Joanna completed a Business Science degree majoring in Finance and Accounting in 2017 at the University of Cape Town. After completing a post-graduate degree also in Accounting she went on to pass her first Chartered Accounting board exam placing in the top 10.

She started her career working at Nedbank one of South Africa’s big 4 banks as part of their rotating graduate program. Joanna has had the opportunity to rotate to the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh; PKF, a public accounting firm in Johannesburg; the Nedbank Group Finance division including IFRS advisory and Transfer pricing; and is now working as a Credit Manager in the Diversified Lending space in the Corporate and Investment Banking division at Nedbank.

In her free time, Joanna enjoys swimming; spending time with friends and family and volunteers as the Social Media Editor for a charity based in her hometown.

A few things struck me about my conversation with Joanna. Joanna is highly intelligent and was a top student in her year. To place top 10 in the Board Exam is an incredible achievement. And yet the transition to the workplace was still challenging for her. No one is exempt from this challenging transition. But what sets her apart is that she has clearly learned throughout her years at college and from all the different activities she participated in there, how to face a challenge, how to adapt, and how to thrive. Joanna has always known that academics alone would not equip her for success. It is this mindset that I want to share with you.