BY Aurelia Mbokazi-Kashe
Martina Biene’s first foray into South Africa was in 1997 as theological intern who fell in love with the country. Her serendipitous career journey brought her back over two decades later as the MD of Volkswagen, the first female leader in the automative industry and a transformation agent that has earned her the name Mmabatho – mother of the people.
I first came to SA in 1997 as a theologian doing an internship with the Anglican students society of UCT, and fell in-love with the country.
I had a weird career start. I joined Volkwagen (VW) about 20 years ago and came in as a protestant theologian, a coincidence and destiny. It was when VW was going into luxury vehicle class, first with Phaeton and a year later with the Toureg. There were two people working in the sales and marketing department with a launch coming in a year’s time. Due to staff shortages, I was exposed to much more than an ordinary graduate would have known.
I became a PA to the division head of sales in Germany, which gave me a helicopter view of sales and marketing strategies. I always had mentors who adopted me, even when I did not seek them out. They would plan my next role. I was appointed the regional sales manager for Belgium and Luxemborg, where I dealt with the wholesale function and importers.
I returned to Germany as the head of product marketing and that got me closer to products. I was promoted to the role of global product marketing, and became the sales and marketing voice. It exposed me to all operations, from project feasibility to launch– a cycle of about four years.
When South Africa came to the horizon in 2018, I returned on a 3-year contract to head up the VW passenger car brand. Two years in, the big CEO at VW called me to return to Germany to take over a role that exposed me to the entire VW value chain and prepared me to ascend to the role of MD of a region. When the position of Chairman and MD of VWSA became available, I was asked to return and revive the African strategy that had been spearheaded by Thomas Schaefer.
The South African plant is very important to the VW group. Our production capacity is 171 000 units, same size as the Indian plant which has a larger market. Our local market is about 50 000 units, the rest are for our export market. We are shifting our focus from exporting to Europe to importing to the rest of Africa.
There is prognosis that once the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) policy agreement is in motion, the African market will open up to three million vehicles. We want to be there and succeed.
Companies in Germany did not change until quotas for women leadership roles across country companies were imposed. They began looking within their ranks and considered valuable candidates.
Being the first female MD in the automotive industry in South Africa, there is a lot of power and role modeling expected from me. I believe in diversity and that means getting more women into leadership roles and also in various functionalities through STEM. We want to reach a balanced gender and race representation across the board.
VWSA is becoming a younger organisation with people from different backgrounds, race and gender. It employs 4000 people and touches lives of 10 000 through our suppliers, and is a good corporate citizen. I have not figured out a programme to get women to leadership roles within the company. I have to lead by example, exposing myself and the other fantastic women currently in the organisation. My other priority is to succeed in unlocking the potential across Africa and secure the future of Kariega plant.
I was told me that my appointment as the first female MD and that of Billy Toms’ at Isuzu as the first African MD, have been the most important appointments in the automotive industry in the last year. My counterparts enjoy the diversity. I have a loud voice and I’m not afraid of voicing my opinions. I feel heard, but we still need more diversity to ensure that we action our ideas.
I love SA and hopefully I will become an honourable South African after my exam with the team. I miss the hustle and bustle of Joburg and when I’m for business, I squeeze in time for clubbing. I love going to Marabi club in Braamfontein for good food and music. I enjoy good food and wine and there are many restaurants offering this combination across the country.
I’m an enthusiastic park runner and its been great to discover different areas across where I can join local communities for a run. I like Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) for its remoteness and incredible outdoors. I recently took up golf and it is a social sport in SA. I also started surfing, while that has not been as successful, I enjoy sitting on the couch and watching dolphins from my window.
