Connie Hunter, Senior Advisor, and Roncevert Almond, Partner, of The Wicks Group (TWG) participated in the U.S.-South Africa Aviation Forum-The Future of Aviation Leadership, March 23-25, 2015, in Cape Town, South Africa. Sponsored by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)/U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Forum is the capstone of a series of USTDA-sponsored workshops for South African aviation professionals held in the United States in 2014.
Ms. Hunter and Ms. Almond joined with executives from the U.S. aviation industry and esteemed U.S. government representatives including Lee Zak, Director of USTDA and Susan Kurland, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, DOT. South Africa representatives at the Forum included high-ranking executives from the South African Department of Transportation, Airports Company South Africa, South African Civil Aviation Authority, South African Air Traffic and Navigation Services, South African Department of Public Enterprises and South African Airways.
At the Forum delegates engaged in problem-solving sessions and case studies on leadership development with the purpose of fostering the advancement of the U.S. and South African aviation communities.
During her keynote address, Elizabeth Dipuo Peters, South Africa’s Minister of Transport, called for a “skills revolution” in Africa in order to strengthen the aviation sector and create “sustainable economic growth” by supporting manufacturing, service, and tourism industries. While South Africa has made significant investments in its aviation infrastructure in recent years, the country requires substantial development of its human resources to support this tremendous growth
Ms. Hunter explained to the Forum that “human capacity is the invisible infrastructure of a country’s civil aviation system. Therefore, investing in the training and qualification of aviation professionals is just as important as building runways, terminal buildings, etc.” Prior to joining TWG, Ms. Hunter served as Manager of the DOT’s Safe Skies for Africa program, a presidential initiative that provides technical assistance and training to meet international aviation safety standards.
Mr. Almond moderated a panel discussion on mentoring and cultivating excellence within an organization. Panel members includedJay Ireland, President and CEO, GE Africa,Thuli Mpshe, General Manager, Human Resources, South African Airways, and Herb Wallen, Regional Director – Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The panelists stressed the importance of informal and formal mentoring initiatives to fostering future aviation leaders. Mr. Almond challenged the panelists to define the concept of excellence. Ms. Thuli of South African Airways offered a simple, but powerful answer: “to be better each day than the day before.”
By this measure, the Forum yielded excellent results as delegates left better prepared to address the expected increased demand for air transportation services in this key sub-Saharan Africa country. The country's top airport, O.R. Tambo International in Johannesburg, is poised to exceed capacity as early as 2015, and the country is one of the most rapidly expanding aviation markets in the world.
For more information about TWG’s participation in the Forum and work in Africa, please contact Connie Hunter (ciwhunter@wicks-group.com) or Roncevert Almond (ralmond@wicks-group.com). They may also be reached at (202) 457-7790.