Calendar

The Amrop Woodburn Mann Wildlife Calendar has been in production since 2006 and reflects our deep connection to the African continent. The images are taken by our Chairman and founder, Dr Trevor Woodburn, and our Managing Director, Andrew Woodburn and are enjoyed by wildlife and photography enthusiasts alike. The collection below is a photographic journey across the plains and oceans of Africa from calendars past.

January 2025

2025 0

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“Keeping an Eye on the Water Level”

Late afternoon this Elephant decided to cross the Chobe River, Botswana. As it swam into deeper water its beady eye kept a close watch on the water level.

Elephant – Loxodonta africana

The African Savanna (Bush) elephant is the world's largest land animal – with adult males, or bull Elephants, reaching a height of 3m and weighing up to 6 000kg on average. At birth, a baby Elephant can weigh in the region of 120kg. Males only reach their full size at 35-40 years which is well over half their lifespan as wild Elephants can live for up to 60 - 70 years.
Trunks: Elephants have around 150,000 muscle units in their trunk. Their trunks are perhaps the most sensitive organ found in any mammal. They use them to suck up water to drink (the trunk is able to contain up to 8 litres of water) and also use them as a snorkel when swimming.
Tusks: Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth which first appear when Elephants are around 2 years old. Their tusks continue growing throughout their lives and are used to help with feeding, prising bark off trees or digging up roots, or as a defense when fighting. As these beautiful tusks are made out of much desired ivory, Elephants are often poached for their tusks.

Nikon D7000, Sigma VR 150-500mm f4.5-6.3 G lens @ 150mm
Exposure Compensation - _.3 EV, 1/250 sec @ f8, ISO 800

Photograph by Avril Woodburn

Clara Woodburn

Clara is an Executive Coach who operates at the Exco level across several industries. She consistently becomes a sounding board for executives who often struggle to elevate their leadership to the next level when their boss, the CEO and peers sit on Exco alongside them as well. Clara’s clients have spanned Industrial, Mining, Engineering, Financial Services, Retail and Education both in South Africa and other Emerging Markets in different time zones.

Trained in various 360 assessment tools (The Leadership Circle, Lominger), Clara’s most effective approach is to conduct a thorough 360 before commencing a medium-term commitment of coaching. These 360 tools assess key leadership competencies, while uncovering leadership behavioural habits and assumptions that could limit leadership effectiveness. Clara carefully co-creates with her clients a development plan out of the 360 insights and systematically works through these agreements using the plan as a GPS. The executive coaching can be contained and impactful over a committed 6-month period but often also extends beyond following the progression of an executive’s continued career success.

Clara is a qualified Integral Coach from UCT Business School. The integral approach is holistic, maximizing potential both as a leader but also as an individual, addressing the body, mind and soul so change is fully embodied and integrated. With this background, Clara is comfortable coaching off piste and exploring the humanness of her clients, while always keeping what they committed to changing as the compass and looping firmly back as they close the relationship.

Born and educated in the UK, Clara has subsequently lived and worked in Egypt, UK, US before now living with her husband and children in South Africa. Clara’s career began in executive search which spanned three different continents over a decade. In New York, she transitioned to VP, Human Resources within a top tier US investment bank. When she moved to South Africa, she changed tack and pioneered building a wellness business which she led for another decade and successfully sold 5 years ago. Interacting with senior executives in search, followed by addressing burn-out and wellness with up and coming executives, has segued her skills fluently to coaching which she experiences as the confluence of her life experiences.

Steve Woodward

BA, Psychology (Wits), MBA (Brunel University London)

Steve Woodward is an experienced global business leader who has held senior executive positions including CEO and CHRO roles in large corporations in the USA, Europe and Africa. He has led business units, M&A projects and organizational transformation projects in these regions.

Steve was most recently the Chief People Officer (EVP: People and Culture) for Imperial Logistics – a global Logistics and Market Access business, operating in Europe and Africa. Steve was recruited in 2019 to lead the delivery of a single global Human Resources entity and to lead the change and transformation of Imperial Logistics after the unbundling of Motus from the Imperial Group. Steve retired from the group in February 2022 following the acquisition of Imperial by Dubai Ports World.

Previously, he was a partner in, and the Chief Operating Officer of, SAFEmap International – a leading organizational safety consultancy specializing in Risk Management and Culture and Leadership Development with offices in Canada, USA, Latin America, Australia, Europe and Africa whose clients include General Motors, Boeing, Southern California Edison, Southern Company, PotashCorp and BHP Billiton.

Steve worked for SABMiller for 20 years in Human Resources, Corporate Strategy and Senior General Management. He was CEO of Pilsner Urquell Breweries in the Czech Republic (SABMiller’s flagship European operation) CEO of SABMiller’s Slovakian, Romanian and European Export businesses and Managing Director of two smaller subsidiary brewing companies in South Africa. He also spent two years working on global human resources projects for the CEO of SABMiller in London and his last roles in SABMiller were as SVP Human Resources of Miller Brewing Company and Chief Human Resources Officer of MillerCoors based in Chicago, Illinois from 2007-2011

He has guided global change programs to drive economies of scale through global shared service projects and through best practice transfer and the implementation of global learning and talent management systems. Steve led the operational due diligence for SABMiller’s multibillion $ acquisition of the Bavaria business in Latin America and was a member of the executive team which led the multibillion $ Miller Brewing and Coors Brewing merger and integration between 2008 and 2010.

Prior to SAB, Steve worked in the Mining Industry in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana for Anglo American and De Beers for 10 years in the fields of Labor Relations and Human Resources being appointed to the position of SVP: HR for Anglo in Botswana.

He was previously a member of the Faculty of the Lake Forest Graduate School, Illinois where he has lectured online MBA students in International Business. He is a past member of the LFGS Business Advisory Council. He is a certificated executive coach and mentor and is a member of Menttium and the Global Learning Network.

He is a member of the Advisory Board of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company based in Chico California