Taking NWR to another level

hen and protect the financial condition of the company,” said Talita Horn, chief financial officer at NWR.





Talita Horn did consulting and assurance work at Namibia Wild Resorts (NWR) for the past two years, and during that time she became more convinced that it is a jewel that is not yet polished to perfection.

She was recently appointed as its new chief financial officer.

“We have the opportunity to impress our foreign and local visitors, who will tell their friends, who will then also come to Namibia to enjoy the beauty that we are privileged to enjoy every day,” she said.

Horn will reinforce the NWR executive team with her experience of being a charted accountant and a qualified internal auditor, having worked in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Namibia.

When visitors come to Namibia, they bring new money to the economy, which directly benefits the communities in which NWR operates, and the greater economy as those new dollars pass through different hands, Horn says.

She adds that she knows she can play part in contributing to the Namibian economy and the state-owned enterprise sector.



Her story

Horn was schooled in Johannesburg and went on to obtain her national higher diploma in hotel management at the Witwatersrand Hotel School.

“I was able to get a bursary for my second year, through Namib Sun Hotels, and I came to repay that bursary obligation. I had just completed my practical year in the Eastern Cape and the Eastern Transvaal, as it was then known, and thought I would not adjust from the lush bushveld to the arid dessert, but I was wrong. The sand of the Namib Desert got into my shoes, and never left my heart,” she adds.

“I met my husband and we moved to Cape Town, where I studied part-time through Unisa, and completed my articles with PwC. The moment I qualified as a chartered accountant, we went to London for two years, also with PwC, after which I rejoined PwC Cape Town,” she said.

During this period, she came to Namibia on special assignment, which was an opportunity to network with her Namibian colleagues, and when the opportunity came to join PwC in Namibia, she jumped at the chance.

Project NWR

In Horn’s 100-day plan she includes a number of projects to resolve matters arising from past transactions, but also plans to develop in-house skills through training, and accountability. She believes they have the support from both the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Ministry of Public Enterprises to make NWR a commercially self-sustaining business to be proud of.

NWR is about being a memorable host for visitors, but it is not only about that, Horn says.

If they operate behind the scenes while managing such a large organisation efficiently and effectively, creating an environment that flourishes amid exceptional service, visitors will go back with fond memories of Namibia.

“I can contribute to that through applying the analytical skills of my training and experience, passing on that knowledge to a team that wants to grow and developing, solving and preventing problems, while overcoming challenges that are an inevitable part of our industry. There is never a dull moment,” Horn adds.



More about Talita Horn:

· She is a chartered accountant and a certified internal auditor.

· She had a career in the hotel trade.

· She is married to her husband Fanie for 23 years.

· She loves travelling and has travelled the world for work and for leisure, but would not swop Namibia for anywhere else.

· Her hobbies include the outdoors, and creative pursuits, such as cooking, baking, painting and all manner of sewing.

· She enjoys science fiction novels.