From the Netball Court to the Boardroom: Charmaine’s Mission to Make an Impact

How can you make a difference and enact change at an impactful level? This is the question facing Charmaine Mtizira-Nondo, a soon-to-be WHU Global Online MBA graduate. Charmaine, a program manager in the social investment office of South African financial services group FirstRand, has been part of the driving force behind social projects, including those around sports. This is where her real passion lies. “Two years ago, I convinced the trustees of my foundation that sports should be one of the areas of focus for investment. I want to utilize sports to solve societal challenges.” In 2019, Charmaine had the opportunity to attend the Sports Bootcamp in Germany, a cooperation between MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, and the Bundesliga (the professional football league in Germany). “It opened up a whole new universe for me outside of sports management and, luckily, connected me to WHU.”

Fast-forward a few years, and Charmaine was looking at potential courses that were international, with a network, and offered professional exposure but did not require her to attend in person. “I wanted it to be structured but also allow me to work simultaneously,” she explains. “I contacted Professor Sascha Schmidt at WHU (Center for Sports and Management at WHU), and he told me about the online MBA. When I learned I could focus my research on sports and still gain the business acumen I was looking for, it seemed like a great fit. Plus, I could stay in South Africa with my family and work at the same time. It is internationally accredited, and there was the option to do a residency to travel and meet other people from around the world. It ticked all the boxes for me.

“However, one of the main reasons I decided to study an MBA was the decision I made that I wanted to serve on boards. We have a lot of interactions with boards in my role, which helped me understand governance, compliance, risks, and ethics. I want to be relevant in any boardroom, and an MBA will give me the knowledge and frameworks to do that. I also noticed that the challenges many non-governmental organizations face are similar to those in the sports federations. I’m a qualified netball coach, but I saw that I couldn’t make big changes at the level I was at. I want to make systematic changes, which can only be made at the board level. That is where I want to be.”

Her indomitable mindset as a player and a coach has also motivated her throughout the online MBA. “Sports have played a huge part in my work ethic: if the coach isn’t there, you still have to train. You work as a team to solve problems. You keep going. This was all applicable throughout the program as there was no one there to tell me to study; I had to be the one who put in the time and effort.”

Looking back at her online MBA experience (she is currently working on her thesis), she reflects on how online programs are perceived today. “There is always going to be some skepticism over whether these online MBAs are accredited,” she says. “After COVID-19, we are lucky that many processes and structures were implemented to help us study anywhere in the world without being confined to a certain university. For me, the online MBA enables you to study anywhere you want while enabling you to network with different cultures and perspectives. Most importantly, it allowed me to be close to my family as a support structure. I can advance professionally but still have a life outside the MBA.”

Curious how an online MBA can help you drive societal change? Get in touch today