The Summit highlighted the importance of driving financial performance while remaining mindful about the disparities in society.
On 19 February, South Africa’s top finance professionals gathered at 39 Melrose Boulevard in Melrose Arch for the 2025 CFO Power of Purpose Summit.
As darkness began to set in across the northern Johannesburg skyline, with ambient music in the background setting the tone for the interesting conversations that lay ahead, each invited guest was welcomed and ushered into three separate rooms to have insightful conversations on how to integrate purpose into their financial decision-making.
There, they discussed their views on aligning the financial team with the broader organisational purpose while balancing the tension between financial performance and making a meaningful impact on society.
Marlene Urquhart from Marsh Africa, Mandy Leonard from OneStream Software and Dumisani Dlamini from the Soul City Institute were each allocated one of the three separate rooms where the discussions were taking place, and given the task of roaming around each of their respective rooms, eagerly taking notes and engaging with some of the invited guests to gain a better sense of what was being discussed, so as to provide a debrief to the broader group following the interactive session.
In one of the sessions, CFO of BMW Dr Joerg Kemminer could be heard arguing for why the idea of pursuing financial performance did not have to be mutually exclusive to that of making a meaningful impact on society. “In the luxury segment, initially, people typically wanted to buy a product for themselves, now they want to buy into a product that shares their values. “
Following the interactive sessions, the formal part of the programme began with the 2018 CFO Awards nominee and CFO of Marsh Africa Michelle Pienaar welcoming guests and expressing her gratitude to being associated with the CFO Power of Purpose Summit as the principal partner. “Purpose-driven companies experience higher employee engagement and innovation, which is a powerful reminder of why it’s important for CFOs to incorporate purpose into their financial strategy,” she said.
Futurist, trend analyst and Flux Trends partner Bronwyn Williams delivered the keynote address, talking about moving from “Postalgia to Purpose”. She said people feel a sense of disappointment because the future they were promised isn’t quite what they’re currently living. “There seems to be a deficit between expectation and reality, which means unhappiness, entitlement and dissatisfaction with what you have.”
She highlighted research showing how there’s a group of young people in America who are “asset-limited, income-constrained employed people. These are nurses, teachers and office workers who are typically employed, but can’t actually afford places to live.”
She said much of the world experienced a K-shaped recovery – which often occurs following a recession, where different parts of the economy recover unevenly – and in this case, where the 'rich got richer, and the poor got poorer'.
She pointed out that young people in Asia are faced with ‘Postalgia’, which she defined as a nostalgia for a future that you thought you were promised, but did not materialise. She said people experiencing this feeling in Asia are “leaning in and opting out” – paying companies to help them disappear from the world to enable them to start over or just disappear from existence altogether for a period of time.
Bronywn was followed by a lively high-level panel discussion with senior financial executives including engineering consultant, trusted adviser and CFO of Zutari Joe Ndala, a chartered accountant and 2018 CFO Awards nominee, Riaan Davel, 2024 CFO Award winner and CFO of DRDGold. Riaan said his organisation’s purpose involves “rolling back the environmental legacy of mining”.
Taryn Woodbridge, 2024 CFO finance transformation award winner and CFO of Mercedes-Benz South Africa, said her company mission is about "moving the world” and Stephen Mahlare, a chartered accountant and executive director for finance at Barloworld Equipment, said that while they’re in the business of moving dirt, in providing that equipment, it is important to follow a values and purpose-driven approach.
Building sustainable business models
Riaan said, as one of the oldest listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, for DRD Gold it’s about conducting business in a sustainable way. “Obviously we’re a business so we have to make money. But how we look at it is not just to make money as quickly as possible and leave. Our model is to mine not quickly but for as long as possible, and remove all this negative environmental legacy that was created.”
Joe said he appreciates the work engineers do because they create impact. When they build a road it’s not just seen as building infrastructure but connecting communities. "From one side to the other, communities need a road to access hospitals and other amenities,” he noted.
Everyone’s contribution in the finance department is key
Taryn said during the breakout sessions they touched on how she, as a CFO, can help everyone identify their unique contribution very early in the process.
“The contribution of an accounts payable clerk, who pays suppliers on time, makes sure that the production line doesn’t stop; they make sure that we finish the vehicles on time. By identifying their purpose and contribution to that achievement, starts to motivate them to work with speed and accuracy. So when we celebrate that there’s been no production stoppages or that the customers and suppliers are happy with the service or that the production colleagues are happy that we’re paying on time, they can clearly see how their contribution has helped,” said Taryn.
Stephen concurred, saying that Barloworld’s finance team creates value by understanding that they shouldn’t just sit back but they have to take initiative.
“Members of the finance team don’t just sit back when the ops team are having engagements with the customer – they try and find out what the customer is saying, what they want, what the the value differentiators are, and how they as finance contribute to the solution that enables the customer to move forward,” said Stephen.
Integrating purpose using integrated reporting
Riaan said it’s not just about saying the right words on a document or website. It’s about embodying the purpose in the business model. “Embracing something like integrated reporting into your business is important – it’s not just about having separate teams in operations, sustainability or the environment. It’s about integrating every unit’s contribution into the overall business model.”
But even an integrated business model does not guarantee embedding purpose into the organisation. Joe summed up the discussion by saying that, “There’s a difference between just having a vision and having a purpose. When you have a purpose, it’s something that grounds you – where you’re going, what you do and how you are going to do it. So you will never do something that doesn’t align with your values.”
The evening ended with our finance professionals having a few drinks and enjoying the striking views across Johannesburg.
This CFO South Africa Summit was made possible by CFO South Africa’s Principal Partners, Marsh McLennan Africa and Onestream Software, alongside Executive Partners Anchor Capital, BDO South Africa, Coupa, Stanlib, Workday, Associate Partners AICPA & CIMA and Allan Gray.
