Philile initially wanted to study fine art, but her father persuaded her to do a BCom instead. Unexpectedly, she mastered the art of numbers and has never looked back.
Philile Nxumalo joined Ubombo Sugar in 2023, having previously served as general finance manager at the Central Bank of eSwatini for over seven years.
She says the move presented an opportunity to be part of eSwatini’s move towards self-sufficient energy generation. Ubombo Sugar became the first entity to export electricity to eSwatini’s national grid.
Ubombo Sugar is a major sugar producer and is the oldest sugar mill in the country. The company employs around 3,000 permanent and seasonal workers, producing 260,000 tonnes of sugar annually.
As a CA(SA) with a BCom and BAcc from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a higher diploma in auditing and accounting from Unisa, Philile says she always sought out roles that were not traditionally CFO-centric, such as credit evaluation, risk and managing digital channels.
“Some of my roles were sometimes scary, but they have all helped shape my professional thinking by drawing on a sense of adventure and challenging what it means to be a CFO,” says Philile.
Helping teams grow
Initially wanting to study fine art, Philile’s father persuaded her to pursue a BCom instead, like her twin brother. “My dad very politely asked me how I intended to support myself in that field. He didn’t doubt that I could do it, but it worried him. So, we made a deal: he said if I could finish a BCom degree, he would pay for me to do something in creative arts afterwards. So, I found myself at Wits, studying accounting,” she recalls.
Unexpectedly, Philile’s love for accounting grew, and she has “never looked back with any regret”.
“I might sketch or draw for relaxation, and I’ll visit an art gallery, but I’m more of a collector these days, whenever my finances allow me to," she says.
Philile began her finance career at KPMG as an audit assistant in 2002. She moved on to become a business analyst at eSwatini Electricity. Prior to that, she held various roles at Standard Bank eSwatini, including head of credit and head of personal markets and channels, before landing the role of general finance manager at the Central Bank.
Philile’s career highlights include witnessing people in her teams develop and grow into bigger roles within and outside her organisations, which she describes as “heartwarming”.
She notes that emotional intelligence has been key to her career success, and she emphasised the importance of intentionally managing how she builds and fosters relationships and networks. “Hard work is just as important,” she added. “Being consistent and building a reliable track record is non-negotiable and how you get ahead.”
When it comes to leadership lessons, Philile highlighted the need for self-awareness of one’s impact on team members, peers and management, as well as the value of authenticity and genuinely living core values like integrity and communication.
“Being a good leader also means being able to really trust people – trust empowers others, helping build a truly supportive team,” she concluded.
