Ukheshe Technologies, a digital-first financial services enabler based in South Africa has appointed Lee Ziervogel as COO.
Ziervogel is a qualified chartered accountant. She has worked in multiple industries including financial services, technology and mobile, as well as the public sector and professional services where she led business transformation, strategy execution, together with solution design and implementation.
“I have an ability to bring together talent. I always joke and say I’m really a talent manager. My focus is on inviting talented people to stand up, solve issues, and make a tangible difference. And at Ukheshe, I’m delighted every day by people’s smarts and out-of-the-box solutions in this regard.”
Lee Ziervogel believes that today’s fast-paced, wealth-driven world where customer service often ends at the point of sale, true business success requires solid, customer-centric ethics. “This is especially important for a fintech company like Ukheshe. It’s essential to manage our clients’ journeys with our highly technical products, because if they’re successful, so are we.
“I love being surrounded by an ethically sound team that operates from these solid business principles. One of Ukheshe’s core focus areas is enabling financial inclusion, and enriching lives.”
Ziervogel’s people-centric approach ensured her success as President of Customer Delivery and Success at Ukheshe before stepping into the role of COO. She explains: “I was leading the part of the organisation that is responsible for ensuring we meet our promises to our clients. This needs to happen from several perspectives – regulatory and compliance, development, legal, marketing, and all the necessary cross-functional units. Delivering on promises to customers lies at the heart of every business success and something I look forward to carrying forward in my new role.”
This of course required an end-to-end understanding of the organisation, which put her in the perfect position to take on the role of COO. “My previous role entailed regularly meeting with all the unit heads, unpacking what they did, understanding what their offering was, establishing what they required to implement client solutions, and then putting together a framework that enabled visibility and reporting across all projects. Essentially, it meant looking after the customer journey from developing the ongoing relationship with the client to providing support and processes to ensure their success.”
The COO role will give her the ability to enable such solutions faster, she believes. “I’m most looking forward to having the broad focus that will allow me to unlock value and drive rapid growth. And I am excited to work alongside the Ukheshe founders to drive a dream of enabling embedded finance through a world class fintech platform.”