Executive Communities was delighted to host the inaugural gathering of chief financial officers in Namibia, and to have learnt about the issues that make them tick.
Executive Communities’ Southern Africa expansion mandate is continuing apace, with an inaugural dinner recently having been held in Namibia.
Nearly 30 CFOs gathered in Windhoek on 19 February under the Executive Communities banner. For many, it was the first time they had convened in a forum exclusively designed for them.
Feedback was instant and positive, and underlined the urgent need for a CFO community in the country. “What we have started here cannot end here,” one CFO said. “If we want stronger institutions, we need stronger financial leadership. That requires community.”
Attendees were drawn from the public sector (NamPost, Namibia Water, the Namibia Industrial Investment Agency, the Environmental Investment Fund, the Electricity Control Board, Nampower, the Water Utilities Corporation, the Namibia Airports Company, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia); financial services, banking and insurance (Bank of Namibia, Bank Windhoek, Standard Bank, Capricorn Asset Management, Santam, Millennium, Starr); building and engineering (Western Investments, Sandvik, WCE); as well as the tourism, automotive, retail, media and medical services industries.
The need for a specialised finance professionals’ forum resonated with the executives, who explained that the CFO role, like so many others, is constantly evolving. Artificial intelligence and automation, regulatory changes, succession planning, and – specifically in Namibia – operating under conditions of fiscal constraints and an economy under pressure contribute to the unique complexities of the CFO’s position.
There was consensus that the CFO’s influence now extends well beyond finance teams. The role is increasingly that of integrator and risk custodian. As one CFO said, “If you are only producing numbers, you are already behind. The CFO today must shape the future of the business, not just document the past.”
“We were trained to report history,” another added. “But history does not grow companies. Forecasting does. Capital allocation does. Strategic courage does.”
In addition, of course, the CFO role also carries immense responsibility. “The CFO carries the risk, even when the decision was not theirs. Accountability in this role is absolute,” said one CFO, while a public sector CFO added: “If you miss a clean audit, you are not just answering to a board. You are answering to the nation. The pressure is constant.”
Executive Communities director KC Rottok Chesaina told the gathering, “We are here because the role demands a space where CFOs can think out loud without posturing.”
With the intention to build independent platforms where sitting executives can engage frankly about leadership, risk, and value creation, this dinner marked the debut of what is set to become the first of many in Namibia’s first structured CFO community.
If you are a finance executive in Namibia or Botswana and would like to learn about future events, reach out to Executive Communities director KC Rottok Chesaina at [email protected].