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Prealene Pillay

Multinational Leader Africa | Johannesburg

09/03/2023

  • Job Title:  Multinational Leader Africa
  • Department:  Africa Regional Team
  • Office Location:  Sandton
  • Joined Marsh:  1 April 2001
  • Hometown:  Durban
  • Education:  Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal – Westville Campus.  Completed various management and leadership courses whilst employed at Marsh.
  • Personal Interests and Hobbies:
    • Interest: I enjoy travel – going to various countries and experiencing different cultures / customs. Enjoy training and mentorship of young professionals entering the insurance industry.  Involved with the Marsh Graduate Programme and serve as a “Guardian” .
    • Hobbies: I enjoy reading leadership books and articles by our best selling authors – this helps to build a good library of solutions for latter challenges. I enjoy spending time with my family – love doing fun activities together and making every minute count. Shopping therapy always helps to de-stress – this is usually scheduled for weekends.

Meet Praelene

How has your education or previous work experience translated to working at Marsh?

I have come from humble beginnings – my dad was a policeman (SAPS) and my mom worked in retail. Growing up in a small Indian Community of Chatsworth, one would not expect my parents to afford to educate us further than matric. I had a dream to grow and become a professional – to achieve greater things far beyond where my current destiny lay. I was always the best in my classes through school and decided to apply to University based on my results. To avoid adding a further financial strain to my parents, I had taken out a study loan and then once graduated was blessed with a vacancy at Marsh as a “Graduate”.  Within a year, I had successfully settled my student loan and started my career with Marsh. I was formally appointed to FINPRO after my graduate programme was completed. This was an amazing period of growth – built strong relationships with both clients and colleagues over the years. After 22 years at Marsh, I am still loving every minute and look forward to the next two decades ahead!

How does Marsh support you in giving back to your communities?

Marsh allows flexibility for us to be involved in community upliftment projects – to assist and empower the less fortunate children and families in neighbouring disadvantaged communities. All personal hours spent on community projects are tracked on the Marsh Cares Portal and being such an amazing company, Marsh also donates to a charity of my choice annually once I have successfully added all my hours.

Every individual has the moral responsibility to give back to the community in order to build a bright future for all. I am a proud Marsh Cares Ambassador for Sandton and look forward to the great initiatives to be rolled out for the rest of 2023!

Tell us something important about your family or background that helped form the person and colleague you are today.

We were a close knit family of five – I was the eldest and the only daughter and grand-daughter so this gave me some added privileges. Our Elders (grand parents) are always revered for their wisdom and guidance that they impart to the family. We were grown up with strict values of respect, integrity, kindness and humility. We were never spoilt – we attended the government funded schools and worked hard to be the best we could. We learnt strong Christian values from young and now that we are adults, we have not departed from our faith. The values instilled in us by our parents has shaped and moulded our character to be the people we are today  – a confident leader who always strives to empower and support those around me.

What is the most meaningful advice you’ve received?

I remember the advice “Always strive to do your best – it is best to try and fail than never to try at all”, this is amazing and I use this whenever I am placed in difficult situations. You need to take control of negative situations and turn them into positive energy. Once you are passionate about what you do, every day will seem like a holiday and you will have fun and be successful.

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Celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month

Join us in celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. At Marsh, we believe that inclusion, diversity, and belonging are core to our purpose of protecting and promoting possibility.

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