A commerce graduate, Lynette has previously held positions at Deloitte, Motseng Marriott Corporate Property, Motseng Property Services and the Durban Business Enhancement Initiative in various senior leadership roles in the commercial and retail property sector and in the business development and investment promotion arena.
Lynette has been well profiled for her executive positions, amongst them becoming the first black woman in South Africa to become GM of a super regional shopping centre (The Pavilion) and CEO of the Durban Business Enhancement Initiative; a business development initiative; created by the private business fraternity to leverage the organisational capacity of the private and public sector with the intention to facilitate growth, national and international trade activity and sustainability within the priority sectors of the economy including Infrastructure Development and Planning; Manufacturing; the Ports and Commodities.
She has come away from her experiences with a track record in property management and development, exposure to Corporate Affairs; Governance; Operations and Talent Management, retail development, strategy development and implementation; business and trade development, international business and in depth economic knowledge; project management skills and a vast knowledge of the regulatory environment that governs commercial activities. In addition to her experience and her bachelor's degree; she also holds a Certificate in Shopping Centre Management (CSCM) and an Advanced Certificate in Shopping Centre Leadership (ACSCL) from the University of Pretoria.
Passionate about youth development and leadership, Lynette is a Founding Director and Chairman of IgniteSA.com, a dynamic movement and multimedia platform that aims to mobilise the youth and leadership of South Africa to network, debate and share collectively on socio economic, business, leadership, educational and development issues through various programmes and partner led initiatives.
She is a nationally and internationally recognised professional speaker on a large variety of business and socio economic subjects.
Awards and accolades received include the Fun Fearless Female Award 2008 Cosmopolitan Magazine (Associated Magazines SA – December 2008); "Woman to Watch" Destiny Magazine (Ndalo Media – June 2009); "Under 30 and on Top Feature" O Magazine (The Oprah Magazine – April 2009), the Mail and Guardian's 200 Young South Africans 2012 Award and she has been featured in the 2012 Power of 40 – Destiny Magazine (November 2012). She has recently been named the Glamour magazine Woman of The Year 2014 winner in the business category.
Lynette is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and Founding Curator of a South African hub. In 2014, she has been selected as one of the Top 200 Leaders of Tomorrow by the St Gallen Symposium – the world's premier symposium on leadership, politics and society. Lynette is a 2014 Mandela Washington Fellow in the flagship program of President Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and an Advisory Board member of First National Bank (FNB) in the Kwazulu Natal Region.
Lynette is actively involved at an executive and member level within various organisations including the Business Women's Association, International Women's Forum (IWFSA), Women's Property Network (WPN), Institute of Directors SA (IODSA), South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) and the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners (SAIBPP).
She has served as Vice Chair: Durban of the Businesswoman's Association, as a SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise/ Enactus) National and World Cup Final Round Judge (Malaysia 2011); Retail Development and Design Awards 2009 Judge; a Green Building Council of S.A Technical Working Committee member for the development of the Retail Green Star Tool and a South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) KZN Committee Member.