Mpumi Madisa

Five years ago, Mpumi Madisa was named CEO of Bidvest, a sprawling South African holding company that owns domestic and global businesses in a wide range of industries. Over the past year, the conglomerate has shown solid returns, reporting revenue of $3.5 billion for the first half of fiscal 2025, up 6% compared to the same period one year prior. Profit margins were slimmer at 5% instead of 5.3%, with Madisa flagging a “challenging environment.” The first Black woman to be named Bidvest CEO, Madisa recently explained to a young woman attending a talk on leadership exactly how she deals with being undermined at work. “There comes a time when you need to teach the system how to treat you,” she said, explaining that she stopped tolerating disrespectfulness prior to becoming CEO. “I don’t need to lose my marbles in a meeting, but after the meeting, I will come to your office, and I will close the door, and I will sit down and I will say, ‘Let’s talk about this moment,’” she said, “And the room is going to feel icy.” The first conversation is the hardest, but it gets easier, she reassured the women in the room.