Faried Sallie

Faried Sallie
Managing Director, Diamond Trading Company South Africa

I enjoy what I do. Each day brings with it new challenges and new opportunities based around the need to improve and to be better today than we were yesterday.

My business unit, Diamond Trading Company South Africa has a great motto that underpins our vision. The motto is “striving to be a cut above”.  For me the motto is all about change: about the ability to recognise the need for change, to create a vision to guide that change, and to execute change effectively.

To do this, I have to influence in every direction, downwards with subordinates, laterally with colleagues, upwards with superiors and outward with our customers and stakeholders.  Why the need for change? It’s simple really: we need to do things ‘simpler, better and faster” at De Beers.

De Beers to me is also about relationships and friendships. A colleague from Namibia dropped off two books on ‘values at work’ in my Johannesburg office the other day.

We had worked together on a project to identify the company’s values as part of a fantastic global team, comprising members from six different countries. I last saw her while she was up in London studying on company sponsored executive management programme.

Together at dinner, was a South African colleague who had been seconded to Canada to start-up a mine. I myself had been seconded up to London for two years spending time in Corporate Strategy and the Diamond Trading Company.

My wife Nikki, daughter Leila and son Adam joined me during this period and together we grew in confidence as we realised we could hold our own in both a work environment and a social environment in a culture somewhat alien to ours back in South Africa.

I have now re-located back to South Africa, in a new position for me as Managing Director of Diamond Trading Company South Africa, involved in the sorting, valuation, sales and marketing of De Beers’ diamonds in South Africa.

I now find myself and my family in Kimberley, a picturesque historic city at the heart of the diamond industry. The first thing we decided as a family was that we would purchase property in this city.

For us it was a way of committing to Kimberley, setting down our roots here and confirming our intention as a family and as part of the De Beers Family of Companies, to help re-vitalize this province.

All of my previous work experience has helped prepare me for this new role. This work experience has only been gained at De Beers, as I started with the company as a bursar when I studied Electrical Engineering at Wits University.

I have had five different jobs prior to my current one.  The first two were in Research and Development initially as a project manager on technical projects then as a project portfolio manager helping to influence decisions about selecting the R & D projects that should be conducted.

I moved on to become PA to the Chairman of the company, Secretary to the Executive Committee and then spent two years in London. 

During this time I was involved in various ‘extra mural activities’ not directly job related but helping to shape me as a leader and as a committed South African. These included stints as a Toastmaster, as a local employment equity team member, as a tutor and then chairperson of a Saturday school and as a coach and mentor.

De Beers is truly a global company with global opportunities. I serve as Managing Director of a small business unit in Kimberley. My boss is an Israeli diamantaire, now resident in London. I sit on an Executive Committee based in London, so I work with them as part of a virtual team.

My local Executive Committee team in Kimberley comprises one British person and five South Africans. Our 250 employees represent generation X, Y & Z and the true diversity of South Africa.

I service customers who purchase and manufacture and polish diamonds in South Africa but who hail from South Africa, Israel, Belgium, India, and USA. Given all of this, why shouldn’t I be excited to be part of such an organisation?