GM Africa gets new environmental lead

General Motors South Africa (GMSA) World Facilities Group Lead, Ncedisa Mzuzu, has been promoted to group environmental manager for GM Africa and recently took up her new role.

Identified as a rising young leader within General Motors Company, Mzuzu, a qualified environmental engineer, has taken on the challenge to manage Environmental activities within GM Operations across South Africa, East Africa and North Africa.

East London-born Mzuzu, 37, said environmental legislation was a relatively new field in Africa, and a constantly changing one requiring diverse skills, making her new role a “great new challenge”.

Her vision for her new role was to “generate an understanding of Africa as one continent, where we have an integrated and consistent environmental management system that is adaptable to diverse and constantly changing legislation,” she said.

“Environmental management brings together people with diverse skills in systems, compliance, engineering, and I hope to give the environmental engineers in the various facilities the opportunity to network and learn from each other. By harnessing the skills and strengths that we have across the continent, I would like to see us drive continuous improvement and strengthen overall compliance,” Mzuzu said.

She attributed her career advancement to simply getting on with the job and “always trying to give your best”. She said her growth in the still largely male-dominated auto industry was testament to GMSA’s commitment to opening up opportunities for women in management, particularly in technical and engineering fields.

Mzuzu joined GM in 2008 as environmental engineer for the Struandale plant and was promoted in August 2013 to World Facilities Group Lead for South Africa, responsible for environmental management as well as the essential services to keep production lines running and ensure sustainable operations. These included utilities, capital projects, maintenance, fire safety, fleet/motorised equipment, housekeeping and industrial cleaning.

She widened her exposure to environmental legislation on the continent through an assignment to provide environmental engineering support to GM East Africa in 2011, where she successfully helped her counterparts at the Kenya plant to prepare for a company environmental audit in which they received a clean bill of health.

Identified as a young leader within the company, she was invited by Tim Lee, former GM International (GMI) president and vice president global manufacturing to represent South Africa at the annual Leadership Face-to-Face conference in Shanghai, China as an observer last year.

There she had the opportunity to participate in high-level global strategy sessions and network with both upcoming talent and top executives from all the countries falling under GMIO.

In her new position she reports directly to Cheng Ge, director, environmental safety and industry hygiene for GMIO and locally to Clayton Whitaker, GMSA general manager, manufacturing operations.