Ronell Govender, Global Sustainability Business Partner at Naspers, shared her experience attending the Prosus 10X Leadership Programme held in Silicon Valley, California. The programme brought together around 70 leaders from across the Prosus group and its portfolio companies.
Govender, who has worked with Naspers and Prosus for nearly two decades, described the event as a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues from various functions including cybersecurity, AI, ethics and compliance, and finance. “You realise we’re all building under the same umbrella, but most of us don’t often get to feel that ecosystem in a real way. We’re busy. We’re deep in our lanes. We might know of the other teams, but we don’t always understand how they work, what their constraints are, what they’re trying to solve,” she said.
She noted that while values provide identity and direction for a company, it is culture that brings those values to life. “Values are important. They give you identity and direction. But if the culture isn’t aligned with the values, the values don’t show up when it matters. They stay as words,” Govender explained.
One key takeaway from the programme was a shift in mindset regarding obstacles at work: “Obstacles aren’t roadblocks. They’re design parameters.” She elaborated that this perspective encourages creativity rather than simply focusing on fixing problems.
Govender also reflected on lessons learned from Silicon Valley’s approach to innovation and failure: “Nobody has the full playbook yet. Everyone is learning in real time, including Silicon Valley. The pace might look different, but the uncertainty is shared.”
Summing up her experience, Govender emphasized the responsibility leaders have to share knowledge gained from such programmes: “If you’re a leader, you don’t just learn for yourself. You bring it back. You create permission in your team to innovate, to challenge patterns, to see obstacles as fuel, not friction.”
She concluded by stating that Prosus 10X aims to develop leaders who can help organizations move quickly while maintaining a strong company culture.
