“When we got married, my husband joined the family business – a Ford franchise which his father had been running since 1960,” she reminisces. “At the time, I had a B.A from the University of Pretoria, and was busy studying law through UNISA, whilst working for the Department of Internal Affairs parliamentary staff.”
“I used to travel between Pretoria and Cape Town for the parliamentary sessions,” she continues.
“Helen Suzman was, for me, a huge inspiration, and she made a significant impact on my life. There she was, this lone female figure in Parliament, standing up to and earning the respect of all the ministers in what was then an extremely male-dominated environment.”
“Initially it was supposed to be for ‘a year or two’. But I just loved it. And then, when I started a family, the perks of working with family and the flexibility of the job really suited me. My husband passed away in 2012, and that’s when I took over as DP.”
It’s the financial side of the business where Brand feels she excels.
“I think my biggest strength is knowing what goes on in every department and making sure that the financials are very well controlled. When I started here, my in-laws had no formal bookkeeping system. So I got a brilliant auditor, who taught me everything I needed to know. And the rest is just on-the-job experience, picking up knowledge and skills.”
Vredendal’s economy is based on agriculture and mining. Between the half-dozen or so car dealerships in town, she says there’s enough business to go around.
“We all know each other, we all liaise with one another, and we actually have a very good working relationship. Sure, we’ll always fight for a bigger slice of the pie, but there’s always respect and professionalism.”
Things have changed a lot in the auto industry over the past four decades.
“Back when I started, the battle to be taken seriously by men sometimes led to heated conversations and arguments,” she remembers.
“It was an unfortunate fact that, as a woman, one had to be quite forceful in the face of the patronising attitude we frequently encountered, and so those of us who learned to be assertive under these circumstances were often labelled as ‘difficult.’ But I’ve noticed a huge improvement over the past decade or so.”
Brand celebrates the fact that the capabilities of #WomenWithDrive, in every sphere of society, are at last being recognised. But she feels we still have a way to go before we achieve gender parity.
“It’s an ongoing process,” she says.
Her advice to women who want to carve out a career for themselves in the auto industry, or any other male-dominated industry, is not to give up, and not to give in. “If you persevere and have a passion for what you do, you can prove that you’re just as capable as a male counterpart at resolving a problem or meeting a challenge,” she says. “And earning that kind of respect from your peers is always incredibly satisfying.”
