FROM ESHOWE TO A BOUTIQUE IN NEW JERSEY

Buhle Mkhize (28) is from Eshowe, KZN, and lives in America where she is a a fashion / beauty consultant, and owner of a high-end boutique. She was born in Eshowe and raised in Gezinsila. Her mother passed away when she was 12 years old. As her father’s job, as a bakery driver, saw him working long hours, she moved to friends in Durban, where she met Adele Finger in high school and moved in with her family. After Matric, Buhle became an au pair in Amsterdam and then moved to London with the same family. Next she au paired in the USA, living with three families in one year. During this time she met people who invited her to fashion shows and she started working in the fashion industry. Today she runs a fashion boutique called Lime Boutique in Lambertville, New Jersey, and writes for fashion magazines.

NADIA BILCHIK - FROM M-NET TO CNN

Nadia Bilchik, the former M-Net continuity presenter, was recently in South Africa as the keynote speaker at a Beyond the Dress event which aims to empower and inspire women. She moved to Atlanta 15 years ago, where she is now owner of Greater Impact Communications and an editorial producer at CNN. Her first job at CNN was anchoring the CNN Airport Network. She has interviewed high-profile figures such as Nelson Mandela, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, and George Clooney. Currently she hosts a weekly business segment on CNN International's Inside Africa. As a communication skills trainer she has provided training, consulting, and keynote addresses for CNN, TruTV, Cartoon Network, The Coca-Cola Company, Home Depot, Accenture, Virgin Atlantic, and Deloitte & Touche. Nadia is also the author of The Little Book of Big Networking Ideas: A Guide to Expert Networking. In 1992, she started her own business, On Cue, which later became Greater Impact Communications, a successful media and presentation training school focusing on training politicians, corporate executives, pageant finalists, and aspiring anchors. Nadia was awarded the Community Award for Meaningful Broadcasting in 1995. Born in South Africa, she was trained in Speech and Drama at Trinity College, London, and earned a degree in Drama and English from the University of Cape Town.

BILLING LONDON'S MAYOR FOR OLYMPIC LOSS

Neleen Strauss, co-owner of one of London’s top restaurants, billed London's Mayor Boris Johnson for £90 000, being the cost of lost business during the Olympic Games. She claimed that turnover was down by 80 percent. Neleen, originally from Bloemfontein, said the city was basically dead as many workers took their annual leave during the Olympics or worked from home. The High Timber restaurant is on the banks of the Thames, close to the Millennium Bridge, and in the financial district. The restaurant is co-owned by Neleen and Gary and Kathy Jordan of Jordan Winery in Stellenbosch. It has one of the best cellars in London, holding more than 40,000 bottles. The restaurant is named High Timber because that is the ancient London street on which it is sited. Neleen, an expert sommelier, moved to the UK in 2001 to open a popular London City restaurant, Vivat Bacchus. She left there to launch High Timber in March 2009. Within one year of launch, the restaurant received a recommendation in both the 2010 Great Britain and Ireland Michelin Guide, and 2010 London Michelin Guide. Before leaving South Africa, she was General Manager at Browns of Rivonia, in Johannesburg. She went to Meisieskool Oranje and studied drama at the University of the Free State. While at university, she worked as a waitress, and after graduating she went to work at Browns.

BUMBO BABY SEATS RECALLED

Last week the USA government announced the voluntary recall of four million Bumbo baby seats. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the South African-made seats, designed to support young babies who cannot yet sit upright alone, were potentially dangerous. The CSPC said that it was aware of 50 incidents since late 2007 in which children have been injured by falling from the seats. The injuries ranged from skull fractures to bumps and bruises. The watchdog said that parents should stop using the seats until they install a free restraint belt and read new safety guidance that can be ordered from BumboUSA. Recalls have also begun in Canada, the UK and Australia. A previous warning was issued in 2007 and about one million were recalled for labelling warning against leaving the seats on raised surfaces. The seats are made in South Africa by the Bumbo International Trust. About 170,000 have been sold in South Africa. The company is adding an additional warning label that the seat is only to be used on the floor with adult supervision and never on raised surfaces.

Bumbo seat with restraint belt

TERRY PHETO - USA SOAPIE STAR

South African actress and model Terry Pheto (31) stars in American TV soapie, The Bold and The Beautiful. She plays the role Dr Malaika Maponya, a world renown South African heart surgeon, who tries to save the life of Katie Logan. South African TV audiences will see the episodes 6124-6127 on 31 August - 05 September 2012, episode 6145 on 01 October, and episode 6148 on 04 October. Terry became a household name after starring in the South African Academy Award-winning film Tsotsi. This was followed with a role alongside Golden Globe-winning actor Idris Elba in the Nelson Mandela biopic Long Walk to Freedom. She was also a face of L'Oreal Paris.

FROM JOHANNESBURG TO TOP CEO IN USA

Steven Collis (57) is the CEO of top pharmaceutical services firm, AmerisourceBergen, with headquarters in Pennsylvania. It is one of America’s big three pharmaceutical services firms, listed 29th on the Fortune 500 list, employs 13 000 people, and has revenues of more than R600-billion. The company ships pharmaceuticals to more than 20 000 customers every day. Steven's father was a Rosebank dentist and his mother worked for a charity. He matriculated from King David Linksfield in 1978. After school he earned a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours degree from University of the Witwatersrand. He served in the South African Air Force's Finance Department as a conscript. Afterwards he worked for a few years at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. He worked for the South African business tycoon brothers, Solly and Abe Krok, promoting an automotive accessories business, and was later involved with the Epilady hair-removal product. He moved to the USA in 1988 to promote the products, but joined a small health care company in southern California after financial troubles beset the South African products. He was a co-organiser of a charity cycle race in aid of multiple sclerosis and befriended cyclist Neil Dimick, the Chief Financial Officer of what was then Amerisource Health Corporation, which in 1994 became what is today AmerisourceBergen. In November 2010 he was appointed President and in July 2011 CEO. Steven lives with his wife, Toni, and three children in Philadelphia.