- Fairgrounds to develop and enhance its infrastructure
- To influence change and implementation of reforms
ZOLANI KRAAI
A subsidiary of Botswana Development Company (BDC), Fairgrounds Holdings (PTY) Ltd Board has appointed Gorata Gabaraane as its Chief Executive Officer, taking over the baton from from former CEO Myra Sekgororoane.
Having already spent 3 months in office, Gabaraane, says she has already found comfort and familiarity with internal operations in advancement of the challenges anticipated in the hospital and industry. She stressed that with her priorities already set, she intendeds to speed up infrastructure development, adding that while at planning stage, together with her executive management team they are working on a feasibility study that would seek to assess the relevance of developing an up-market lifestyle hub. Whilenoting limited space, Gabaraane said they aim to provide space for more business, lodging and entertainment oriented environment, in the medium term to cater for a more diverse clientele.
Turning to competition, Gabaraane said the time is right for Fairgrounds Holdings to diversify from just being a venue provider and to heighten the development of world class content for new sector specific exhibitions and conferences.
“We believe that this is an untapped area that competitors will struggle to copy, and to this end, we will in the next financial year be seeing some new in-house conceived conferences and exhibitors in addition to our flagship Botswana Consumer Fair,” Gabaraane shared.
Gabaraane, a Master’s Degree Holder in Strategic Management attained from University of Derby in the United Kingdom says she will apply her experience to enhance her organisation’s impact in influencing change and implementation of reforms that directly affect Fairgrounds business component. “
“Through our membership at HATAB and other relevant forums we shall ensure our voice is heard while we position ourselves as the centre of excellence in hospitality skills development sphere. This is to say we will be offering career enriching internship programs thus ensuring an active role in creating a natural pool for selecting above average future employees,” Gabaraane said.
Gabaraane also possesses a Diploma in Hotel Management from Les Roches, Switzerland and she has ISO 9001-2008 Lead Auditor Certification which in turn has gained her accreditation as a Balanced Scorecard Master Professional. She also holds a BSC in Hotel Restaurant and Institutional Management from Johnson and Wales University.
Previous to her appointment as Fairground Holdings CEO, Gabaraane worked at Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC) as Director responsible for Strategy and Competitiveness. She gained experience in strategic processes that she prides herself with, saying the experience will help her to deal with emerging and changing trends and needs to ensure Fairgrounds Holdings maintains its competitive edge in the Hospital and Hotel Industry.