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Welcome to the Standard Bank CIB Why She Leads podcast.
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In this series, Standard Bank shines a spotlight on influential dealmakers,
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not just in Standard Bank, but in the whole continent of Africa.
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Joining me from London is Kate Weldon.
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who is the executive for investment banking, debt solutions, energy and
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infrastructure.
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Welcome, Kate.
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Thanks, Judy.
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It's a great pleasure to be joining you today from a rainy London, and I'm really
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looking forward to our discussion.
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It's actually interesting that it's energy, infrastructure and just deal
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making,
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which in my view still is quite male dominated.
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How did you crack it into the space?
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Certainly at Standard Bank, it's been a very supportive organization of women.
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They really want to put women on the map.
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And it's really helped to be able to move forward in what is and typically has been
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a male-dominated environment.
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That's amazing.
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And you also have the time to be a wife and raise three young children while
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you're
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actually progressing in your career.
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What advice would you have for other women who look up?
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to you and want to do the same and want to have it all so to speak for me it was
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speaking
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to those voices in my head that said you're not going to be able to do it
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you're going to have to give something up you're never going
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to be the one who can lead the
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transaction you'll have to take the lower role and and once you're able to talk
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yourself into it
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and actually just just try and and believe in yourself.
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and stop trying to listen to those voices that are giving you negative feedback,
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you really can step forward.
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And as I said, I think that is such a motivating thing for myself and for other
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women,
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is when it actually can come together and you can conquer those challenges.
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I like that.
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I like that.
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Silent the inner voice which says you can't.
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and amplify the voice that says you can.
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And I'm sure along the way you've had mentors,
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people that have actually helped you to silent that voice and also show you that
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it is possible.
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Who would you name as one of your mentors?
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There have been many different people who've played that role.
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I think early on in life,
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I've had some fantastic teachers.
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They were the ones who planted the seed of you can dream and you can reach those
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dreams if you work hard.
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And I think you have to be able to set yourself goals in order to progress
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forward and to achieve
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some big ambitions that you set for yourself.
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And then there have been some really inspirational women in my career who I've
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looked up to and they've
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achieved huge success.
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And I've really been inspired by their stories.
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However, I think when it comes to encouragement and who's actually taken me
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there,
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that's really my support system.
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That's my family, my friends,
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my colleagues who will be next to me and support me no matter what I do.
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And I know that if I take a risk, if I do something wrong, they're still going to be
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there for me.
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and it's not about my success to them.
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My worth is not measured by that.
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And because of that, I have such encouragement to be able to move forward.
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And I've become brave because for me, it doesn't matter.
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Everybody's got a story and I've got my support system and they're not going to
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let me down.
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That's amazing.
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I think I have a message from one of your mentors that I would like to play for you.
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Kate has a soft spoken exterior that reflects humility.
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She's a consummate professional and her light shines the brightest when she's
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helping demanding clients from complex
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situations.
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She brings an uncommon diligence to her work.
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Underneath that shy exterior though, she's a real toughie who's not afraid to put her
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hand up or retreat from cracking a
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difficult nut.
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She pushes the team as hard as she pushes herself.
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She doesn't take any prisoners but she's a collegiate team player.
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and a great coach and mentor.
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When you ask people about Kate, you get lots of superlatives.
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Exceptionally good, determined.
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extremely diligent, very thorough, very brave.
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What wonderful comments to get from colleagues about a person.
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It led the acquisition and corporate finance facilities for one of the largest
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foreign investments into South Africa
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in recent years.
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The full debt package for the Vital
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Engine transaction was jointly provided by Standard Bank and involved extensive
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discussion,
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structuring and negotiation.
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across multiple work streams and multiple teams.
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But a dead piece, Kate led.
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We were dealing with a very sophisticated client.
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Kate absolutely controlled the run, drove the traffic, and made sure that the work
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gets done.
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Her commitment to Standard Bank is unquestionable.
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We will drop everything at the drop of a hat to make a client's pitch, wherever it
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may be.
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But devoted as she is to her career,
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It is incredibly delightful to see that she balances it beautifully with her
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commitment to her young
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family.
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In my humble view, that's why she leads.
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That's amazing Kate and congratulations on actually having that impact on people.
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Yawande is a very special person.
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She doesn't put on a front when she arrives at the office.
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She is very true to herself.
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And for me, I realized that that's what everybody loves about Liwande,
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is that she will tell her story and she will be herself,
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no matter whether she's talking to the most senior execs in the bank or the
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junior associates.
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She is the same person and she doesn't try to perfect every
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speech that she makes, every discussion she has.
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It comes from within.
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And that's really inspired me to just be myself and not to try and be somebody that
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everybody,
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that I think everybody else wants me to be.
