People of the Bay is proudly sponsored by Mastertons Coffee & Tea Specialists.
By Eleanor Douglas-Meyers
Thereโs something rather fitting about the fact that Denise van Huyssteen, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, began her career as an intern at the very organisation she now leads.
Itโs a full-circle moment that hasnโt been lost on her, particularly considering how much of her professional life has been spent working with the businesses and people who make up Nelson Mandela Bay.
Denise is someone who takes her work seriously. She has a confident presence that can, admittedly, seem a little intimidating at first. But get her talking about Nelson Mandela Bay, and that impression quickly changes. She becomes animated, smiles easily and speaks with the kind of enthusiasm youโd expect from someone discussing a favourite hobby rather than the economic future of a metro.
From intern to CEO
Deniseโs relationship with the Business Chamber began when she completed her public relations internship there, long before she could have imagined returning as its CEO.
She went on to build an extensive career in corporate communications and public relations, spending many years in Nelson Mandela Bayโs automotive manufacturing industry, including senior roles at General Motors South Africa and Isuzu Motors South Africa.
Itโs an industry that has played a significant role in shaping the cityโs economy, and one that gave Denise firsthand experience of the opportunities, challenges and complexities of doing business in the metro.
When she returned to the Chamber as CEO in 2021, she brought that experience with her, along with an understanding of the business community sheโd spent so much of her career working alongside.
And while her career has certainly come full circle, thereโs a sense that Denise sees the work sheโs doing now as very much unfinished.
The people who keep her going
Leading a business chamber in a city facing significant challenges canโt always be easy.
Nelson Mandela Bay residents are certainly no strangers to frustrations around service delivery, infrastructure and the seemingly endless conversations about what needs fixing.
So I was curious about what keeps Denise motivated.
Her answer was simple: the people.
Not necessarily the people in positions of power, but the individuals and businesses who continue to see the potential in Nelson Mandela Bay. The entrepreneurs who keep investing, the companies that continue creating opportunities and the people who believe the city can be better than it is today.
Itโs that belief that seems to drive much of what she does.
Denise is realistic about the challenges facing the metro. Proper service delivery, she acknowledges, is desperately needed. But when I asked what else she would change about Nelson Mandela Bay, her answer was less about infrastructure and more about perspective.
She wishes more people could see the opportunities that exist right here.
And perhaps thatโs something many of us are guilty of overlooking. We become so accustomed to discussing the cityโs problems that we sometimes forget to acknowledge its possibilities.
A Bay of opportunities
When I asked Denise about the achievements sheโs particularly proud of during her time as CEO, the Chamberโs Bay of Opportunity campaign was high on her list.
The initiative was developed to showcase Nelson Mandela Bay as a place of investment, innovation and possibility, highlighting the businesses, industries and people who continue to contribute to the local economy.
For Denise, though, its significance goes beyond attracting outside investment.
Itโs also about giving the people who live here something to believe in.
The campaign has helped create a more positive conversation about the metro, encouraging residents and businesses to recognise the strengths that are sometimes overshadowed by the cityโs challenges.
And thereโs something quite powerful about that idea.
After all, itโs difficult to convince other people to believe in a place if those who call it home have stopped believing in it themselves.
Denise is particularly enthusiastic when speaking about the individuals and businesses who have embraced that message. Itโs clear that, for her, the campaignโs success isnโt simply about visibility or marketing. Itโs about helping people recognise what Nelson Mandela Bay already has to offer and what could still be achieved.
The woman behind the title
Of course, thereโs more to Denise than boardrooms, business development and conversations about the future of the metro.
Music, for one, is a constant in her life.
Whether sheโs at home, driving or sitting in her office, thereโs usually something playing. Itโs something she genuinely loves, even if she admits her musical enthusiasm isnโt necessarily matched by her sense of rhythm.
In fact, Denise laughingly admits that sheโs not entirely confident in her ability to clap along to a song without checking what the people around her are doing.
Itโs a wonderfully relatable admission from someone who otherwise appears so composed and confident.
And itโs these little details that make conversations like this so interesting.
Behind the professional title is someone who enjoys her music, can laugh at herself and becomes genuinely excited when talking about the city sheโs spent so much of her career working in.
Thereโs a warmth that emerges once the conversation moves beyond the formalities, particularly when sheโs speaking about the people and businesses who continue to give her hope for Nelson Mandela Bay.
Still believing in the Bay
What stayed with me after chatting to Denise wasnโt necessarily the impressive career or even the rather lovely story of an intern returning years later to lead the organisation where she started.
It was her continued belief in Nelson Mandela Bay.
After decades of working within the cityโs business community, she has seen both its successes and its frustrations. She knows the challenges arenโt going to disappear overnight, and she certainly isnโt suggesting that optimism alone will solve them.
But she also knows there are people here doing remarkable things, businesses worth celebrating and opportunities that deserve more attention.
And perhaps thatโs what makes her approach so refreshing.
In a city where itโs often easier to focus on everything thatโs going wrong, Denise is determined to keep reminding people of what could go right.
She might not always be entirely confident in her ability to keep a beat, but when it comes to what Nelson Mandela Bay is capable of becoming, her confidence is considerably stronger.
And after spending some time with her, itโs not difficult to understand why.
People of the Bay is a 041Online series proudly sponsored by Mastertons Coffee & Tea Specialists, celebrating the personalities, stories and people who make Nelson Mandela Bay what it is.
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