I began my journey at Vodacom in 2014 as Line Manager – Planning and Implementation Enterprise Technology, a role I held until 2019. Subsequently, I transitioned to Line Manager – Access and Transport Planning and Engineering, where I served from 2019 to 2025. This progression allowed me to broaden my perspective and deepen my understanding of the company's technological and strategic priorities.

From the very start, what stood out most during my experience at Vodacom was the organisation's cross-functional strategic alignment to achieve its proposed objectives. In fact, the hierarchical structuring of activities in the form of a pyramid, from top to bottom, enables the participation of all employees. Consequently, I always felt that my work had a direct impact on the company's objectives.

Moreover, I was equally impressed by the company's values-driven culture, which plays a key role in creating cohesive work groups where professionalism, customer focus, and both individual and collective responsibility prevail. As a result, I made many friendships, not only within the departments I worked in but also across other organisational units. In addition, the farewell moment was particularly memorable, marked by the tribute I received from the teams I led during my time at Vodacom.

Throughout this journey, I grew significantly, both in terms of technological expertise and in general areas such as communication techniques, conflict management, stress management, health care, and the importance of employee well-being as a determining factor for high performance and achieving satisfactory results.

For anyone looking to join the Vodacom family, it is essential to understand and embrace the company's values. Indeed, this process has a very important component: feeling. It cannot be forced; it must be genuine. Therefore, to achieve this, it is crucial to participate in all induction processes from the start, understand the business process in a transversal way, absorb the company's values, and finally, be responsible in your role and diligent in protecting lives, data (corporate and customer), work equipment (personal and shared), and act with integrity.

Of course, there is no perfect moment to leave. In reality, circumstances often determine the direction our professional journey takes. If I had been asked at the beginning of the year about my perspective, it would have been to complete the projects already in progress. However, since April, I am no longer part of the company. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the support I received during the offboarding process; the company provided all the conditions to make me feel comfortable.

Thanks to the experience I gained at Vodacom in leadership areas, I was invited to take on the role of Head of Technology at an insurance company. Consequently, I have implemented many concepts I learned at Vodacom, including behavioural aspects. In fact, the leadership techniques I acquired through various training sessions, along with the examples set by my leaders, are an added value to what I offer as experience and qualifications in my current role.

By God's grace, I maintain contact with several colleagues at Vodacom, including members of the EXCO.

Finally, I would like to leave a message of success to the Vodacom community. I have no doubt that Vodacom has the best human capital across all areas and domains to establish itself as the leading telecommunications and digital platforms company in Mozambique.

Without hesitation, I would return to work at Vodacom. After all, Vodacom gave me so much and contributed to who I am today as a professional, as a man, as a father to my children and husband to my wife. My PRIME period was divided between Vodacom and BCX. I recognise that at this moment, I am at a higher level as a result of the opportunity I embraced. I have grown significantly, gained more knowledge and management experience, and if one day the factors I mentioned when explaining my departure align again, it could happen, but this time as a return. Indeed, it would be an opportunity to give back what Vodacom did for me. A company of Vodacom's size, with the impact it has on the Mozambican people, will always be a valid option for continuing our professional journey.

From Vodacom's front desk to my own frontline: How my first job became the blueprint for everything I do.

When I walked into Vodacom in December 1997 – fresh, nervous, and stepping into my very first formal job – I had no idea that those four years would become the foundation of my entire career.

I started as a receptionist and later became a marketing coordinator. On paper, it looked like the beginning of a young woman learning the ropes. But it was the beginning of a woman learning to believe in herself.

Vodacom was my first encounter with what great looked like in a corporate environment. The culture was warm, structured, and enabling. Leaders were visible. They were present. They guided, supported, and genuinely cared. For someone who didn't yet know what "normal" corporate life was supposed to feel like, that presence shaped my expectations of leadership for years to come.

I didn't know it then, but Vodacom was teaching me the language of possibility.

It showed me that people flourish where they are seen. That growth happens when leaders don't just occupy titles, but spaces. That belief – especially in a young professional finding her voice – can be contagious.

Those lessons travelled with me long after I left Vodacom in November 2001.

As I moved into other roles and environments, I unconsciously expected the same level of leadership: presence, care, and enabling guidance. And when I found myself in a workplace where leadership was the opposite distant, unavailable, and disconnected I realised how deeply that early standard had been set. I believed so strongly in the value of supportive leadership that I was willing to walk away from a role that didn't live up to it.

That was a defining moment: the day I chose myself, my growth, and my values.

Today, I see the seeds Vodacom planted everywhere in my work.

I built a business where leadership presence isn't negotiable – it's a practice. As a coach, facilitator, DEIB advocate, and professional speaker, my mission is to help individuals and organisations become more of who they want to be. I help leaders see their people deeply, because I know firsthand what it feels like to be shaped by leadership that sees you.

My training programmes on transformational leadership, self-awareness, bias, and inclusive culture all carry the imprint of those early years. The work I do on mindset, inner critics, and breaking barriers echoes the belief I learnt to cultivate in myself at that first front desk.

And even my podcast, Self. Centred., is a continuation of that journey – creating spaces where people reflect on their stories, their growth, and their becoming. Every conversation is a reminder that people thrive when they are truly seen, heard, and supported.

Looking back, I realise Vodacom didn't just give me a job.
It gave me a standard.
It gave me a sense of possibility.
It gave me the courage to expect more for myself – and eventually, to build something of my own.

Vodacom taught me how powerful leadership presence can be. My career since then has been about making that presence felt wherever I go.