Tessa Meyer, CFO at African Group Lubricants (AG Lubricants), says 2024 has given her great stories to tell around the braai, and she hopes to add more next year.
Tessa Meyer is currently the CFO at AG Lubricants, a distribution and local blending company for lubricants and a subsidiary of the enX Group. She reflects on the year that’s passed and shares her professional and personal outlook for 2025 – although she maintains she’s “not a goals person”.
Tessa doesn’t believe in having plans set in stone, but she says this attitude has served her well in her career and life. “I’m very much where the wind goes. If an opportunity pops up, I can quickly make a decision and act on it,” she explains. Be that as it may, she shares how her year has been, and what she hopes lies ahead.
According to Tessa, being part of AG Lubricants means the financial teams have a year-end in August.
“When we reflect on 2024, it means the hard work has been done. In December, it’s nice to take a step back and process what's happened during the year. For us at AG Lubricants, 2024 has been an excellent year in terms of results.”
She adds that it has been a disruptive few years, from Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine affecting supply chains.
“You employ initiatives and create building blocks until that stable period. It feels like 2024 has been the culmination of all the hard work during the last three years and we've seen it in our results. We’ve had record production volumes and sales months. For me, it’s a great feeling to know it’s a reflection not just for us as a company but for the wider economy; to know that our customers are doing well, too. It’s been nice to see the fruits of our labour.”
On 2025’s growth opportunities
With the financial year-end on 31 August at AG Lubricants, Tessa says the new financial year has already started with momentum.
“In 2025 we have many projects in the pipeline, we’re deploying more technology, and targeting more growth opportunities in mining and construction. The team is working hard and hopefully we’ll have a lot of new business and gain more efficiencies,” says Tessa.
According to Tessa, one of the most difficult things about being an aspiring female CA is getting that seat at the table, especially in a male-dominated industry.
“You have to squat in a boardroom and stay there!” she laughs. “It’s important to build connections and find common ground with the guys you work with. Ask questions and take an interest in what they do; try to understand the bigger picture, not just the financial side. Build that rapport, but literally crash meetings by asking, ‘Do you mind if I sit in and listen, I’d like to understand something?’’ Ask for the opportunity and exposure because it might not be automatically offered to you.”
In 2024, Tessa added a few countries to her bucket list, and some were close to home. She went to Mozambique for the first time and went tiger fishing in Zambia. She also visited Dubai and spent some time in the UK.
“You don’t have to go far to satisfy the travel bug; South Africa is a beautiful country and this year we’ve had some adventures on the Sani Pass (we got stuck in the snow!). We now have some nice stories to tell around the braai – and hopefully more to add next year. Life is busy but you have to make life happen.”
