Michelle Krastanov, head of the sponsor team at Arbor Capital headquartered in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, greets us with a firm handshake and a warm smile, and we soon get talking about how she got to lead the business responsible for 60% of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) AltX listings last year.
Krastanov started her career in 1987 at a time the word ‘businesswoman’ was still gaining currency, as just one of three female article clerks of more than 30 at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
“I was told by a female manager I was lucky to have been employed because I am female. When I went out to meetings, I was often asked by men, ‘what’s a pretty little thing like you doing here?’, so as soon as I said anything intelligent they would be mightily impressed,” says Krastanov.
The firm’s auditing contract with one of its clients was coming to a close. That year, Krastanov’s manager made her assistant manager, leading the client’s audit. She worked hard. PwC eventually tendered for the audit again because the whole dynamic had changed with Krastanov at the helm.
“Over the years, they have changed their hiring to over 50% women, and it’s a job very well-suited to a woman – there’s a lot of attention to detail.”
In 1994, after seven years at PwC, Krastanov became part of a joint venture and following a restructuring, she and another partner decided to take over the business where she acted as a corporate advisor. In 2001, the JSE changed its listing requirements, which the business was not able to meet, and being pregnant with her eldest son at the time, Krastanov chose to hand over her clients.
“I decided to be responsible and get a job. Arcay gave me a call because they were wanting to become sponsors and they needed a documentation specialist. Within three weeks we had our JSE sponsor license… And most of the clients I handed over found me,” she says.
Krastanov’s greatest challenge, like many women, has been finding a balance between her personal and work life. Most difficult for her was when in 2013, shortly after Arcay Capital, now Arbor, was bought out by Krastanov and her partners, her youngest son, Matthew, had a brain haemorrhage – the result of a condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). After hours researching AVM, Krastanov found local treatment and an MRI earlier this year revealed Matthew’s condition is improving.
Krastanov is dedicated to her roles, both as a mother and manager, however, she suffered a major setback to her health when she was diagnosed with breast cancer after an abnormal cyst became inflamed.
Earlier this year, she underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction. The operation was a success.
On her cancer experience, she says: “I didn’t get angry and I didn’t get upset… my interest was in surviving for my kids. When you’ve got kids, you take different decisions and if I compare it to what happened with Matthew, this was easy – this was controllable because it was my decision.”
Krastanov concludes that if being a woman in business has taught her anything, it is that you have to consistently work hard and prove yourself.