Europcar's CEO is Woman of the Year

"I am truly blessed to be in a position to try to make a difference to our communities, as well as enjoying career success in a company where 60% of our executive team consists of women," Nathan-Jones said.

"We select winners who embody our organisation's values of promoting a positive South Africa, being patrons of education and inspiring and enabling women in the broader community to make a difference in their homes and in the country at large," said Women of the World chairman Rochel Goldman. "We're delighted that we can now number Dawn alongside our previous awardees, such as Graca Machel, Maria Ramos and Helen Zille."

Involvement in social upliftment projects has been part of personal and corporate growth for Nathan-Jones. She is part of a team that works closely with The Imperial and Ukhamba Community Development Trust, which Europcar supports as part of the Imperial Group.

This trust helps children in South Africa access a good education, in order to escape the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. Since 2005, Europcar has supported seven schools in disadvantaged communities with a total of more than R19 million.

A percentage of all inbound international rentals

Europcar, under the leadership of Nathan-Jones, is a benefactor of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. Having been active with the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund since its establishment in 1998, Europcar has been honoured with Lifetime Founders' Club status. The company's pledge of a percentage of all inbound international rentals has so far raised about R5 million. Europcar has also supplied a vehicle to the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital project for the past year to assist with its fund-raising.

With a seven-year-old son of her own, Nathan-Jones is acutely aware that road accidents are the greatest killer of youngsters globally, particularly in South Africa with its high road-death rate. She has been involved in launching, in partnership with the Imperial i-Pledge initiative, a major Scholar Patrols initiative.

Nathan-Jones' vision was key in developing the company's Green Charter. Its central pillars are reducing carbon emissions and installing chemical-free water recycling at five major depots, as well as supporting conservation organisations.

Nathan-Jones' career with Imperial Car Rental began in 1980, and she rose to head the company by 1999. She later drove its rebranding as Europcar in 2007. She is currently vice-president of industry body SAVRALA, which she has served since 1992.

An active member of the Tourism Business Council SA, she has been involved with many tourism initiatives. Europcar also recently set up its own Learning Centre, offering professional short courses and SAQA-accredited learnerships in general tourism.