Schlechter takes reins at Welwitschia

Elaine Schlechter joined Welwitschia Insurance Brokers (WIB) on 1 July 2019 as the new CEO.

Before joining WIB, Schlechter held various leadership positions at NedBank Namibia and Welwitschia Insurance Brokers.

Before moving to Nedbank, she worked for WIB as the executive director for national sales.

“It is always a privilege to be asked to take on a leadership role, a privilege that comes with great responsibility. I have held leadership roles before, but taking on this one felt a little different, in that Welwitschia Insurance Brokers is not a large corporate.

“I have worked in this environment before, and it is quite different, it allows you, or requires you, to focus on different things, perhaps more important things.

“Certainly, very real things, no unnecessary corporate red tape, less committees, leaving me with more time to focus on growing the business,” Schlechter said.

From a young age, she has always had a strong entrepreneurial side and was fortunate to have had various opportunities to feed her interest in exploring new ventures and setting up businesses, not limited to having her own brokerage.

She also had the opportunity to drive new initiatives and establish divisions and companies within commercial and corporate environments. During this time, she was exposed to all operational aspects, underwriting of claims, insurance brokering and financial services, and had the chance to work with different people from different backgrounds, at all levels.

With over 30 years of experience in the banking and short-term insurance sector, Schlechter brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new position. Over the years, she has learned some valuable life lessons which include:

· Failure is an important part of success, so don’t reprimand those who stumble, help them to get back up and try again.

· There is no substitute for hard work, and of course, you’ll find that the harder you work, the more opportunities you get.

· Persistency is key. You will not always achieve success at the first try; you should persist until you do.

· The three key ingredients for both individual and collective success are capability, capacity and passion, and having two out of the three isn’t good enough.

· High performance is best achieved where there are clear goals, relevant measures of achievement, and a healthy degree of exposure so that it “matters”.

· Don’t be limited by your own, or worse still, other people’s perceptions of your own capabilities. You won’t know if you can do it, if you don’t give it a go.

Even with these life lessons Elaine says: “I wouldn’t say that I have learned as many lessons from an industry as I have from the people within it, and in that regard, I believe that you can learn as much from the people that work for you as you can from those that you report to.”

Schlechter went on to say that “there is always something to be learned and one should always be open to learning as much as you can”.

She believes that communication is key, but listening to others is crucial, as no one knows everything.

Asked about her vision for Welwitschia Insurance Brokers, she said: “Together with my able team, I am striving to build a future in which Welwitschia will become a well-respected insurance intermediary with a clear proposition to our clients, people, and markets. I have no doubt that we will reliably deliver on this promise and therefore be trusted by those that we work for and those who choose to work for us.”