Having transitioned from financial services into the tourism industry about seven years ago, it was interesting to find that regulation in tourism was very different from the strict and structured financial industry. Over these past years, however, increased regulatory application over the industry has resulted in more frequent consideration of regulatory impact on business strategy. The role of my function has been largely to support the business in navigating this evolved (and continually evolving) landscape with minimal impact on strategic direction. This has not been without challenge for our business, as with many others in Namibia, and has led to ‘advocacy’ recently being implemented as a strategic enabler. Through continuous engagement with regulatory stakeholders, we hope to shape our regulatory environment to meet all interests, that of business and regulators.

The in-house legal function is relatively small, and we count our outsourcing partners as part of the team. These include the legal firms we instruct regularly, such as Fisher, Quarmby and Pfeiffer and Engling, Stritter and Partners. Our function exists to add value to our business and our colleagues, and this is what we show up for every day.

A cause I am personally passionate about is childhood education and welfare. Children are amongst the most vulnerable members of our society, and they are our legacy. I believe it should be every able person’s responsibility and desire to foster a safe, nurturing and learning environment for every child and empower them to do great things for the future of our world.