Preloshni Naidoo – Get to know our VAB member
It is our pleasure to introduce you to our member Preloshni Naidoo who joins VAB from South Africa. Her expert background spans many years’ work and several science and technology successes in the fields of Petrochemicals, Oil & Gas, Mining and Renewable Energy. She has local and expatriate experience and has worked for Sasol, a global chemicals and energy company, in Strategy Business Analyst, Lead and Senior Scientist roles. Preloshni has recently completed a term as Advisory Board Chair at Amperion Energy, a renewable energy business focussed on building and managing medium- to large-sized Solar PV plants for commercial entities as a power service (utility) and suppliers of solar solutions to communities. Feel free to reach out to Preloshni to learn more about her board interests and her plans for her future board journey.
What inspired you to become a member of the Virtual Advisory Board community?
I enjoy contributing to the independence of Boards and their oversight activities. The calibre of the educational webinar lecturers and networking that VAB offers inspired me to join VAB. I see real value in networking and working to build relationships across the globe and adding value where I can.
I am seeking my next higher level, board and career opportunity and I believe the relationships I will be able to forge with my VAB community peers will lead to mutually beneficial collaboration.
In what area do you feel board advisors can add the most value for Boards of Directors (BoDs) and executive teams?
The key factor is independence and bringing in new, different and challenging insights and oversight to the board. In the context of volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environments and rapidly evolving technological landscapes, I feel that Boards not only need directors with high-level oversight skills, but also with subject matter expertise in areas which are constantly evolving and changing at rapid rates; e.g., AI and climate change topics.
It is important for boards to have directors skilled in risk management to effectively scan for risks, mitigate them, and continuously advise the board on their status. Where possible, it is critical to promote a transparent unilateral board structure where both the executive and non-executive team members are held accountable for their duties, and where ethical business practices are adhered to and respected.
What would be your dream company/organisation to work with as a board advisor/NED?
I am open to Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and Energy sector company boards as I have accumulated significant exposure to these environments. With my key oversight skills and risk analysis skills, I can also work on IT and Technology sector company boards. I work as a Rotarian and believe in giving back to the community and a large part of my board portfolio roles to date has been focussed on volunteer board opportunities on NPO company boards.
I see myself as an eternal student and I believe in constantly learning and relearning to improve my skills; and acquiring new skill sets. I have recently become interested in the Risk Director training role offered by the DCRO organisation and I see the value in having Risk Directors on company boards.
A large part of my community service involves mentoring and I would love work in a board role where I could share my experience with younger board members and or executives. I believe in the "pay it forward" model and would be glad to support my fellow board members in achieving their career goals and aspirations.
What book or podcast would you recommend to VAB members that might improve their skills in corporate governance, board advisory or boosting board-to-executive team communications?
A book I would gladly recommend is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It’s a great exploration of how to boost efficiency: getting more done in less time and learning to identify the right tasks in order to use time effectively.