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That's amazing.
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And you were telling me earlier on that you still want to drive your kids to
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school and when you
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can't, your husband pitches in.
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What would you say about having a supportive partner when you choose a
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partner?
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Because that matters a lot for young girls and young women.
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If you and your partner or husband, in my case,
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can be a team and work together, respect each other's requirements, needs,
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commitments to our jobs, and to be there to support each other,
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then the ship sails in the right direction and you can actually move forward and it
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can be really fulfilling
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and rewarding.
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to have both the career and the family life.
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I couldn't agree with you more.
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As you know, Kate, coming back to the business sector, when it comes to energy
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and infrastructure,
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actually in all sectors, there's a big focus on ESG, environment, sustainability
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and governance.
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In your view, how is that helping with bringing the gender diversity into the
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business sector?
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ESG has become a big priority.
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for banks and all corporates in recent years and it certainly is requiring
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a lot more resource and energy from
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employees to respect the commitments of the bank.
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With that as well has come has been the requirement for many different
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perspectives
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on the ESG front.
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And that's really also opened up quite a few jobs for women who have been able to
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bring their
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perspectives on, you know,
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on the route in which they believe we should be following in order to reach
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those
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ultimate climate goals and commitments.
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And so there's almost a new industry that's opened up, which as a result of
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these ESG requirements,
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and it's really very...
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encouraging to see the commitments that we as a bank are making and the transactions
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that we're
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doing on the continent, sustainable transactions,
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renewable transactions and support for this clean energy and the net zero.
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It's one thing though Kate to have Inclusivity.
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How do you ensure in your team that there is an element of belonging?
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Because you can have this diverse team,
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how do you then make sure they feel they belong and it's an inclusive environment?
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Judy, in Standard Bank,
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we're working across so many different jurisdictions in the continent of Africa.
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And all the teams that I work with are comprising of individuals who are either
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in-country or specialists in certain products who bring something to the table.
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And for me,
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the individual stories plus the individual's unique speciality.
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really makes them part of the team.
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And in my experience, where I've worked in a team where one individual,
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normally the deal captain, who's been nominated, believes that they can do it
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all,
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is where the deal falls down.
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And you need the diversity.
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You need the different personalities.
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You need the different perspectives.
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And you need those different specialities.
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And sometimes your speciality is just knowing the culture.
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in which the client comes from and is coming into the transaction,
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or the culture in which the transaction is being done,
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the country that the transaction is being done in, and the culture of the people in
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that country,
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and the approaches that our clients should be taking when dealing with those people.
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And that value add from individuals in the team.
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is really something that can make and break the success of a transaction.
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That's amazing, Kate, that you bring up the culture.
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As you know, Standard Bank has vision, mission and core values.
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Which one in your view is actually the one that carries everything?
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For me, the one that captures everything is culture.
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That really defines the uniqueness of the bank in that
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We are an African organization.
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We have so many different cultures that make up the bank.
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But the bank itself has established a way in
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which we all interact with each other and in which we do business.
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Everybody is able to have a voice.
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That's when we come together and we deliver the best results and people are
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feeling most motivated.
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That's amazing, that's so true.
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And I know you've mentored some people.
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Do you want to talk briefly around that?
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Because I'm told that you are a brilliant mentor yourself.
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Anything that you'd like to share around your mentees?
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I've had the privilege of working with many junior colleagues over the years and
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whilst I've moved on in my career
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I really realize
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the value of helping and supporting juniors
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to move forward.
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For me,
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I always specialised in financial modelling when I first started my career.
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And I get really motivated when I am able to take some of the experiences that I had
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when struggling through a financial model, when trying to pull the pieces of a
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challenge that I've been given together.
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And coaching individuals through that is really
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rewarding for me.
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And I feel can really assist those juniors in challenging themselves and pushing them
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forward.
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And motivating those juniors, setting them tasks, setting them challenges,
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but not dropping them completely in the deep end.
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Being there as a helping hand through the process really, really...
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moves things forward.
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And once you've got a junior that you're working well with,
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it's amazing how the speed of execution and the quality of the work that we can do
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as a team really improves.
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Great.
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I do have something that comes from one of your mentees.
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It's a letter that's written with love.
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I would like to read it to you, Kate.
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I'll start with the quote.
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to me, Kate represents the ideal professional.
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Close quote.
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Dear Kate, in the short time that I've been around,
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I've learned a lot just from watching and working with you.
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You constantly demonstrate how to be vocal and empathic, but not loud and abrasive.
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How to be confident and expressive, but not come across as arrogant.
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Oh, I know it all.
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How to be driven and work hard, but still have a chill.
