Linda Ncube-Nkomo: CEO in touch with youth

Linda Ncube-Nkomo is a chief executive of loveLife and she wants to use her influential position to make a difference in the lives of the next generation.

The 42-year-old is also working hard to ensure that her only child Joshua, 17, gets the best education possible.

As the CEO of loveLife, Ncube-Nkomo is responsible of ensuring that issues affecting SA youths are engaged by various stakeholders.

She's also responsible for defining the loveLife strategy together with her team members.

"Part of my job is to engage with young people to ensure that we do not lose touch with the challenges they face.

"My biggest challenge at the moment is to get every adult in South Africa to realise that we all need to invest in the youth of our country both at an institutional and individual level," she said.

Ncube-Nkomo, who is based in Johannesburg, was born and bred in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She is the eldest child in a family of six.

She has just completed her doctoral studies in business leadership.

"I grew up in a home where my dad believed that we could be anything we wanted to be and it also helped that I had female role models who were medial doctors and chartered accountants," Ncube-Nkomo said.

"That exposed me to different professions, something that has made it easier for me to work with people."

Ncube-Nkomo said every job has its own challenges but she has a support base that she calls her spiritual family who are on speed dial when she needs prayers for wisdom to deal with the challenges that come with her position.

"I have a very supportive board and I can call any of them whenever I need their support. I also have an executive coach who I see on a monthly basis. These are the people who help me deal with my work challenges."

One thing she likes about her job is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the next generation. In her position, Ncube-Nkomo said, she has never felt disrespected because she was a straightforward person.

"Disrespect is unacceptable regardless of gender. When I feel disrespected I sit down with the person and ask them to explain their behaviour so that I can understand where they are coming from so that we can deal with the issue," she said.

She wants to ensure that Joshua succeeds in life. "I want to give him the luxury I didn't have. I always remind him about the importance of education and I want him to get the best," she said.

Ncube-Nkomo says she spends her free time reading and gaining a lot of knowledge about different things in life.

"I love to hang out with similar-minded women over coffee and drawing from their experiences, as well as encouraging them in the various issues we face as women. I am also a novice runner and hoping to run my first full marathon in November," Ncube-Nkomo said.