A results-driven individual with an authentic passion for people. Having graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a BSc Hons in Metallurgical Engineering, Thabile began her career as an Engineer in Training at one of the world’s leading steel manufacturers. During this time, she was involved in process improvement initiatives at the cold rolling mill which was aimed at ensuring quality cold rolled steel to the customer.
An opportunity came along to move to the Kalahari, and embark on a different journey within the Metallurgical field, moving from steelmaking to Mineral processing. The first 8 months in the Kalahari were spent gaining on the ground experience of the Manganese processing plants, namely the Crushing and Screening, Dense Medium Separation (“DMS”) and Sintering plants. The time spent with operators taught her invaluable lessons about building relationships both up and down and that there is always something to learn from someone else.
There came a need for PM’s to assist the PMO as resources were constrained. With her love for a challenge and trying something new, she volunteered to assist as a project manager and was immediately given a project to manage on her own. This is where her love for project management began and this changed the course of her career from Metallurgy to Project Management. With her professionalism, hardworking attitude, determination, resilience, and attention to detail, she was determined to become a success at PMO. After successfully front-end loading and executing her first solo project, she was asked by the PMO manager to join the team permanently. Having developed a true passion and love for project management, the decision to stay at PMO was an easy one. After a couple of months at PMO, the business decided to split capital projects into 2 departments; PMO and Small Projects and Modifications. She was asked to manage all projects categorised into the Small Projects Capital category and on her own executed projects worth 90 million ZAR in a financial year. This achievement resulted in an award as best performing employee, within the department, for that year.
She has continued to solidify her career as a project manager, honing and improving her project management skills resulting in her excelling in this field. She is currently responsible for managing the Mine’s complete portfolio with a budget of approximately 200 million ZAR. She leads a team of project and construction managers which has, under her leadership, managed to assign (spend + commit) 72% of its full-year capital budget before the end of the first half of the financial year.
An extremely professional individual who is hardworking and constantly seeks challenges. An individual who is confident in her ability to perform and deliver good results with any given task and is able to work efficiently under pressure. Passionate about doing projects the right way. She is a PMP (Professional Manager of Projects), a certification given by the International Project Management Institution (PMI).
