New executive at water utility
Mhlathuze Water has a new Chief Operating Officer.
MHLATHUZE Water has a new Chief Operations Officer (COO), and her main priority will be to ensure that their Engineering Department’s strategic objectives are met.
In leading the water utility’s planning, projects maintenance and operations sections, Simphiwe Xulu, who was previously the Operations Manager at Mhlathuze Water, welcomes this new role and is keen on tackling the challenges that lie ahead.
Her internal promotion to executive level comes after her four-year managerial experience at the organisation.
‘My responsibilities now entail more strategic engagement with most of our stakeholders, since the Engineering Department is the core business of Mhlathuze Water.
It’s a humbling responsibility and certainly a challenge the organisation has geared me for,’ Xulu said.
The new COO will have to provide support for the local and district municipalities in all areas of operation, which creates the need for her to grasp an understanding of how best to engage the organisation’s stakeholders in their strategic approach.
In addition to having a BTech degree in Chemical Engineering, Xulu also has a Master of Business Leadership qualification which she obtained through UNISA, and she is also a registered Professional Engineering Technologist with the Engineering Council of South Africa.
She considers her eldest sister to be her role model in life, based on the various business challenges her sister had endured.
When she is not climbing the corporate ladder, she admits to finding tranquility through reading scriptures from the Bible.
‘I am always comforted and encouraged by various chapters from the book of Psalms. I find such fulfillment in being thankful to God and the people around me. I believe I have been favoured,’ she said.
