As Gauteng Regional Manager, Elizabeth Roman’s journey with Saratoga started in February 2019. While Saratoga already had a client base in Gauteng, the need to establish an official Gauteng office and team became clear.
Fortunately Elizabeth joined the Saratoga team, and her extensive experience has been invaluable in growing both the Saratoga Gauteng team and our client base within the region. “My main objective is to establish and grow the regional footprint, while staying true to the Saratoga values.” In her role as Regional Manager, Elizabeth is responsible for business development, client and stakeholder relationship management and the leadership of our Gauteng team.
For Elizabeth, a love affair with her first computer in Matric and her keen interest in the explosion of technology within the ICT field is what drew her to a career in technology. “I have always been attracted to technology and what it enables. From the effect technology has had on our personal interactions and how we connect with the world, to its impact on commerce and the change technology enables across every aspect of our lives.”
Elizabeth’s career in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) started within the infrastructure field where she worked for several years as a Technical Specialist, before fulfilling various key management roles within customer and service provider environments. Over the years, Elizabeth has worked with major corporates in South Africa and internationally, and 5 years ago she made the shift from infrastructure into the application space.
One of the achievements Elizabeth is most proud of is the Microsoft SA certification she achieved with a project team for the best solution upgrade in a South African Corporate Environment. For Elizabeth this achievement stands out as she was able to take a contract that was at the start of a disengagement process with the client, and turn it around into a 5 year outsource agreement which finally delivered the expected business value and ROI the client had been unable to achieve.
In her years of experience, Elizabeth has worked within organisations with company cultures which only focused on the bottom line and didn’t value the people who worked within these organisations. From these experiences, Elizabeth realised the true importance of people and the value of the human factor within successful teams and companies.
People have always been a passion for Elizabeth, and she enjoys all levels of interactions with them – from celebrations to conflict resolutions. “The diversity of people and how everyone integrates together and connects as family, friends, co-workers, communities and nations is very interesting.” Her passion for people and her interest in technology came together perfectly as Elizabeth established her career within management and leadership roles. “As I started to fulfil a leadership role, I had a mentor who provided me with valuable support and enabled me to grow and mature as a person and a leader – giving me a strong foundation to work from”.
“I would describe my leadership style as leading by example. I also believe it’s important to always actively listen, pay attention to what is being communicated and to provide staff with the opportunity to express their ideas and creativity.” Saratoga’s culture and company values was one of the main reasons Elizabeth was excited to join the team, and has remained integral in our expansion within Gauteng.
When reflecting on challenges she’s faced in her career and lessons she’s learnt so far, Elizabeth sees all of these as valuable as she’s been able to apply them to both her work and her personal life. “The most important thing I’ve learnt is that you cannot be two different people, one at home and one at work. You need to always stay true to yourself, your values and ethics.”
