5 minute read
Meet Iron Mountain’s new Operations Director, Kholofelo Sadiki
Meet Iron Mountain’s new Operations Director, Kholofelo Sadiki
She’s all about people, and brings her collaborative leadership style to her new role, which involves spearheading Iron Mountain’s operations strategy in South Africa. It’s her responsibility to lead the operations team and ensure that their clients have an improved experience. Here she tells us what led her to the role, Iron Mountain’s ESG approach and more.
What has been your career path leadIng up to your appoIntMent as operatIons dIrector?
My career started in procurement and supply chain management where I spent a lot of my career in various leadership roles in the manufacturing, real estate, financial services and management consulting industries. I have spent a lot of my career in incredibly dynamic organisations responsible for delivery and teams across Africa and parts of the middle east. I joined Iron Mountain as the procurement lead for the South Africa business and after 17 months was afforded the opportunity to lead the Operations team for the business. Throughout my career in procurement and supply chain I have spent time working closely in the operations environment and thus this transition is a perfect fit for the next venture in my career.
What Is your “Why”? What excItes you about What you do?
I am excited by the contribution we make in protecting and keeping custody of our customers’ valuable assets. The importance of data and information and its ability to add value to our customers’ business is what drives me, and how we contribute to the total lifecycle of our customers’ data from storage, retention and secure destruction is what I find most exciting about what I do.
I am also very conscious of the role I play as a woman leader in a male-dominated industry and environment. Bringing the voice of the woman to our industry and striving to showcase it as an attractive and vibrant industry for women is also a very big part of my “why”.
How would you describe your leadership style?
My leadership style is very collaborative and based on inclusion, ownership and accountability. I truly believe that my role as a leader is to support my team to achieve the results that we need to serve our customers and grow our business. I am all about the people and live by Simon Sinek’s quote that says that “leadership is not about being in charge, it’s about taking care of those in our charge”
What have been some of the most memorable moments in your career?
Each organisation that I have worked in has shaped my career and allowed me to create memorable experiences and connections. One of the highlights of my career was attending the Procurement Leadership and Customer Service training programme in Disneyland, Florida in March 2021. Being selected as part of the first cohort to attend this programme amongst 14 other colleagues from around the world was a truly unforgettable experience.
Please unpack how Iron MountaIn contrIbutes positively to the public and private sectors’ ESG endeavours.
At Iron Mountain, we embrace our responsibility to contribute to the fight for a net zero future for our planet. We seek opportunities to improve environmental performance within our operations and enable our customers to manage information while meeting their environmental goals. And we partner with our suppliers to unlock opportunities to protect our planet, together. Whether through our records and IT assets destruction operations or implementation of electric vehicles across our fleet globally, we support our customers’ ESG goals both in the public and private sectors. Together, we challenge ourselves and inspire others to create innovative business solutions that make a positive environmental and social impact— working to secure a sustainable future.
What does it mean to be a possibility thinker in your role as operations director?
For me being a possibility thinker means continuously lifting the bar, transforming and innovating the way we service our customers and ensuring that at the core of the operations strategy is the customer and their needs.
Striving to challenge the landscape and create spaces for more women to have the platform to grow and excel in a male dominated environment is part of encompassing possibility thinking in my new role. It’s simply about continuously and intentionally striving for possibilities and not limitations.
What do you see as your greatest challenges in your new role – and how will you tackle them?
As we focus on aligning our operations to our growth strategy, it is important to drive performance and manage change while being committed to diversity, inclusion and empowering a collaborative culture. Through effective communication, we will be able to take all our teams on this journey and not leave anyone behind. Rapid change can cause discomfort and instability, as leaders it is our responsibility to keep our teams continuously engaged and connected.
please describe Iron Mountain's flagship projects in partnership with the public sector.
Our purpose is to be our customers’ most trusted partner for protecting and unlocking the value of what matters most to them in innovative and socially responsible ways. We are working in partnership with our public sector customers to identify and leverage data from advisory to secure destruction of their assets and records.
Do you have exciting plans for 2023?
2023 is an exciting year for our organisation as we strive to continue to implement our plans to contribute to our ambitious growth journey. 2023 will also be a year focused on empowering our people and fostering a culture of collaboration, courage, and customer obsession.
