Operating in a male environment has not prevented Ruwayda Ebrahim from achieving her goals. This vibrant young woman holds down a leading position at one of South Africa’s top accounting companies, balancing a high-powered career by planning exciting destinations to visit when she needs to recharge her batteries.
For Ebrahim, savouring the sweetness of success is the result of hard work, and her most recent accolade is her recent appointment as Business Unit Leader of Audit at Deloitte in Durban.
“Professionally, I have had just one job over the past 13 years – with Deloitte, but it has been an ever changing role. I started as a trainee in1997 and today I head up one of the most challenging units at the firm,” says Ebrahim.
When this 30-something mover- and-shaker is not hard at work at her office on La Lucia Ridge, she’s making the most of estate life at the Mount Edgecombe Estate where she’s just invested in a lock-up-and-go unit. It’s perfectly suited to her dynamic lifestyle and she’s taking full advantage of the benefits of estate living.
“I work long hours and thoroughly enjoy the security of living on the estate. I like jogging after a long day at the office and living at the estate allows me the peace of mind to do just that. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to play golf so there is room for improving my game. I love travelling, too, and while it’s sometimes possible to tag a few days on to the odd overseas business trip I usually travel during December – when I recharge my battery,” she says.
Being the youngest of four children, Ebrahim grew up in Reservoir Hills and attended the Orient Islamic Secondary School. In her matric year she was appointed head prefect and was awarded the esteemed Dux award, for academic excellence.
She maintains she’s always had an interest in figures and with an older sister studying accounting, the subject became an obvious choice for her to pursue at university.
“I began studying toward a bachelor’s degree in commerce and received the Dean’s commendation in my first year. After qualifying and serving my articles I was seconded to Deloitte-New York. It was my first trip overseas and it was an exhilarating experience,” she says.
No sooner had she returned then she was promoted to manager of the audit department. Four years later (June 2004), the high flier was yet again promoted, this time as partner at Deloitte KZN.
“Since being named partner, I have been involved with large corporate clients across the province. In addition, last year I was selected as the South African representative in the Deloitte Global Younger Partners Advisory Council. As one of 24 partners from around the world, I was involved in finding new global opportunities for Deloitte and reported directly to the Deloitte Global CEO.”
Her current portfolio means she manages 150 staff, “and being a person who thrives on a challenge, this suits me perfectly”.
She says that while it’s essential to retain existing clients through excellent service, “there are still many potential clients who can benefit from Deloitte’s excellent service and over the next five years my vision is to ensure our company is the undisputed leader in professional services”.