Leanne Williams is a prime example of someone who has beaten a poor background to rise to the highest echelons of business acumen.
An efficacious leader with a career spanning over 20 years in the financial services sector, governance, banking, insurance, wealth and asset management and now the public sector, Leanne now leads the Joburg Market, the City-owned entity, as its newest Chief Executive Officer.
“I took up this position because I am a young, dynamic and extremely ambitious woman, driven by my passion to succeed professionally and on a personal front.”
With just over four months on the job, Leanne is already exploring a plethora of solutions to help drive incremental efficiency and make City Deep, where the market is situated, lucrative.
“The opportunity at hand is to become the best and most efficient market in Africa,” she says, noting that there has been little intensification in agricultural efficiency. “I see opportunities in the Joburg Market value chain where farmers, market agents, wholesalers and the City are strategic partners,” she adds.
Leanne thinks the Joburg Market has an important role to play in stimulating economic growth, attracting business and ensuring food security. She says all strategic plans, budget prioritisation and operations should effectively enhance the value chain and the overall market value proposition.
She’s set her sights on the upkeep of the facility and the upgrade of critical infrastructure such as the cold storage room and the banana ripening pantry; wrap up the construction of the Nelson Mandela Market; leverage the informal trader supply relationship; set up incubation hubs for emerging farmers/agents and harness technology to digitise operations.
“We can turn the Joburg Market into a smart market that’s underpinned by innovative technology that enhances the efficiency of the entire value chain,” she says.
Born on Beryl Street in Eldorado Park, the suburb’s most notorious road commonly known as Beer Street, Leanne holds a Master’s of Commerce in banking and financial risk management and a BCom Honours in industrial and organisational psychology. Her current academic exploits include completing an LLB.
The 38-year-old mother of two boys says she’s passionate about poverty alleviation, employment creation and fighting social ills such as substance abuse, crime and teenage pregnancy, for which she fell victim.
As the CEO, Leanne is a custodian of the Market’s purse and resources. A shrewd and tenacious leader, she says her job is an opportunity not to be missed. “I plan on using my skills to harness better business models to overcome the shortcomings of the past and current challenges.”
