Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) has appointed Talita B Horn as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as well as Julia Mutumbulua as its new Chief Human Capital Officer (CHC) as of the beginning of May 2018. Both executives bring vast experience within their respective areas of expertise from which the NWR is expected to significantly benefit in steering it towards sustainable growth.
Horn will undoubtedly strengthen the NWR executive team with her vast experience as a charted accountant and qualified internal auditor having worked in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Namibia.
In her new role, Horn says: “I will aim to strengthen and protect the financial condition of the company. I am quite excited to join NWR because my working career has now come full circle, with my first job being in the hotel trade many years ago, followed by me qualifying as a chartered accountant, and now back to the hospitality trade.”
She added: “I am tremendously excited at the opportunity to contribute to the Namibian economy by maximising the multiplier effect of the tourism dollars coming into the country. With the expectation from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Ministry of Public Enterprises that commercial SOEs are driven by business objectives, I cannot wait to develop our talent, and build a stronger support function, so that the team can give tourists what they want – a memorable experience of Namibian hospitality.” Before joining NWR, Horn was a partner at PwC Namibia responsible for internal auditing services.
Another addition to the executive is Mutumbulua who holds a B Comm in Human Resources, and a B Comm. (Hons) in Industrial Psychology both obtained from the University of Western Cape. Mutumbulua obtained her talent management competencies over the years through consulting in State-owned enterprises across various industries and in the private sector too. She spent seven years of her career in the South African context where she studied and completed her internship in Psychometrics. She further spent four years at the coast in various entrepreneurial capacities. Her last appointment before joining NWR was at PwC as the recruitment manager. Mutumbulua says: “My focus would be in blending heightened job satisfaction and enhanced productivity in NWR for both the individual and the organisation through focused developmental interventions informed by psychological assessments and competency support, as well as by fostering a work environment where the individuals feel valued and respected regardless of work levels.”
NWR’s Managing Director, Zelna Hengari, is very enthusiastic about these appointments, as they affirm the long-term vision of making NWR a great company to work for and the leading company in Namibia’s tourism sector. She is also delighted that the new executive team members are women of calibre whose mere presence at the senior level shall contribute to gender equality within the workplace at NWR in particular and the tourism industry in general.
