In the media

AfroCentric Health

01 November 2015

AfroCentric Investment Corporation Limited (AfroCentric) and houses AfroCentric's healthcare assets.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE KEY CHALLENGES FOR SA BUSINESS IN 2015?
The key challenges for South African businesses are around areas of collaboration, improved productivty, innovation, change and resilience — all of which are aligned to global challenges.

Name Lee Callakoppen Occupation and position Executive Director of Human Capital First job Retail Manager with Edgars Best advice Never rush to earn a bigger salary, if you enjoy what you are doing and know what you want to achieve, the financial rewards will naturally follow. Way you relax I enjoy spending quality time with my wife and daughter as well as our extended families. I also relax by watching English and Spanish Soccer Leagues.

WHAT SKILLS DO YOU THINK LEADERS OF THE FUTURE ARE GOING TO NEED? HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THOSE LEADERS IN YOUR BUSINESS?
The key to leadership of the future is the ability to create a clear sense of purpose for various stakeholders aligned to their vision for their companies within an economic environment which is characterised by change, complexity and ambiguity.

Leaders must be able to communicate this purpose to their employees and create a culture (values alignment and behaviours) in which innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit thrive within a nonhierarchical, flexible and agile structure.

We have a dynamic human resource strategy and one of its elements is to constantly improve the skills levels and proficiency of our leadership and staff. We are also constantly seeking to recruit talented individuals who have diverse experience and are from diverse background — as diversity is important to our Group.

WHAT DOES ETHICAL BUSINESS MEAN TO YOU AND HOW HAVE YOU REALISED THAT?
Ethical business means not only considering and acting within the needs of your immediate requirements and objectives, but placing your society and global social responsibility at the top of your business agenda.

Integrity is one of our values. As a healthcare company, which has a direct impact on the quality of people's lives, our honest behaviour in all that we do is not negotiable: it is and remains a prerequisite. This has been the foundation for the Group's success for over four decades.

We continuously implement an overarching strategy that encourages ethical conduct through having social ethics committee(s), utilisation of internal communication platforms, while instilling a culture of trust and mutual respect, where employees are able to find help and support for personal challenges they are dealing with.

IS THE DRIVE FOR SUSTAINABILITY CHANGING THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS AND HOW?
The drive for finding sustainable healthcare solutions is enshrined in our vision and directly affects how we do business. Quality of care is a major issue within the sector and one of our key objectives is to develop innovative healthcare solutions that ensure provision of quality service and affordability.

Initiatives include state-of-the-art information and communication technology, streamlining of processes for greater efficiency; and continually enhancing the customer's experience while removing the ineffciencies in the healthcare delivery chain through interventions such as coordination of care, healthcare provider networks, outcomes-based incentives for healthcare providers and information sharing. Through our fraud prevention mechanisms we do our best to prevent wastage and overservicing.

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES YOU HAVE HAD TO FACE AS A LEADER?
Assessing a situation or task and knowing when to engage and when to observe is always a challenge; but more importanly, unlocking the neccesary energy to mobilise parties to work towards a common purpose.

It is challenging when there are conflicting views and perspectives and to get people aligned to a common purpose by removing their emotions and reshape their belief system in the best interest of the greater good.

	Left to right: Ryland Fisher (Editorial Director) and Lee-Ann Bruce (Head of Brand - Transformation), hand over the Impumelelo Transformation Award to Mpeo Makape (General Manager: Group Branding, Marketing and Corporate Affairs - AfroCentric Health) and Lee Callakoppen (Executive Director: Human Capital- AfroCentric Health)

WHAT DO YOU RATE AS YOUR BIGGEST CAREER ACHIEVEMENT?
I am very proud of being associated with a great leadership team within AfroCentric Health and a Human Capital team that is up for any challenge.

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE YOU MOST ADMIRE AND WHY?
There are a number of great South African and international leaders I admire who have influenced my growth; and rather than elevating just one, I would rather point out a combination of leadership attributes that I admire: humility, authencity, tenacity, innovation and those who are willing to pardon for the purpose of promoting greater social cohesion.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO EXPAND/IMPROVE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?
As one of the leading healthcare companies in the country, AfroCentric Health would like to achieve a greater market share within the healthcare landscape in South Africa especially within the context of collaborating with the government to develop solutions in healthcare faced by our country creating an accessible, affordable and quality healthcare system. I would also like the Group to increase its footprint both locally and internationally.

WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE?
Collaborative and motivational in challenging times, a voice of reason and objectivity, an influencer and constantly working towards creating a level of harmony to ensure there is an emotional bond towards the achievement of a common purpose and vision.

WHERE WILL YOU BE IN 10 YEARS?
I hope to be making a difference to young people by instilling the discpline of wanting to succeed by working hard, without feeling a sense of entitlement.

WHY IS TRANSFORMATION IMPORTANT FOR BUSINESS IN SA?
Not only is transformation key to addressing the imbalances created by our historical legacy, it is crucial for our sustained success in terms of expanding our economy and ensuring that more South Africans participate in our economy. It is also important to ensure that women become more active participants and owners in our economy.

HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY POTENTIAL AND RETAIN KEY STAFF?
We are constantly on the lookout for talent both from within the Group and outside. We offer personal development programmes that drive retention of our talented employees and work hard to create an environment which nurtures these talents. It is important for us at AfroCentric Health to keep on attracting talented people, especially individuals whose values are aligned to ours: Integrity, Mutual Respect, Accountability, Empowerment and Innovation. We also target critical thinkers, as we are a knowledgebased organisation.

Source: Newsclip