BCX’s finance chief, Cheryl-Jane (CJ) Kujenga, favours a “bottom-up” approach, and is a firm believer in understanding the details first. But her true leadership style lies in her unique take on work-life balance.
The living room is filled with laughter as Cheryl-Jane (CJ) Kujenga and her two daughters engage in their nightly bedtime routine – an elaborate series of dances, karaoke performances and yoga poses. “It’s a mess, but I try to do bedtime most evenings, and we have some kind of activity together before bed,” CJ says with a smile.
As chief financial officer of BCX, the information and communications technology subsidiary of Telkom Group, CJ is spearheading major finance transformation initiatives. But her true leadership philosophy centres around “work-life integration” rather than balance.
“I’m comfortable going through seasons where I’m arriving home late if that’s what’s required,” she explains. “But then I’ll have seasons where I’m more present at home. I have honest conversations with my kids – there are times when Mommy is busy because I enjoy contributing at work.”
CJ joined BCX in 2023 after over 20 years in management consulting and distressed business environments. Transitioning into the complex world of technology and telecommunications presented a steep learning curve, but also a rewarding experience.
“It’s been good. I’ve enjoyed learning a new industry,” CJ says. The technology sector’s ubiquity offers unique complexities, particularly in understanding the economics of a tech business and the dynamics of the telco industry.
This shift from crisis management to strategic growth has allowed CJ to apply her skills in a new context. “Walking into a business where I can apply my experience from helping businesses grow, combined with a transformation focus, has been enjoyable,” she says. The opportunity to leverage her expertise in both growth and transformation has been a key aspect of her role at BCX.
“I’ve had to do a lot of reading and spend a lot of time with people in the business,” she says. “The way you monetise cloud offerings is different from an ERP implementation or managed services.”
To quickly get up to speed, CJ favours a “bottoms-up” approach. “My view is you can’t sit at a high level unless you’ve spent time understanding the details first. I did deep dives, spending time with teams in different parts of the business.”
Empowering from the bottom up
CJ joined BCX at an inflection point as the company rethinks its business to position itself as an “everything-as-a-service” provider. As she navigates this transformation, her core philosophy is empowering those closest to the work.
“The best people to make decisions and drive transformation are those at the coalface,” she adds. “We need to enable everyone to understand the strategic imperatives, so they feel empowered within their sphere of influence.”
Earning the trust of the team and the CEO has been a critical aspect of CJ’s journey. She highlights the necessity of putting in the time and allowing space for the business to understand her. “I have a strong will, but I try to come in with an openness that I don’t have all the answers. I allow space for the business to get to understand me,” she explains, emphasising the importance of transparency and openness.
Building trust is paramount, but “you can’t buy trust on day one. It’s about consistency over time in your messaging and being transparent, even when you may have a different point of view,” CJ adds.
A key part of CJ’s approach has been restructuring teams to ensure “we have the right people in the right roles, focused on the right priorities”. While she didn’t need to bring in many new roles, she spent months understanding individuals’ skills, strengths and passions to reshuffle the organisation.
“If you get people energised around what they enjoy doing and are good at, aligned with business priorities, you get the most out of people,” she says.
Finance 2.0
On the technology front, CJ is driving BCX’s finance team towards a vision of “autonomous finance” by leveraging AI, automation, data analytics and other digital capabilities. A critical first step was consolidating onto a new ERP system.
“We recently completed an ERP migration, which allows us to have a single source of truth,” says CJ. “Now we’re on a journey to autonomous finance – how do we leverage our capabilities to automate functions, enable real-time reporting, and become more efficient?”
As someone who also oversees BCX’s internal IT department, CJ underscores the importance of a cohesive data strategy to enable more sophisticated capabilities like generative AI down the road.
She is also reviewing how to best structure the finance organisation’s roles and skill sets to align with this digital-first vision, including determining whether new profiles are needed.
“We’re going through a restructuring to make sure we leverage our skills most effectively to support the business,” CJ explains. “In some cases, it’s moving people like our CFAs and actuaries into the right sub-functions. But it’s about marrying everyone’s strengths to priorities, not just keeping people in their historical roles.”
Whether pioneering new cloud service models, driving cutting-edge digital finance capabilities, or choreographing family dance routines, CJ embraces a mindset of transformation. By empowering her teams to innovate and integrating her professional and personal priorities, she is charting an inspirational path toward the future of leadership.
