Personal saviours, DESTINY

DESTINY

Page 112 – 115

SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE WOMEN FULFILLING THEIR DESTINY BUSINESS PAULA PEREIRA, Executive Assistant to Craig Venter, CEO: Altech In mid-2007, Pereira was headhunted for her present position. Being recruited by the blue-chip company was a tribute to her solid track record. She's climbed the corporate ladder on the strength of recommendations by those impressed by her high standards. “All my jobs have been through word of mouth;' she says. Before moving to Altech, Pereira spent several years at another IT company, Gijima (formerly AST) where she started out as a secretary. Tellingly, she was promoted in just a few months to an executive PA post and went on to work for Gijima's top brass including mergers and acquisitions executive Martin van der Pod, CFO Carlos Ferreira and later, CEO Jonas Bogoshi. Pereira describes her first few years at Altech as trying, as she had to devise and implement a working plan on her own. “In those days I used to sleep with a pen and notebook close by;' she recalls.

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