SARISHA GOVENDER: Head of Finance and HR at MAHLE Behr
#AutomotiveAllies: Sarisha Govender, nominated by Alex Holmes, is Head of Finance and HR at MAHLE Behr South Africa. Sarisha’s journey in the automotive industry started 13 years ago when she first joined MAHLE as the Financial Accountant. As a relatively newly qualified CA(SA), Sarisha had to find her feet quickly in this male dominated environment.
When Sarisha began her career at MAHLE, she was young and inexperienced but passionate about learning and developing. MAHLE offered her many opportunities to use as steppingstones for growth in her career. Sarisha was later promoted to Financial Manager, with full accountability for the entire Finance Department and GIST Department, which deals with Customs compliance and managing the APDP processes. With Sarisha’s audit and risk management experience, they were quickly able to limit the challenges the team faced with the implementation of the necessary internal controls to manage potential risks.
In March 2016, Sarisha joined the Executive Management Group as Head of Finance – ZA, moving her responsibilities to further include topics such as B-BBEE and commercial legal matters.
In May 2018, Sarisha assumed the role of Head of HR – ZA, in addition to her current Finance responsibilities.
Today, Sarisha serves as the only female executive at MAHLE, responsible for two of the largest portfolios, Finance and HR, for South Africa. Sarisha is proud to have gained the mutual respect and trust of her male peers and continues to make her mark in the organization, through hard work, dedication and commitment.
Sarisha truly shows that the possibilities are endless when it comes to furthering one’s learning development. Sarisha has stretched herself beyond the boundaries of her comfort zone which has ensured that this remains a continuous process for her.
Sarisha’s five #ThingsIWishIKnew when starting in the automotive industry
Sarisha’s five ways to empower women within the industry #TheFutureIsFemale