Newly appointed chief executive officer of uShaka Marine World, Stella Khumalo, is taking the helm of one of Durban’s most important tourism assets at a critical point in its history – its 10 year anniversary which is a celebration of what it has achieved so far and a launching point for accomplishing even more.
“Being CEO of uShaka Marine World means ensuring that this ship remains buoyant, continues to sail smoothly and reaches new waters that it has not reached before. I want to ensure that uShaka Marine World grows in stature and further entrenches its position as one of the leading edu-tainment and tourist destinations in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa,” she says.
On the all important practical side, Khumalo is determined that, as the Executive Officer, she will see to it that uShaka continues to achieve a clean audit report whilst also ensuring that the performance of the park is enhanced so that it can achieve sustainable growth.
“During my stint as CEO, I aim to make a difference. I will approach this new responsibility with the same commitment; professionalism and passion I have always applied to doing my job,” she adds.
Her career path has been distinguished one that has embraced three key areas that will undoubtedly impact positively on uShaka Marine World – education, tourism and good corporate governance within the public sector.
After matriculating from St. Francis College, Marianhill, in 1980, Khumalo began her tertiary education, staring with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Zululand, followed by a Higher Education Diploma from the University of South Africa in 1989 and then a Bachelor of Education from the University of Zululand in 1994.
She added a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the then University of Natal, specialising in Strategic Management in 2004 and is currently completing a Doctorate in Business Administration (PhD) at the University of KwaZulu Natal with a thesis entitled: Balancing Corporate Governance and Oversight over State owned enterprises.
A firm believer that a sound education is the panacea for breaking the cycle of poverty, Khumalo started out as a high school teacher specialising in science subjects. She worked her way up to be deputy principal of the Luthayi High School in Mpumalanga and then Head of Department (Science) at Phezulu High School in Mpumalanga. She went on to become a subject advisor in biology and general science for the Zululand region.
After a ten year stint at the coalface, she moved into skills development, ultimately working as Director in KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Education between 2002 and 2005.
She was then appointed as Chief Director for Tourism Development in Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism (2005 – 2007) and went on to become Head of Department (2007 – 2012) before being appointed Chief Executive Officer of the ground breaking KZN Liquor Authority in 2012. Here, she was responsible for financial and administrative management whilst also providing strategic management and leadership to a staff 98.
“During my tenure in the tourism sector, I interacted with national, provincial and local counterparts and was part of the initiative that saw the beginning of the drafting of the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Plan which has recently been approved and implemented. I helped streamline the functioning of Tourism KZN and the KZN Sharks Board as entities of the Department at that time and was responsible for the oversight of these entities. I also worked closely with local tourism structures through the Provincial Tourism Committee and the Provincial Tourism Forum that was launched at that time,” Khumalo recalls.
From a tourism perspective, she points out that uShaka Marine World has key attractions which appeal to visitors of all ages – including being home to one of the biggest aquariums in the world and the largest in Africa.
Against this background, she believes it is important to grow the footfall through the park whilst inspiring visitors to spend more.
She says she is not going to prescriptive. “I do not believe in new leadership coming into an organisation with pre-conceived ideas. However, addressing the issue of seasonality, targeting a variety of LSMs, diversification of offerings, encouraging repeat visits and always giving visitors a ‘beyond our expectations’ experience are all important for me.”
As CEO, she also knows that she needs to balance this with optimum use of resources (including staff) and alignment with eThekwini’s broader development agenda.
“eThekwini sees itself as THE leisure destination of choice and I aim to ensure that uShaka Marine World is central to that. I will be working with the uShaka Board and will align myself with the short and long term strategies that they have put in place. However, these cannot be implemented in isolation and must form part of the economic development strategy and plan of eThekwini as the shareholder,” she observes.
Khumalo remains passionate about improving the culture of learning and teaching in South Africa and dedicates her spare time to a NPO she founded called the Stella Educational Foundation. The Foundation was created to empower, support and mentor youth, particularly grade 11 and 12 learners.
