Meet Our Managing Executive: Bandile Zungula

Bandile Zungula started as a Logistics Manager in 2019 and left the business in 2021. He returned as Regional Operations Executive in April 2023 and was appointed in his current role on 1 June 2024.

1. What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Sincere. Resilient. Attentive.

2. How would you describe your day job to a child?
We get the chicken nuggets to the shops, and on the shelves, for mommy and daddy to buy for you.

3. What does a typical day look like for you?
Starts with checking all is in order with our night operations and execution preparations for the day ahead are on track. Review calendar for the day for any potential changes, late additions, etc. Try sneak out the house without waking my partner, to make it to gym.

When I get to the office, check in with the teams on-site – whether it be finance, HR, OPS, fleet, etc. on arrival at work. Get the temperature of the day for anything pressing that requires support. I like structure and routine, so I try to follow a routine with review cycles: performance, finance, business planning, people matters, and work through items in my diary and to-do list.

I try not to have many meetings outside of routine cycles and planned connects. Create greater focused work time for teams and myself. My door is generally open, and not being stuck behind my PC for hours on end in meetings, assists with being able to engage with teams as and when they require, and get out into our operations.

4. What makes you proud to be part of the Vector Logistics’ team?
I work with great people; people who try to make a difference every day in what they do. From the shopfloor all the way to the teams in the control tower and those in trade, ensuring customers’ and consumers’ products are available when they need them.

5. How would you describe a high-performance organisation?
An organisation where people are engaged, clear on expectations and their own deliverables. Where accountability is clear and personal. Where people know what it is that they are contributing towards and believe in it. You have high performance where you have buy-in and where people are appropriately rewarded and recognised for their contributions.

6. What does safety mean to you?
People returning home to their families exactly as they entered the workplace. Even better would be where colleagues could apply their learnings in their workplace and they extend that to their homes and communities at large.

7. How do you keep yourself/your team motivated?
I believe in high engagement and involving teams in setting direction and what we want to achieve. Clear direction and consistent review of performance and what it is that we are working towards. When you understand what it is that you are working towards and for. Buy-in is critical.

8. What do you like most about your job?
Seeing people do well. Achieving, learning and growing. That looks different for many people and in a place where you have people from all walks of life. Being able to positively contribute to anyone’s growth in any way is really cool.

9. Do you have a mentor/coach?
I don’t, but should.

10. Given a chance, who would you like to be for a day?
Snoop Dogg … as he was at the Olympics.

11. If you were the CEO for a day, what would you change or introduce?
Townhalls.

On a lighter note …

12. What is your most memorable facepalm (embarrassing) moment?
Does cutting my hair completely bald as a teenager and it never growing back count?

13. When was the last time you laughed so hard?
31 August 2024. I spent the day with friends at Springbok game, at Ellis Park. Great laughs before and after, not so much between the first 60 odd minutes of the game.

14. What is your guilty pleasure?
Cake … Something about them and winning scrums.

15. What is one thing people do not know about you?
I was a prolific squash player in my youth.

16. If you could invite one famous person (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be and why?
Jamie Oliver … preferably for him to cook.