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and a relaxed side.
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Your drive and ability to manage complex transactions in situations impress and
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inspire me.
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But of all your qualities,
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the most impressive and inspirational quality is that you manage to stay warm
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and kind through it all.
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Thank you.
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Those are very kind words and I'm truly touched by.
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by what you've just read to me.
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Tuma joined our team from Nigeria a few months ago.
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He has only been a delight to work with.
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He has so much going for him and I've challenged him a lot.
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Actually, just in this past week,
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he's had to help me while
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I've been distracted on quite a big pitch that I needed to do for a client and he's
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had to step in and cover.
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some work that I typically would do very closely with him.
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And he's just excelled and he's an absolute delight to work with.
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Wow.
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I've listened to your mentor, I've listened to your mentee.
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I feel like I know you and it's such a positive reflection of the person that you
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are.
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On a lighter note, tell me between sunshine and sunset,
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what do you prefer and why?
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For me, it's actually, interestingly enough, sunset.
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And I think that's because at the end of every day,
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I take 30 minutes for myself to unwind and to reflect on my day.
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And normally my children are asleep.
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I have switched off my computer.
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And it's just so much can happen in one's day.
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and For me that's super rewarding is just to get there and to have closed off on
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another day and you get ready for the next one and to go to sleep.
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And I think as well I love my sleep so I'm just so excited every night when I get
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into bed and I can just fall asleep.
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I know you still have family in South Africa but what do you miss most?
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You've been in London now for 16 years, though you were born here.
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What do you miss?
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I mean most about your country?
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So Judy for me it's the big open skies and the wonderful energy that
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South Africa has when I land at the airport and get onto the highway the sun
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is shining
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the skies are big the energy is there and that is just such a special feeling for me
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the feeling of being home
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but The nice thing for me is that I work with my South African colleagues on a
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daily basis, so with my other African colleagues,
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and we're working on transactions that are focused in on the continent.
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And for me, having that brings the connection,
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and I feel very much still connected and part of the country.
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And it helps for, certainly for missing it on a daily basis.
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But yeah, that's been a very rewarding part of my career is to maintain.
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is to maintain the connection with my home country.
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Tell me, what would you say to your 20-year-old, knowing everything that you
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know now?
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I'd say to my 20-year-old self, not to take yourself so seriously.
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Perfection is one of the most self-destructive things to chase.
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Don't try and be perfect.
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The more you try and be perfect, the more...
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you hide yourself away from everybody because you're so scared that people might
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see the real you when you can break free
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from that straight jacket you you'll be yourself and be your true self and just
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see the see
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the soft things along the along the way and enjoy that joy that you that you get
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take take time for that joy and keep moving forward and
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the rest will the opportunities will come and and it will work out in the end just
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keep keep moving
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forward wow those are valuable lessons you've been a parent now for no less than
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nine years
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what has parenting taught you about life and about yourself being a parent has
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certainly been one of my biggest
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achievements um
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and something i'm most proud of it has taught me that you
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You can't plan everything in life,
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that with kids it's never going to be as you set it out to be,
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and you need to just embrace each moment as it comes.
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It has taught me that I...
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I need to make time for family.
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I need to make time for work.
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And I also need to make time for myself.
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Being a parent means that you're being a constant role model.
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And I know my daughters and my son look up to me.
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They role play my behaviors on a daily basis.
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And so I get a stark reminder of what I do do and what I don't do.
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and that is something that I need to take seriously.
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And I really value the opportunity
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I've had of being able to bring up my children and just ensure that
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I set the best example that I can.
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And a lot of that is about not being too, again, not being too serious,
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not finding the joy in life.
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And also...
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being well organized and making sure that you've got a good support system to help
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you through it.
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Wow, that's so inspirational.
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You inspire me.
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You've achieved so much and still remain very well-rounded and very grounded.
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What does the next 10 years look like?
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Judy, the next 10 years in energy and infrastructure in Africa is going to be
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very exciting.
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For me as a deal maker, I strive to connect the opportunities that are out
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there.
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there to connect the clients with the parts of the transactions that they need
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in order to bring it together and to make a meaningful impact to the people's lives
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in Africa
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and
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to help communities to grow and to bring about meaningful change.
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It has been such an honor to meet you and have this conversation, Kate.
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I know you all the way in London,
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but it does feel like we're just sitting and chatting in the same room as I am.
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Thanks very much.
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And stay as committed and professional as you are.
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You inspire so many of us, young and old.
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Thank you.
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Thank you, Judy.
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It has been a great pleasure to chat with you this morning and been wonderful to
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reflect.
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on some of the hurdles along the way,
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as well as some of the aspects of celebration in my life.
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Thank you.
