to achieve (despite the odds) during 2020. Her sentiments were echoed by Darryl Grater, #YourIIG President, who added how he was particularly impressed with the 2020 delegate’s seamless adjustment to online learning during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Compiling an ALP submission takes the form of a writing a research paper. It is similarly assembled over the duration of the programme, however instead of typing out reems of paper a presentation is compiled. As part of the submission the syndicates need to formulate the topic, select a sample and research methodology then determine the findings and recommendations. It is carried out in from of a panel, consisting of members of the GIBS faculty, IIG councilors as well representative from our valued sponsor of the ILDP program SASRIA.
The topics presented on the day were as follows:
Syndicate 1/ Thuthukani: Learnerships and Internships
Syndicate 2 /Mountain Movers: Supporting Women Empowerment
Syndicate 3/The Insurance Visionaries: Consumer Education on Financial Management and Insurance
Syndicate 4 /The Transformers: Affordable Short-Term Insurance Contributing to Growth and Transformation
Syndicate 5/The Big Five: Contributing to Transformation- Enterprise Development and B-BBEE Procurement
The panelists were impressed by all the syndicates and provided constructive feedback where required, a special acknowledgement went out to The Insurance Visionaries who were rated the best presentation of the day.
In order to accommodate family members/sponsors/line managers to the ceremony, an outdoor graduation was hosted on the GIBS lawn.
The following prizes were awarded during the graduation:
The top student award went to Nontethelelo Nzimakwe who is Head of Financial Reporting at Emerald Africa.
The runner up for top student went to David Chow who is an Engineering Manager at Bryte and is also the current Deputy President of the Insurance Institute of the Western Cape.
The top ALP syndicate was awarded to “The Big Five”, a team consisting of: Karen Companie from Old Mutual Insure, Nadia Grewe from Santam, Nontethelelo Nzimakwe from Emerald, Puvishka Naidoo from Absa Short Term and the rose amoungst the thorns Stanley Ndlozi from Willis Towers Watson.
In closing Boita Lew-Shew (Professional Associate at GIBS) expressed how honored and inspired she was by each delegate for having made it to the finish line during such a difficult year. This was followed by Darryl Grater who conveyed his joy at the IIG having seen 100 delegates come through the ILDP program, “the consistency, quality of reports, emotional adjustment and interaction of this year’s group deserves a special mention”. Darryl continued by expressing that the IIG was encouraged by the positive feedback and positive impact this programme has had on the delegates lives, “I hope that this is not the end for you but that you have only scratched the surface. Keep learning, implementing and contributing to the industry.” An expression of gratitude went out to the GIBS faculty for the world class content and delivery, “it is no wonder GIBS is Africa’s leading business school, said Darryl.” A heartfelt thank you also went to SASRIA, the programme sponsor from 2016, who have literally invested millions into South Africa’s leadership.
As if the day hadn’t been special enough, Dr. Morris Mthombeni (the dean of GIBS) graced the graduation with his presence and conveyed his excitement at having the insurance industry on campus.
The festivities of the day were concluded with a much-deserved toast on the lawn.
A warm congratulations to all 2020 ILDP graduates and award winners!!
