Tracey WebsterTracey Webster


South Africa

 

Occupational Information


Job Title: Chief Executive Officer at Oppenheimer Memorial Trust

Professional History


Tracey is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer at Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.

Tracey is the former CEO of the Enterpriseroom, a specialist consultancy that assists companies across a range of industries to develop and implement high impact, sustainable enterprise and supplier development, supply chain, economic inclusion, and community outreach solutions. Tracey has spent the past 20 years starting, innovating, scaling, and building sustainable organizations.  She has worked in London, USA, South America, Southern, West, and East Africa and has developed an exceptional network of leaders and entrepreneurs spanning these continents.

In 2014 and 2015, Webster was the Executive Director at the African Leadership Institute. In that time, she developed the brand architecture for the Institute to position it as the premier center of knowledge and thinking on leadership in Africa.  The institute’s flagship programme is the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellowship, which builds the capacity and capability of the cream of Africa’s emerging leaders spanning a multitude of sectors across the African continent. Webster mobilized the network to engage in initiatives that included advisory sessions and campaign strategy development for a Presidential Candidate in Tanzania, awareness, and support for a Nobel Peace Prize nominee in Uganda and mentoring of entrepreneurs in South Africa. She brokered opportunities amongst the network and profiled the Tutu Fellows in the media as thought leaders in their various sectors.

Prior to that, Webster held the position of Chief Entrepreneurship Officer at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. It was founded by Sir Richard Branson to create a launch-pad for aspirant South African entrepreneurs. Webster developed a “Life Cycle” for Branson entrepreneurs, which included hands-on practical training, mentorship, and access to networks, markets, resources, industry networks, and master-classes. During her three-year tenure, 483 businesses, spanning 21 industries attended the Centre, which resulted in significant revenue growth and job creation in each business. She built strong relationships with South African corporates who partnered with the Branson Centre to help small businesses access supply chain contracts and finance.  She connected entrepreneurs to investment opportunities and advocated for improvements to the regulatory environment for SME’s to the then Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan.

Prior to entering the world of enterprise development, Webster was a social entrepreneur who started the Starfish Greathearts Foundation, dedicated to the plight of orphaned and vulnerable children across South Africa. She is its founding member and served as its CEO. Under her leadership, Starfish supported 22,000 orphaned and vulnerable children across South Africa with education, health, food, and psycho-social support.  Webster has also worked for Deutsche Bank London in global markets in their origination team for commercial paper and as their investor relations specialist. She has used her corporate experience to professionalize and change the perception of the NGO sector in South Africa.

Qualifications


BA Dramatic Art, Honors, University of the Witwatersrand
TV Presenting Certificate, Nadia Bilchik (CNN Editorial Producer)
Social Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme, Gordon Institute of Business Science

Program


2007 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow


Additional Search Tags: Consultancy, Dramatic Art, Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Enterprise, Supplier Development, Supply Chain, Economic Inclusion, Community Outreach, Campaign StrategIist, Development, Leadership, NGO
 

About AFLI

 

AFLIICONCROPPED

 

The African Leadership Institute (AFLI) focuses on building the capacity and capability of visionary and strategic leadership across the continent. Developing exceptional leaders representing all spheres of society, the Institute’s flagship programme is the prestigious Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship. Offering a multifaceted learning experience and run in partnership with Oxford University, it is awarded annually to 20-25 carefully chosen candidates, nominated from across Africa. Alumni of the African Leadership Institute form a dynamic network of Fellows passionately committed to the continent’s transformation, bridging the divide between nations and ensuring that Africa is set centre-stage in global affairs.