Jody

In her eight and a half years with RHDHV Jody Appollis has had a few interesting transitions in her career.

“Currently, I'm the strategy and operations associate for Southern Africa. Before that, I was an airport engineer, and before that, a roads engineer. The move to my current role is one that I believe chose me. I wanted to make an impact within the business and not just for clients. I also love working with colleagues across the business, which this role allows me to do. Right now, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Can’t wait to see what comes next.”

 Jody’s career progression has meant a lot of growth, both personally and professionally, something she feels she would not have been able to do without the support of the company, or its people. “My managers have always been so supportive. I’ve never had any negative backlash for following my path – they’ve always only supported me because they want me to grow. The company offers so much by way of learning too. They’ve also sponsored my Masters which I completed in March this year, and I’m participating in the Future Leaders Journey.”

“The people I get to work with energize me. I like the challenging projects that I get to work on, and I enjoy knowing that it makes a lasting impact on our people. I also get to learn more about the business and how it operates in a corporate setting, what kind of projects we need to do to advance our strategy, and what it is that drives our people to perform, and to be happy doing so.”

Jody Appollis

Jody’s favourite work memory speaks volumes about the company culture as well. She fondly recalls the role everyone played in making her feel at home when she relocated for her airports job. “I had to move to Johannesburg from Cape Town. My entire life was there. My family is there; I was playing sport four or five times a week; my studies were nearby. I had nothing in Joburg. I was completely uprooted. And the people here – my new team – just took me in! It made such a difference. I felt taken care of, and that, if I was going to get stuck with a flat tyre, there was someone I could call. Them helping me with such a difficult transition has always stood out for me. It’s a testament to the kind of people we have here.”

Jody is slightly embarrassed when asked what it is that motivates her to come to work every day. “I know it’s a very generic answer, but I believe that my personal values align with that of the company,” she says. “Our purpose of enhancing society together – that’s why I got into this job. I'm a civil engineer by nature, and when I got into it, all I wanted to do was really make a contribution to the standard of living of people in general.

And my parents said, okay, well, you're not going to become a teacher, because they are teachers. And my science teacher was pushing engineering. And so I was like, okay, let's try this thing out. I went on this winter week camp, and I was sold. I've been happy with it ever since. I mean, doing roads, you are literally helping the communities, you're giving them connectivity, giving them facilities to get from point A to point B. Airports, the same thing, you're connecting countries, you're connecting worlds – it’s awesome that you’re enhancing society by doing that. And now, I get to do that for our people. Which is really, really satisfying."