For Nelisiwe Shiluvana, a career in finance did not begin with a grand five-year plan. It started with a conversation.
Nelisiwe Shiluvana, Famous Brands’ group financial director. Image supplied
At 16, while in Grade 11, a discussion with her accounting and career guidance teacher introduced her to auditing. That seemingly simple conversation would set her on a career path spanning telecommunications, professional services and, ultimately, the restaurant industry, where she now serves as group financial director at Famous Brands.
Her journey is a useful reminder that careers are rarely linear. They are shaped by opportunities, people, setbacks and the willingness to keep learning.
Shiluvana joined Famous Brands in October 2021 as group finance executive, working alongside then group finance director Deon Fredericks. Their decade-long mentor-mentee relationship played an important role in preparing her for the leadership transition that followed.
Before Famous Brands, she spent seven years at EY, where she was a partner leading the Africa Financial Accounting Advisory Services business. Earlier in her career, she held finance leadership roles at Telkom.
Across those different environments, one lesson has remained consistent: technical expertise matters, but leadership is ultimately about people.
Leadership is built on purpose, integrity, preparation and resilience. It is not simply a function of title or technical expertise; it is about leading with authenticity in a way that builds trust, honouring opportunities, and enabling people to perform at their best.
Finding her way into finance
That first conversation at school introduced Shiluvana to auditing, but it was what followed that cemented her interest.
Finance offered a combination of discipline, problem-solving and the opportunity to influence business performance. Over time, working across different sectors broadened her understanding of what finance could contribute to an organisation.
At Telkom, she developed technical rigour, financial management and business partnering skills. Her time in professional services exposed her to complex, fast-moving environments and clients across industries. At Famous Brands, the numbers became even more closely connected to the operational realities of a business built around brands, restaurants and customer experience.
“I have learnt that leadership must be commercially focused, collaborative and agile,” she says.
That means looking beyond the numbers themselves and asking what they say about the business.
“For me, good leadership is about connecting the numbers to the business reality and ensuring that decisions support both performance and long-term strategic priorities.”
The realities of being a woman in senior leadership
Shiluvana's career has not been without challenges.
She recalls moments when her contribution was questioned because of her age, as well as periods in her personal life that demanded resilience while she continued to meet the expectations of a senior professional.
Those experiences have influenced how she leads today.
“They taught me not to allow difficult moments or other people’s opinions to define my own sense of worth or capability,” she says.
They also deepened her understanding of what people may be carrying beyond what colleagues see at work.
For Shiluvana, empathy is therefore not separate from performance. It is part of effective leadership.
She points to a well-known observation attributed to Maya Angelou: people may forget what you say or do, but they remember how you make them feel.
“That is a powerful reminder that leadership is not only about results, but also about the dignity and confidence we create in others,” she says.
Why mentorship matters
Mentorship has been a defining feature of Shiluvana's career, particularly her relationship with Fredericks.
For her, effective mentorship goes beyond offering advice. The strongest mentors and sponsors are people who recognise potential, challenge individuals, provide honest guidance and advocate for them when they are not in the room.
“Those moments mattered because they opened doors, created visibility and gave me the confidence to step into opportunities I may not have pursued on my own,” she says.
But opportunity comes with responsibility.
“When someone uses their influence to create an opportunity for you, your responsibility is to honour that opportunity through gratitude, diligence and excellence.”
It is a philosophy she now applies to developing others. The goal, she says, should ultimately be to help people become independent leaders who can create opportunities for those who follow them.
Preparing for the next leadership chapter
Shiluvana's move into the group finance director role was the result of a planned succession process rather than a single moment of promotion.
That experience reinforced an important lesson about leadership: readiness is built over time.
Leadership transitions do not happen in a single moment. They are built over time through exposure, preparation, trust and the willingness to take on greater responsibility before you feel completely ready.
The transition also taught her that confidence does not necessarily arrive before the opportunity.
