BP CFO Michelle Isaacs, Bidvest Protea Coin CFO Helen Yiga and Ashburton Investments CFO Meghna Ravjee are among a growing number of CFOs who believe supporting young professionals through mentorships is becoming a leadership priority.
Leading CFOs have voiced a desire to support and guide the next generation of professionals through structured and informal mentorship, saying that mentorship not only offers professional development opportunities for young people, but also helps address structural inequalities in the workplace and society.
Michelle Isaacs, CFO for BP Southern Africa, says she’s reached a turning point in her career where she wants her leadership to transcend corporate performance.
“I’m at that stage now where I do really feel like I want to do something different that transcends the corporate environment, which is mentoring and giving back, one to the community and to other young people coming through the ranks,” Michelle explains.
Although she admits she hasn’t devoted enough time to mentoring in the past, Michelle said this is something she wants to change.
“That's one of the reasons why I actually wanted to join CFO South Africa, to see all the opportunities for me to start doing that. I’ve been looking at SAICA as well, at BASA. When I get involved, it’s dear to my heart at the moment. Probably as I’ve reached this point in my career, but also the age,” she adds.
Going beyond
For Helen Yiga, CFO of Bidvest Protea Coin, mentorship is a deeply personal mission rooted in shared experiences. She currently mentors several people in her network, though informally, and wants to transition to doing it more deliberately and at scale.
“I honestly want to do that more in a formal manner because right now I’m mentoring a lot of people, but informally. It’s people that either I’ve worked with in the past or I’m currently working with. I make a lot of coffee dates… just to catch up with my team or people that used to work with me,” says Helen.
Helen notes that many young African professionals are the first in their families to graduate or enter corporate spaces, and this can feel isolating.
“Sometimes you’re the first graduate. You don’t have an aunt or an uncle who’s in this profession. So I’m quite happy to be that for people, you know, completely,” she says.
At Ashburton Investments, CFO Meghna Ravjee is already putting her passion for mentoring into practice. Her mentorship style centres on empowerment, curiosity and integrity, qualities she believes are critical in shaping strong, independent thinkers.
“I think my most important thing is always to start with questions rather than answering. It helps them build a problem-solving mindset,” Meghna says.
She also emphasises the importance of encouraging young professionals to go beyond their current roles.
“The younger generation needs to be curious about more or beyond the role that they’re actually fulfilling at that point in time. And with everything going on in our environments, it’s important to model integrity so they can balance everything out,” she says.
All three CFOs agree: mentorship is no longer a nice-to-have, it's a responsibility that comes with experience and leadership. Whether by creating more formal mentorship structures or simply offering insight over coffee, their efforts are shaping the future of finance, one young mind at a time.
