ABOUT SARAY KHUMALO
award winning Mountaineer
Saray is an award winning Mountaineer, a Guinness World Record holder and an author who provides world-class Transformational Coaching to entrepreneurs, executives, business professionals and sales teams all over the world.
As an experienced business executive, she has a solid track record in some of South Africa’s leading financial institutions as an eCommerce and Loyalty Specialist.
In 2019, on her fourth attempt, Saray summited Mount Everest, becoming the first Black African woman to summit Mount Everest — a demonstration of her resilience, irrespective of her starting point and past unsuccessful attempts. Saray uses a combination of mountaineering triumphs and her ability to steer businesses to partner with organisations that are on a transformational journey to enable individuals and teams to identify their personal and business goals, explore and unleash their full potential and achieve set goals.
She is the founder of summits with a purpose, an initiative that has raised funds and built physical and digital libraries in disadvantages African schools. She believes that literacy and education has the power to change the narrative for the next generation.
PERSONAL LIFE
ideology manifested in professional career
Saray Khumalo’s life is a testament to the power of resilience and unwavering belief. Her personal journey, marked by conquering both physical and mental mountains, fuels her transformational speaking. Her ideology, deeply rooted in the conviction that limitations are self-imposed, is manifested in her ability to inspire audiences to break through their own barriers and achieve extraordinary feats. She doesn’t just speak about overcoming challenges; she embodies it, drawing from her own experiences to empower others.
Her notable roles include Head of Spend at the FNB Rewards Programme, New Business Development Manager at FNB, Internet Business Specialist at e-postal (a division of South African Post Office), Divisional manager at Discovery Vitality and most recently, Head of Partner Rewards and eCommerce at Momentum Multiply.
In 2019, on her fourth attempt, Saray summited Mount Everest, becoming the first Black African woman to do so — a demonstration of her resilience, irrespective of her starting point and past unsuccessful attempts.
SARAY’S PURPOSE
first Black African woman to summit Mount Everest
Becoming the first Black African woman to summit Mount Everest is an accolade that’s more than about her. It’s a legacy that people, especially Black women, around the world can draw strength from to summit their own mountains. And keep rising above the clouds.
It is for this reason that Saray uses a combination of mountaineering triumphs and her ability to steer businesses to partner with organisations that are on a transformational journey to enable individuals and teams to identify their personal and business goals, explore and unleash their full potential and achieve set goals, through Transformational Coaching.
She shares her story through motivational talks and as a keynote speaker to inspire individuals and groups, that it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from – you can still change the world.
Saray’s story does not begin nor end with Everest, it is part of her journey, to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam, a challenge to reach the North Pole, South Pole and all the Seven Summits, in her quest to raise funds to go towards the education of an African child.
The story of Saray Khumalo is about being deliberate in breaking the shackles of convention, it is about triumph.
SARAY KHUMALO ACCOLADES
Her business excellence and indefatigable mountaineering spirit have been widely recognised and have received accolades that include:
Charlpotte Maxeke Women award of Firsts in the Sports category, 2020
Ministrial Recognition Award from the Minister of Sports & Recreation, 2018
Woman of Stature Award (in the Sports category), 2020
MMI Lesedi Award, 2017
GSports Woman of the Year, 2019
Klipdrift Golden Endurance, 2014