Chief Operations Officer of Hirsch’s, Margaret Hirsch was announced the winner in the Entrepreneur section of the Annual Business Women of the Year Awards at an awards dinner held in the Sandton Convention Centre on Sunday night.
Photo: Margaret Hirsch with Jacob Zuma at the Business Women of the Year Awards
The competition is run by the Business Women’s Association of South Africa (BWSA), with Nedbank and Telkom.
Accepting the award from the Guest of Honour, HE President Jacob Zuma, Margaret said: “This is a great honour for me, but I want you to know that I could never have done it alone. To my husband Allan, thank you for the past 41 years, and thank you for being a strong enough man to allow me to be a strong woman and always do my own thing, even when you didn’t agree.”
“To my mother who is 87 and still fighting fit – thank you for keeping me grounded and teaching me the values that have enabled me to think for myself and do the right thing, no matter what. To my children and grandchildren – you are my true wealth and you have given me more than you will ever know.”
“I could not stand here without the support of the Hirsch team, some of whom have been with me for over 30 years. We work together like a family and Hirsch’s is run like a well-oiled machine. It has been my joy to see you go from strength to strength as our company has grown steadily year on year. To the new team members coming into the organisation as we grow – my goal in life is that you can reach all your goals. It’s by helping all of you to grow that I have grown as well – you have lifted me up and you continue to do so daily.”
This is the 33rd year of the competition and, co-incidentally, the Hirsch’s have been in business for 33 years. Margaret and Allan are joint founders of this family-run business, starting out with R900 when they opened their doors in a small shop in 1979.
With 11 branches spread across KZN, Gauteng and the Cape, they plan to cross the R1 billion turnover mark for the 2012 financial year.