Inspiration

Women In Leadership

Danai Magugumela is the CEO of BKS, a leading multidisciplinary consulting engineering company consisting of about 860 employees. She is responsible for leading a team of 15 Top Managers and reports to the Board of Directors. Danai develops and drives the strategy for the group and ensures that the company is run profitably. She strives to inspire the entire firm to share a vision and to feel motivated to contribute to the company’s success. Danai is married with two children aged 11 and 7.

Background
Danai was born in what used to be known as Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. When she was three years old her parents were exiled to Zambia. Danai was the youngest of four children and grew up in a very diverse environment amongst people of varying ages, races and cultures. At the age of twelve Danai and her family relocated to the United States. Here, Danai was introduced to what she terms the “American Experience”. Danai found herself in an environment which was quite liberal compared with the traditional African environment and praises the American tradition of encouraging teenagers to hold down summer jobs. Danai enjoyed the productive environment. She delivered newspapers, cleaned houses and did some babysitting to earn pocket money. She describes the experience as memorable and says “it was a world of opportunity”.

Education
After spending three years in the USA, Danai and her family returned to Zimbabwe. It was around this time that Danai won a scholarship, after completion of her O-levels, to attend an international college in Italy. After two years in Italy she was accepted at Prairie View A&M University in Texas where she completed her BSc in Civil Engineering. After gaining some work experience she later on completed an MSc degree at Texas A&M University. Danai says “My international exposure has made me tolerant of different cultures and that shaped my thinking and my ability to be an empathetic leader of a diverse workforce.”

Career
Danai’s first professional job was as a lab assistant in a materials testing lab for the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation. After graduation Danai relocated to South Africa in 1995 with her husband and worked as an Assistant Resident Engineer before being registered as a Professional Engineer with ECSA. In 2001 she became a Project Manager for the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Unit, where she was later promoted to Chief Executive. In 2006 Danai was invited to apply for the position of Chief Executive of BKS, her current position.

Values
Danai was fortunate to have been born to parents who always put education above everything else. Danai’s mother went back to college in her thirties to advance her teaching qualification with a BSc degree in Nutrition Education. Seeing the sacrifices her own mother was willing to make set a great precedent for Danai to follow. Danai also values diversity and has a genuine interest in people.

Attitude
Danai attributes her success to her willingness to listen and to learn. She believes that this quality has enabled her to master the various roles she has had to play and to deliver beyond expectations. She also has a competitive streak and desires to achieve what people say cannot be done. Danai says that when faced with a difficult task she perseveres and often surprises even herself with the results.

Inspiration
Danai is inspired by the gift of life itself, by daily challenges, and by people who do extraordinary things, particularly when they are done against the odds. She says “I am also inspired by people who achieve much more than me with much less than I have”.
Whilst it could not have been easy relocating so many times during her formative years Danai has been fortunate to have had some unique educational experiences, she has taken full advantage of those opportunities making a brilliant success of her life.

Khuthaza is proud to profile Dana Magugumela as a leader of the industry. Danai regularly shares her knowledge and experience with others. BKS has also supported Khuthaza’s programmes through an Enterprise Development initiative.