Lead the change

Mariselle Stofberg

Passion is not something one can be taught. It is an inherent drive that you possess to succeed and excel despite challenges and adversity. Jeva Tjipe is passionate about not only his career, but the opportunities he has to inspire those around him to create genuine and long term change.

Tjipe is a graduate from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

“My career with PnP, a subsidiary of the O&L group of companies, started in 2012 during the intake of graduate’s trainee managers. Thereafter I served in the capacity of a store manager as well as an assistant store manager.”

Tjipe is originally from the Omaheke Region and spent most of his childhood years on his grandparents’ farm Seringduin in the Gobabis district.

Tjipe has a holistic approach to retail and believes that each aspect of this intricate department is related to the next.

“An assistant store manager is a complex position by the mere fact that it’s interrelated to numerous stakeholders, all with different objectives and levels of satisfaction,” he says.

“You have your employees that are to be managed and inspired in order to deliver on their expectations. You further work with customers, whose requirements must be fulfilled; you need to establish an effective supplier relationship, which is crucial while assuring directive from managers and owners in fulfilling the shareholders’ return on investments.”

During his first presentation to the senior leadership and group leadership teams after his first-hand exposure to the retail industry, he concluded that the complexity of the retail operation is not only crucial to the survival of the fittest framework but to the survival of those that serve the purpose of their existence.

Tjipe has proven that he has the drive and zeal needed to take up any challenge and complete that to the best of his ability.

“One aspect of my career that I am very proud of is completing my trainee manager programme before the initial programme schedule and to have served in key position within the PnP group. A number of challenges I have faced was keeping up with the ever-changing customer expectations and the offers of competitors that required a continuous development of market research and the implementation of the recommendations.”

Tjipe is proud of his ability “to wear many hats without compromising any part of my roles” and he is very happy to successfully and profitably operate a depot.

An important part of Tjipe’s character is his profound understanding of time and how precious time is and always lives by high standards.

Tjipe sees the solution to problems that others have difficulty seeing.

“One key skill that I have is my ability to derive the best solution to a problem in the very shortest time. We all have the possibility of being leaders, but only a few inspire others with a clear and concise conduct of understanding in serving a common purpose. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jnr, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Bill Gates are leaders I look up to, but we also have our own Namibian leaders that have produced characteristics of a leader within the domestic market.

“These include the likes of Sven Thieme, Berthold Mukuahima, Herold Pupkewitz and Dr Frans Indongo, all by the conduct of setting out a vision and conducting themselves in an honest and trustworthy manner in order to gain trust to be able to inspire a large number of persons to succeed.”