Sometimes, it develops because you step forward and discover that you can handle what is required.
“In senior roles, you need technical competence and strategic perspective, but you also need emotional maturity, curiosity, sound judgement and the humility to keep learning while others are looking to you for direction.”
From number cruncher to strategic partner
The role of the finance function has changed considerably. For Shiluvana, finance can no longer simply report on what has already happened.
Today's finance leader needs to help a business understand why something happened, what it means and what should happen next. That involves connecting financial performance with strategy, operations, customers, people, technology and future growth.
“Finance leaders are no longer viewed only as custodians of historical performance,” she says. “The expectation today is that finance must sit at the centre of business decision-making.”
For Famous Brands, that means building a finance function that is resilient, data-driven and closely connected to the broader organisation.
The opportunity is not simply to produce better reports, but to use financial insight to improve decision-making, anticipate risks and support sustainable growth.
AI creates another opportunity for women in finance
The next evolution of the profession is already being shaped by data, technology and AI .
Shiluvana has seen technology transform finance throughout her career. Early on, mastering tools such as Excel represented a major productivity shift. Today, finance professionals are navigating AI tools and agents that can support analysis, forecasting and insight generation.
She sees this as an opportunity, particularly for women looking to increase their influence in business.
“Technology can help us ask better questions, identify trends earlier, test scenarios and bring sharper commercial insight to the table,” she says.
But she cautions that technology itself is not the differentiator.
The real value comes from combining technology with judgement, curiosity, ethical leadership and an understanding of the business.
“For me, staying relevant means remaining teachable and being willing to learn the new tools of the profession, just as earlier generations had to learn theirs.”
Creating room for others to grow
For Shiluvana, building future leaders means creating an environment where people can ask questions, challenge ideas and learn without fear.
She believes clarity and trust are fundamental.
People need to understand what is expected of them, but they also need space to contribute their own perspectives and develop their judgement.
“I do not believe a leader has to have all the answers,” she says. “Part of the role is to listen carefully, ask thoughtful questions and help people build confidence in their own judgement.”
That philosophy also changes how mistakes are viewed. Rather than creating a culture where people are afraid to get things wrong, she advocates using mistakes as opportunities to learn.
“Empowerment is about helping people develop the confidence, capability and ownership to grow, and eventually to lead others with the same discipline, care and generosity.”
A message to the next generation
For young women considering finance, accounting or other traditionally numbers-driven careers, Shiluvana's advice is surprisingly simple: stay curious, build strong foundations and don't wait until you feel completely ready.
Her own career began with a conversation at school. It is a reminder that a single opportunity or piece of advice can change the trajectory of a life.
“Do not wait until you feel fully ready before pursuing opportunities,” she says.
Confidence is often built by stepping forward, doing the work and discovering that you are more capable than you thought.
She also carries a lesson from her mother: whatever role you have, do it with excellence.
“Excellence is not perfection. It is a state of mind, sustained commitment to discipline, learning, resilience and making a meaningful contribution.”
Building a legacy beyond the title
As Women's Month provides an opportunity to reflect on women's progress in business, Shiluvana is less interested in celebrating an individual achievement than in considering what comes next.
She acknowledges the role played by her family, mentors, sponsors and the women who came before her in helping her reach her current position.
Her ambition is to pay that investment forward.
“I want to honour that by building teams, creating opportunities and contributing to an environment where others feel encouraged, developed and able to realise their potential.”
Her message to emerging women leaders is to embrace the entire journey — not just the polished achievements that make it onto a CV.
Leadership is not only about personal achievement; it is about creating pathways for others. When one woman rises with purpose, she creates possibility, courage and permission for others to rise too.
For Shiluvana, that may ultimately be the most meaningful measure of leadership: not simply reaching the top, but making it easier for someone else to follow.
“Do not shrink your ambition, and do not underestimate the doors your courage may open for others.”
