PEOPLE PROFILE

Lihle Ngwane, Events Operations Manager. Cynthia Okuonghea, Groups and Events Administration Manager.

Lihle Ngwane, Events Operations Manager.

Cynthia Okuonghea, Groups and Events Administration Manager.

Meet Sun City’s Events power-pair

Not even a pandemic kept Lihle Ngwane and Cynthia Okuonghea from staging world-class events.

When you work in the Events and Conferencing Department at a resort as iconic as Sun City, you know you’re always in the spotlight and it’s always ‘show time’. The resort has a rich history of hosting some truly awesome events, featuring the who’s who of local and international megastars in entertainment, business and sport. Expectations are high and world-class delivery is non-negotiable.

For Lihle Ngwane, Events Operations Manager, and Cynthia Okuonghea, Groups and Events Administration Manager, entertaining customers at the resort is in their blood. This dynamic duo is tasked with making sure that events are booked, staged and run on time, every time. It’s a massive job, but Lihle and Cynthia have the experience and expertise to ensure that the department shines and sets a wonderful example to the industry at large.

Let’s meet the power pair

“To be associated with this beautiful brand makes me feel motivated to develop myself more, professionally and personally,” Lihle says. “Sun International has worked hard to build a big name and a solid brand, and we’re recognised internationally, so our standards are very high.”

She’s worked for the Group since 2012 — first at The Maslow, Sandton, then at Sun City, Sibaya and now, back at Sun City. Lihle recalls: “When I started at Sun City in 2016, it took me a good three months just to learn my way around the resort — it is indeed a city within a city. It can be extremely exciting when you’re working the big outdoor events – like the renowned Nedbank Golf Challenge – and have to run in-between three different and very separate venues. It makes your mind operate on another level. The planning that goes into these events – and seeing an ordinary venue turning into this extravagant place – makes me incredibly proud of what we do. The events and conferencing space is forever evolving, with new trends and innovations, and you’re kept on your toes. I especially love the vibe and the people interaction that comes with this type of business.”

Cynthia is still a bit of a ‘new kid’ in the department, having joined the team in December 2021, but she’s been with the Group for 17 years. She says: “I really get excited about working with so many different people. We’re in the core space where everything happens, so we get the opportunity to really explore the hospitality sector and what it has to offer.

“The best part about working in this role at the resort is seeing clients getting excited to be at Sun City — that just melts my heart and also makes me pride myself on being part of a successful team. My role demands that I am super-customer-centric and I enjoy creating experiences and memories for them. There’s something amazing about having people gathering at the resort and giving our customers the assurance that we’ll provide the best service, while also anticipating the unexpected. Their events are in safe hands.”

How has Covid impacted the eventing and conferencing space?

“If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from Covid, it’s that nothing is permanent,” Lihle says.

“We’ve seen its impact on our industry, as a whole, and most companies were forced to make very hard business decisions and jobs were lost. But, despite all of that, it’s forced us to shift our mindset and relook at how we do things, such as put Covid safety protocols in place, ensure that we secure as much business as possible and create more and more memorable experiences for our guests.”

Cynthia agrees that the pandemic has required the department to become more inventive at times. “Safety protocols have sometimes limited how and where we host our events, and also how many people may attend in certain spaces. We are thankful that restrictions are easing up,” she says. “One of the challenges we faced was simultaneously managing multiple events and not having enough venues to accommodate this. As a result, we’ve had to focus on building a better rapport with our clients, to understand what their needs are, which helps a lot. That way we can be more flexible by offering alternative dates and venues, depending on the restrictions, if there are any. We’ve also had to be more creative in anticipating what clients might need and act quickly to make decisions to accommodate that.”

Lihle adds that another challenge in the events space, that was brought about by the pandemic, is staffing. “During Covid, the company was forced to reduce the number of staff, but now that the business is picking up, we need to ensure we have enough staff to run events smoothly. What works for me at the moment is to assess the need for those particular critical positions and motivate for them to be filled, while in the interim using outsourced labour to keep the business going and ensuring that we keep our brand promise to our clients.”

Life outside work

Both Lihle and Cynthia are married, working moms. Lihle has been married for 21 years and has two children, a daughter who’s 26 and at varsity, and a son, 16, who’s in Grade 10. She loves listening to gospel music because, after a hard day at work, it soothes and relaxes her.

Cynthia is happily married and has five children, and loves spending time with her family, reading and meditating.

The most surprising thing about both these women is that neither one of them ever considered the hospitality industry as a career.

“I wanted to be a doctor because I loved helping people,” Lihle says, “but things didn’t turn out the way I’d planned. We plan and God decides. Hospitality was something I thought I’d try out but ended up falling in love with it. I worked my way up from a waiter and bartender position to where I am today and have even had overseas exposure when I worked at Qatar National Convention Centre as a Banqueting Manager, as part of the opening team in 2011.”

Cynthia says her favourite subjects at school were accounting and mathematics, and she ‘dreamt of being an accountant or computer scientist/programmer’. But she went to college and developed such a love and passion for working with different people and assisting customers that her work in training/facilitating and hospitality events seemed to be the perfect fit.

Given the Presidential addresses on 22 March and 4 April, the events division is more than ready to embrace the more relaxed restrictions around upcoming events.