This Women’s Month, South Africa continues to celebrate women from across all corners of life whose journeys embody resilience, transformation, and leadership.
One such trailblazer is Grace Harding, CEO of Ocean Basket, South Africa’s most beloved seafood brand, who from a tender age carried an innate drive to fix, improve, and uplift.
That spirit, once expressed in rearranging her childhood world, has guided her remarkable career.
Starting out as a shop assistant on the bustling streets of Johannesburg, she tells Saturday Star that steadily built a professional path that now sees her steering a restaurant group that has become a household name.
“When reflecting on her earlier years, Harding recalls wanting to create an impact. I always wanted to give more, do more and have more impact. From a young child I was rearranging things, fighting for a cause, fixing, and making better. Adversity in my childhood was my greatest gift.”
Describing her leadership philosophy, Harding states, “I don’t climb ladders. Leaders are in the middle of an organisation on one of those baking swivel things, able to have a 360-degree view of what's going on around them. The toughest challenges are always people-related. And the toughest person I had to work on and give lots of tough feedback to was. ME. It’s a new age now. We must own our contribution to what goes wrong and right. That takes some strong ab exercises.”
While Harding initially could not foresee her trajectory to leading such a cherished brand, she credits her mentor, Fats Lazarides, the founder of the restaurant chain, for believing in her potential.
“Nope. I never imagined it. And that’s a woman problem I have had to overcome, the imposter syndrome that Brené Brown speaks about in her books. The thought did not cross my mind. And I truly have Fats Lazarides (founder) to thank for this. He saw something in me and spent lots of time coaching and mentoring me.”
“As a woman in a male-dominated business space, what unique obstacles have you faced, and how have you tackled them? I don’t feel that the challenges are man-woman related. The men are needed; the women are needed. We need each other. You teach people how to treat you. If you give off confident and kind energy, people will respect that. It’s like the wild. Everyone respects each other and the unrespected.”
As she looks to the future, Harding's hopes extend beyond her own achievements.
“My hope for the future is that South Africa strengthens. That people have jobs and roofs over their heads. That business people do well by doing good, and we live with a win-win mindset. We take care of each other, our planet and all who exist in it.”
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za
Saturday Star