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From Alexandra to FirstRand: The Remarkable Rise of Mary Vilakazi

From Alexandra to FirstRand: The Remarkable Rise of Mary Vilakazi

By Blossom Ukoha “Growing up I would not have said I would be CEO of the largest bank in South Africa, but it is [the outcome of] a series of opportunities I was fortunate to have. I always say I was not the brightest or the most gifted, but I managed to get opportunities… without access to them I would not be here.” For Mary Vilakazi, becoming Group Chief Executive Officer of FirstRand is not a story she attributes to a single defining moment. It is the result of opportunities accumulated over time, combined with preparation, performance and the willingness to take on increasingly complex responsibilities. Her journey from Alexandra township in Johannesburg to the leadership of one of Africa’s largest financial groups illustrates how access to opportunity can transform ambition into executive leadership. Vilakazi became FirstRand Group CEO on 1 April 2024, succeeding Alan Pullinger. Her appointment made her the…

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Amazons on Boards

What Does Lytania Johnson’s Rise to FNB CEO Mean for Women in Banking?

What Does Lytania Johnson’s Rise to FNB CEO Mean for Women in Banking?

By Blossom Ukoha “My trajectory [was] an accumulation of different chapters across finance, risk, human capital, and corporate management.” For Lytania Johnson, becoming Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank (FNB) was not the result of a single career-defining move. It was the culmination of more than 25 years of experience, built across different functions and responsibilities within FNB and FirstRand. Her journey illustrates how breadth of experience, continuous learning and the willingness to embrace unexpected opportunities can prepare women for the highest levels of leadership. Johnson became CEO of FNB and of the newly configured Retail and Business Banking (RBB) segment on 1 April 2026, succeeding Harry Kellan. The new structure brings retail and business banking closer together, with a focus on households, entrepreneurs and small businesses. The scale of the appointment is significant. FNB traces its roots to 1838 and is FirstRand’s largest franchise. In the year ended June 2026, FNB…

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Amazons on Boards

Emrie Brown: How a “Jungle Gym” Career Led Her to the Top of RMB

Emrie Brown: How a “Jungle Gym” Career Led Her to the Top of RMB

By Blossom Ukoha A career does not always move in a straight line. For Emrie Brown, it has looked more like what she calls a “jungle gym” than a traditional ladder, a journey shaped by different roles, unexpected turns, difficult decisions and opportunities to begin again. “Your career can be much more like a jungle gym than the traditional career ladder in your journey to achieve success,” Brown has said. “How you define success and the sacrifices that you are prepared to make, are decisions that will be required along the way and will be different for each person.” Her own career is a powerful illustration of that philosophy. From qualifying as a chartered accountant to becoming an investment banker, taking a temporary step away from the industry to navigate motherhood, returning to RMB and eventually becoming its first woman CEO, Brown’s path demonstrates that professional success does not always follow…

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Business Clinique

8 Hindrances Keeping Women-Owned Businesses from Scaling

8 Hindrances Keeping Women-Owned Businesses from Scaling

By Blossom Ukoha A woman can build a profitable business, attract loyal customers and create jobs, yet still struggle to take that business to the next level. The challenge is often not a lack of ambition. It is a combination of financial, structural, social and institutional barriers that make scaling harder. From Lagos to London, Nairobi to New York, women entrepreneurs are building businesses across industries. Yet the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises in developing markets face a financing gap of roughly $1.5 trillion. Scaling requires more than starting capital. It requires access to markets, networks, technology, skills, assets and systems that allow a business to move from survival to sustained growth. Here are eight major hindrances. 1. Limited Access to Finance Capital is one of the most persistent barriers. According to the IFC, women-owned businesses face an estimated $1.4–$1.7 trillion credit gap. Women often…

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Home & Decor

The Home as Her Power Base: Creating Spaces That Support the Woman You Are Becoming

The Home as Her Power Base: Creating Spaces That Support the Woman You Are Becoming

By Janet Coin At the end of a demanding day, a woman walks through her front door, drops her bag and exhales. Work can wait. Emails can wait. For a moment, nobody needs anything from her. But then she looks around. The clutter reminds her of unfinished tasks. Her workspace is buried beneath household items. There is nowhere to read, pray, create or simply be alone. She has a home but does her home support the woman she is becoming? For generations, home has often been presented as a woman’s place of domestic responsibility. But it can also be something more: a sanctuary, creative space, workplace, refuge and foundation for personal growth. A Room of Her Own Virginia Woolf famously wrote in A Room of One’s Own: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” Nearly a century later, the principle remains…

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Amazons on Boards

The New Definition of a Successful Woman: Career, Family or Freedom?

The New Definition of a Successful Woman: Career, Family or Freedom?

By Blossom Ukoha For generations, society has offered women a familiar formula for success: build a career, get married, have children, care for the family and somehow make everything look effortless. But that formula is increasingly being questioned. Across Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas, women are redefining what achievement means. For some, success is a corner office or a thriving business. For others, it is raising a family, achieving financial independence, choosing not to marry, pursuing personal fulfilment or simply having the freedom to decide what kind of life they want. The bigger question is no longer whether women can “have it all,” but who gets to define what “all” means? A Global Shift in What Women Want The numbers tell part of the story. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 708 million women globally were outside the labour force in 2023 because of unpaid care responsibilities, compared with about…

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Amazons on Boards

9 Remarkable Things to Know About Professor Ibironke Odumosu-Ayanu, the New Dean of a Canadian Law College

9 Remarkable Things to Know About Professor Ibironke Odumosu-Ayanu, the New Dean of a Canadian Law College

By Blossom Ukoha From Lagos to the Canadian Prairies, Professor Ibironke Odumosu-Ayanu’s journey is a story of intellectual curiosity, unexpected opportunities and academic excellence. The Nigerian-born legal scholar has built a distinguished career in Canada spanning nearly two decades and is now taking on one of her biggest leadership roles. The University of Saskatchewan has appointed Odumosu-Ayanu as Dean of its College of Law, with her five-year term beginning October 1, 2026. Behind the appointment is a remarkable journey: a young girl from Lagos who loved reading and writing, an aspiring lawyer who once expected to study in England, an unexpected move to Canada and a career shaped by a commitment to using law to improve people’s lives. Here are nine things to know about her journey. She began her journey in Lagos Odumosu-Ayanu grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where she developed an early passion for reading and writing. Although…

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