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Empowerment Gateway has built its team following a "bespoke" methodology.
Our greatest strength lies in the diversity of our team, because our team members have been selected from all walks of life; they see life in different terms and because of that, many are mavericks in their own right.
In turn this means that in our organisation we have access to the right skill, personality and knowledge to provide customised solutions to all of our customers and beneficiaries rather than following a "one-shoe" fits all approach; or providing a round peg to fit into a square hole.
Because of the nature of our work, many of our team members have strong social entrepreneurship backgrounds, others have solid non-profit know-how and many others has spent years in corporate and governmental structures. But they all share a passion for development and social inclusion.
The Founders
Laurinda Seabra
Laurinda has had an interesting and varied career spanning over 30 years. She managed to combine her passion for people and planet with the imperative of earning a living using her passion for technology and engineering.
With her curious and agile mind, she is on a constant path of discovery ... always at the forefront of what is happening in the world, always identifying the challenges facing people or planet and always looking for workable solutions.
She has:
- Extensive know-how of the CSR/CSI, SR, BOP, social, diversity, human sciences coupled with in-depth knowledge of the petroleum, mining and energy sectors.
- Over 30 years senior and executive management expertise in such diverse areas as:- General Management, Strategic Management, Integration Management, Turnaround Management applied within Civic Society, NGO sector, Communications, Economics, Manufacturing, Engineering, Research & Development, Marketing, Sales, Services and Human Resources platforms.
- Created and managed engineering companies with turnovers ranging from 1M Euros to 150M Euros annually, and staff compliments in excess of 1200 individuals as well as starting various non-governmental organisations.
- Consulting expertise spans over 20 years, consulting to various organisations in a wide range of fields, including strategic facilitation, procurement, technical forensic audits, SHEQ (Safety, Health, Quality, Environment) ISO systems, project management, as well as conceptual development and systems integration within civic organisations, social enterprises and NGOs.
- Unique ability to identify opportunities, manage and solve complex social, environmental, business and technical problems, oversee business development and integrate cross-functional teams.
Acted as a Representative on behalf of Social Enterprises, Micro Businesses, SMEs, Civic Society and NGO organisations
- ISO 26 000 - TC 100 - South Africa Task Team
- Economic Policy Framework - South African Reserve Bank
- Nedlac
- ILO
- World Bank, UN, EC
- Unisa CCC - Center for Corporate Citizenship
- AICC - CSR Brown Paper Seminars (SADC)
- Recognition of Prior Learning - Education Task Team - South Africa
- Social Entrepreneurship Alliance - Africa
- Research for the publication - Africa Leads - UN Global Compact, Unisa, GTZ, BarlowWorld
Joe Stokes
Joe is the anchor that holds the organisation together with his deep passion for systems, design and operations management. An artist at heart, he has the ability to transfer his deep love of music and design to the realities of managing the day-to-day processes needed to get any organisation fully functional.
He has:
- More than 30 years business experience.
- In depth knowledge of the electronics, mining, defence and IT sectors as well as extensive know-how of the social entrepreneurship and NGO sectors.
- 20 years senior management expertise in such diverse areas as: Manufacturing, Engineering, Information Technology – ICT, Research & Development, Engineering Design, New Product Development and Finance.
- Proven track record of success in delivering improved profitability in diverse industries, companies and cultures.
- The ability to create powerful strategies that bring improved results to organisations.
He has received the following recognition for his efforts:
- Awarded the Armscor Chairman’s Award for Excellence in 1987
- AutoDesk International Design Awards for 1994 and 1995.
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