DENISE THIEBALT

DENISE THIEBALT - SOUTH AFRICA

After graduating from Santa Clara University, having earned my degree in Social and
Environmental Justice, with a minor in Women’s Studies, my desire to lead with consciousness, compassion and competence in whatever field I ultimately chose was solidified. Living my life with my ideals at the forefront enabled me to meet the man I married, our marriage being what I am most proud of in my life.

My proudest achievement in business is having managed the relocation of an American technology consulting firm, created in 1995, overseas, to the “new South Africa,” a country that has only been free of legalized apartheid for ten years. Specifically, I am responsible for all corporate administration, including the financial accounting for a business that deals with activities in two different countries, in two different currencies, and adhering to two different national tax years.

My project, successfully running a bed and breakfast, allows my husband and myself to first, enhance the quality of our lives and second, to stretch ourselves in a different business direction, in a niche new to us both. I will be shifting my role from a support function, which I currently have in our consulting firm, to being a partner in and owner of the business. Besides running the bed and breakfast, I am committed to promoting a balance of conservation, sustainability and development of the natural environment and the tourism industry, mindful of the current explosive growth rate of the area. As we have done in the past, a percentage of our business profits will be donated back into the community.