A blonde surprise package

17 December 2008 - 02:00
By unknown

Standing just 1,5 metres tall, blonde-haired Lynda Odendaal yesterday burst on to South Africa's political landscape with an explosion of energy.

Standing just 1,5 metres tall, blonde-haired Lynda Odendaal yesterday burst on to South Africa's political landscape with an explosion of energy.

"I'm not a bit intimidated by senior politicians, because I have the interests of the people at heart," said the mother of four shortly after her appointment as second deputy president of Cope.

Born in Eastern Cape, the green-eyed Odendaal said she "grew up on the factory floors" since both her parents were in the manufacturing industry.

Following a dream, like many other South Africans, she moved to Gauteng as a young woman and climbed the corporate ladder in the business world.

In 2005 Odendaal was appointed chief executive of Network Support Services, considered to be a southern African market leader in the provisioning of integrated service assurance management solutions.

"But I have resigned and my full-time position now is to serve my people," said the soft-spoken 44-year-old. - Sapa