Women taking the lead in engineering

Editor's Choice

31 August 2020 Editor's Choice News

Alaris Antennas, an engineering company, has developed and grown its business in South Africa with the help of a number of female leaders.

Alaris Antennas is an engineering company specialising in the design and production of (often) customised antennas for electronic warfare. This is not an industry that typically attracts women to steer and manage important aspects of the business. However, Alaris Antennas has managed to woo a number of female leaders to help develop and grow its business in South Africa.

Ruenelle Ramnath, HR manager and executive director of Alaris Antennas.

Amongst them are Gisela Heyman, managing director of Alaris Antennas and executive director of Alaris Holdings, who has a vision to expand the company’s footprint globally. Coupled with that vision come the passion and drive that make Alaris Antennas a major player in this industry.

Ruenelle Ramnath, human resources manager and executive director of Alaris Antennas, ensures that having the right people will drive the business to achieve results that are over and above the industry norm. Employee engagement is high, and the Alaris technical team is staffed with high-calibre engineers.

Claire Nitch, head of sales and marketing.

Head of sales and marketing, Claire Nitch, has the experience, passion and knowledge that has taken the business to new heights. She has been involved with the expansion of its customer base with specific focus on the USA and has played a big role in promoting cross selling opportunities between Alaris Antennas and the acquired subsidiaries. She always has a robust plan that is executed with precision.

Alaris Holdings is proud to be associated with Alaris Antennas which has empowered women to take the lead. Elsie Muller, chief financial officer of Alaris Holdings, says “Women’s Day is a reminder of the progress of women in South Africa. I am pleased to see that having women in the boardroom has become the norm for most South African companies”.

“I am a firm believer in a diversified management team. It tends to be much more balanced and it benefits the workplace environment,” said Juergen Dresel, CEO of Alaris Holdings.

Alaris Antennas hosts an annual Women’s Day event where health and wellbeing topics are discussed. However, due to the pandemic and guidelines around social distancing, funds for the planned event will be donated to CHOC.

CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation is in dire need of support to cover essential services at the moment. The economic situation in which it finds itself is due to a large percentage of individuals being currently unemployed or temporarily without an income, a reality that many families are facing. Without any form of income, these families are unable to transport their children to and from the hospital for treatment, and are unable to provide the necessary nutritional requirements the child needs to stay healthy. The coronavirus has greatly increased the needs of many of these families and they have seen a significant increase in the demand for some of these essential services, especially food parcels and transport funds.

In order to help CHOC ensure that the children are safe and are able to attend treatment and that the parents and caregivers are relieved of the financial

stress of having to provide food, protection and support to their sick children, it was decided to provide CHOC with a donation from Alaris Antennas.

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Women taking the lead in engineering

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