A strong sense of purpose has guided Ayanda Kotobe to the finance director’s chair at RS South Africa. She shares how her “why” keeps her grounded while driving ambition in a multinational environment.
Ayanda’s path to finance leadership has been shaped by ambition, grit and a deep commitment to faith and family. Born and raised in Soweto, she now leads finance at RS South Africa, drawing on experience across multinationals while keeping her purpose firmly in focus.
Ayanda’s anchor is unmistakable: church, family, and a purpose forged by upbringing and responsibility. “I thrive in relationships – personal and work. One thing my mom taught us was to pray. Everything will happen in its time, but God will provide. What I love about church is the fellowship and the sense of family.”
Her “why” is both personal and generational. “I’m the first one to get a matric; the first to go to university and get a degree. My family consistently pushes and motivates me. Being where I am was my opportunity to change my family’s situation.”
An avid Arsenal and Orlando Pirates supporter, Ayanda explains that she doesn’t do things by half measures. “At work I’m focused. Decisions can be life-altering; I manage people who rely on me. But at a stadium, for 90 minutes, nothing else matters – it’s just 11 men on the pitch.”
When not watching or playing soccer, Ayanda’s family is her focus. “They motivate me. My family is at the top of my why.”
This motivation reveals itself in the impressive outcome of her hard work. Ayanda has worked at RS South Africa, a branch of UK-listed RS Group, since 2019. Before joining RS, she served at Barloworld Equipment, including a stint as country FD in Botswana, an experience that sharpened her appetite for broad accountability and ownership.
Learning to lead: people first
“It was a place where I felt I could build my name; a place with the opportunity to experience everything and be hands-on. It was also a chance to see the whole picture and take responsibility for the entire operations because that’s where my ambition is. At some point, I also want to be a CFO of a listed entity,” she says.
Ambition and achievement, however, come with a learning curve, she says. For Ayanda, the sharpest edge has been people's leadership. “The biggest learning has been people and managing people – especially as part of a global entity. You’re working with people from all different walks of life, managing them and trying to get results.”
RS South Africa sits within a global structure, reporting locally to the MD while interfacing with leadership in Europe. The distance, time zone differences and cultural nuances are very very challenging, but it’s also an opportunity, she says.
“Sometimes there’s less red tape but sometimes it’s frustrating because cultural nuances get lost.”
To manage these challenges she has crafted a leadership stance that is intentionally adaptive. “We call it situational leadership – meeting people where they are. You can’t manage everyone the same. If someone isn’t meeting deadlines on a specific task, you lean in more; where you can see they’re running, you let them run.”
To successfully lead a team with autonomy, Ayanda believes that lasting motivation is critical and must be based on equity and trust. “The problem with motivation is that it’s temporary. When people feel they’re treated fairly, they’re more likely to see the reason to deliver. Policies and procedures apply the same, from my manager to the person in the distribution centre who’s cleaning the floors.”
She points to a practical change that reset the tone. “Managers used to have offices. We broke that down. Now only HR has offices. We all sit in open plan and book desks. It breaks barriers. There’s still hierarchy because someone has to make decisions, but fairness helps everyone contribute.”
Navigating digital change
Leadership also means that Ayanda has had to lead her own path, even when self-doubt comes into play. Early in her career, she says that she wrestled with imposter syndrome until a mentor reframed the moment after a strategy presentation saying: “You are competent. Because you’re competent, you have to be confident. No one in that room knows what you’re about to say other than you. If they’re asking you a question, it’s because they don’t know.”
These words have become a guiding light for Ayanda who has many challenging paths to navigate in her role.
One of these challenges is keeping up with the demands of digital change and AI. Long before the pandemic, she says that RS South Africa operated largely online, yet legacy platforms make modernisation a measured journey. “Before Covid, 80 percent of our sales were e-commerce. The challenge is that those capabilities were built on older systems, and we need to improve them. We’re transforming a big elephant. We push easy wins and upskill people. Everyone’s going AI and we’re trying to keep up.”
Balancing governance and reporting with automation is critical in the growth of digital while freeing capacity and tightening controls. “For me, around 20 percent is the compliance and reporting you have to do. The 80 percent is what keeps me going. I work with a diverse group with 50,000 ideas.”
To channel those ideas, RS Group introduced Citizen Developers, a programme that trains non-coders to build small, auditable automations for routine, control-heavy work. Using Studio X, Ayanda and her team automate month-end routines and daily tasks. Each automation run is recorded in the team’s CI/innovation/automation portal, creating an evidence trail that reduces manual error, speeds close and strengthens governance through consistency, traceability and role-based hand-offs.
The biggest win
Transforming finance and making team decisions are, however, “stock standard” FD tasks she says.
“The one I’m passionate about is finding better ways to do things. South Africa is considered an emerging market. Globally, everyone wants to invest in emerging markets. We want to grow the business in South Africa while contributing to South Africa’s goals. So I’m proud of the strides we’ve made towards our BEE level scorecard. When I joined, we were at level seven; we currently sit at level two. It’s an opportunity to grow our business so we can continue employing people but with an improved BEE rating, you invest more in the communities you work in.”
Her constant desire to shape and improve not only her path but others’ too is indicative in the hopeful and practical advice she gives to other young women: “Dream it possible – anything is possible,”she says.
“Based on where I come from to where I am, many wouldn’t have bet on me at eight years old. My story is testament that it can be done. Believe it can be done and find your why. As I’ve grown, responsibilities changed and my why evolved, but I haven’t lost sight of it. Your why must be powerful enough to carry you when motivation fades.”
“When people say, ‘No one from that street makes it to the JSE,’ your why must tell you it can be done. Anyone can be somebody with drive and ambition. Always prepare so that when luck comes, you’re ready. I wish someone had told me that when I was eight years old but we learn and grow,” she says.
