#BehindtheSelfie: Vilosha Soni, managing director of Tiger Brands' home & personal care category

Vilosha Soni is the managing director of Tiger Brands’ home and personal care category. Source: Supplied.

What do you enjoy most about your industry?

The fast-paced nature of the work, combined with the fact that you get to see results in real-time. Each day is a new challenge, and no two days are the same.

What is a typical workday for you?

Upon waking, I review the day that was in terms of sales performance, factory performance and a quick recap of any key challenges that will need to be solved for the day ahead. A good day starts with going to the gym for an hour, before getting to work. Twice a week, I have a touch base meeting with the home and personal care exco team in which we focus on the key decisions that need to be made to move us forward and recap our collective progress month-to-date.

The rest of my day is cycling between the various functions of the business in a series of structured and unstructured meetings to offer support and to close open items with each of the key stakeholders. If I’m lucky there’s a chance to read a few emails or send a few responses, and on a really good day, I can respond to WhatsApp messages and take calls in real-time.

Describe your career so far.

As an engineering graduate entering the world of marketing, I’ve had the most incredible experiences in the world of FMCG marketing and general management. I’ve enjoyed working with world-class teams over the last 15 years to build and grow global brands.

My two most recent roles in managing the baby business at Tiger Brands, and now as the managing director of home & personal care, are the perfect culmination of the skills and experiences I’ve acquired along the way. I believe that there is a certain art and science to business. My career has afforded me the ability to practice painting like Picasso and experiment like Newton to hone my skillset towards a general management role.

What are you currently streaming/reading/listening to?

Streaming: Arnold on Netflix

Reading: Viola Davis – Finding me

Who inspires you?

There’s no one specific person that I idolise. Every day, people around me inspire me by what they do and how they do it. I find great inspiration from my teammates, my friends, my family and my kids, amongst the other inspirational human beings who go beyond what we thought was capable and break new ground. From each, I draw a specific piece of inspiration

What did you want to be when you were a child?

Don’t judge, but I wanted to be the driver of an 18-wheeler truck! And then later a lawyer, but always a mother.

Give three pieces of advice for young people waiting to enter this industry?

1. Always come prepared, do your homework, know your numbers and go in having read about the subject or the person you are going to meet. Making a good first impression counts.
2. As you go through your career, surround yourself with a circle of great advisors who you trust and whose opinions matter to you, and be open to being a part of someone else’s circle.
3. Make each decision as if you own the business and spend every rand as if it were your own money.