Jenine Zachar, head of value propositions and client experience at Business and Commercial Banking South Africa, Standard Bank Group
What’s your one top tip for doing a deal?
When looking at a deal, explore all the angles. Ask the probing questions to see what lies beyond, below and above. Stephen Covey writes: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Once you understand, look also to be understood. This is often best done through swiftly putting a transparent view down for quick decision-making and negotiation.
What was your first job?
I was a waitress for three weeks during high school, which also gave me my first lesson in walking away for the sake of self-preservation. Then during university I held multiple part-time jobs that helped pay my way through my studies. I tutored, au paired and coached sports at many schools. My first full-time job was as a teacher of Grade 5 learners.
How much was your first pay cheque, and how did you spend it?
My first pay cheque was R600 for coaching sports for the month. This was when I was hustling for petrol money to get to class, and I’m pretty sure all of it went towards that.
What is the one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out?
Not finishing something is not always failure; it’s quick learning. I experienced multiple career changes early on in my professional life. In the beginning, each new start gave me the feeling of having failed. Over time I understood I was finding purposeful and meaningful work that resonated with me and realised how the building blocks in my career created a solid background that would have been near impossible to orchestrate from the beginning.
I would want to tell my younger self that my path would be perfect in its diversity and that each journey held its own learning and experience to be open to.
If you could fix only one thing in South Africa, what would it be?
Unemployment.
What’s the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know?
I can do both a forward and backward somersault.
What’s the worst investment mistake you’ve made?
The worst mistake I made was not starting to invest until I had the time to “figure it out”. That time very rarely arrives, and I would much rather now make poorer (diversified) investments than none at all.
What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? And how much of it was due to luck?
The first house my husband and I bought, with a tenant already in place wanting to continue to rent, remains one of our best investments. It has been a low-cost, low-maintenance unit in a sought-after area. As for luck, we bought before the property market spiked and secured an excellent interest rate at the time.
What’s the best book you’ve read recently, and why did you like it?
I absolutely love an easy-reading book. It is my time to unwind, and I particularly enjoy historical novels, delving into human stories set during historical moments.
What’s the hardest life lesson you’ve learnt?
Life’s not perfect, you’re not perfect and the people around you aren’t perfect either. Because of this, I choose to live by leaving everything I do in a better position than I found it.
What phrase or bit of jargon irks you most?
Not a phrase or jargon specifically, but I get stuck when a presentation or reading material contains sentence upon sentence of acronyms.
What is something you would go back and tell your younger self that would impress them?
You become a banking executive one day who helps businesses to start, manage and grow.
If you were President Cyril Ramaphosa, what would you change, or do, tomorrow?
I would look at changes in the National Credit Act regulation to enable more accessible funding for businesses below the R1m threshold to further stimulate SME growth and opportunity.
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