FOCUS director honoured by Gumtree Auto

Charleen Clarke, editorial director of FOCUS, has been honoured by Gumtree Auto. She received a special award for “her extraordinary contribution to the automotive industry”.

The citation on the award notes: “You have not only paved the way for those that will follow in your footsteps, but have also honoured those who served in the industry before you.”

The award was presented at the inaugural Women in Autos conference, which took place in Johannesburg recently. It featured a host of speakers from the industry as well as numerous media representatives and influencers.

Claire Cobbledick, who has recently been appointed as the online classifieds’ first female director/GM says that diversity is a core company value. “This event is our way of showing our commitment to both the automotive industry and its role players, as well as to transformation and equality in our business.”

The event featured speakers including Nissan GM of sales and operations, Liz Segal (who spoke about why the industry needs women to succeed); Ford Motor Company CEM Maja Smith; influencer Juliet McGuire; founder of the CarseatFullStop awareness campaign, Mandy Miller; media and communications expert Janine Lazarus; and celebrated businesswoman Buyi Leratadima.

The conference also included a panel discussion featuring Charleen Clarke, Marcia Mayaba (the first black female dealer principal in South Africa) and Desh Bechan (motoring journalist), Maja Smith and Janine Lazarus.

Awards of recognition were also presented to journalists Liana Reiners and Juliet McGuire, as well as Peggie Mars (founder of Wheel Well, which focuses on child safety), safety advocate Mandy Miller, digital marketer Dineo Mofokeng (Peugeot) and Liz Segal

Cobbledick says that the company has plans to extend and repeat the Women in Autos event in both Cape Town and Johannesburg next year.

“The automotive sector is crucially important to our business,” says Cobbledick. “Over 1,9-million South Africans visit the platform every month, with thousands of dealers, brokers and private sellers making use of the site to sell their stock.

“The Women in Autos Conference has been the sixth automotive event we’ve hosted in 2018, concluding our Digital Dealer Roadshows that have been held in cities all around the country since March.

“In October, we’ll be hosting the Gumtree Pre-Owned Car Awards for the second year, which will be bigger and better than before. In November, we’ll again be the headline sponsor of the FIA World RallyCross event in Cape Town. Gumtree is becoming synonymous with everything automotive, and we don’t have any plans to slow down.”