The Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sanlam General Insurance Ghana, Mrs Mabel Nana Nyarkoa Porbley, has challenged Christians to let their faith and the teachings of Christ inform their personal values, work ethic and how they do business.

Mrs Porbley who was speaking at the 4th Edition of the weekly Practical Christianity Hangout last Wednesday at ICGC, The New Wine Temple in East Legon, shared her surprise at being given a list of people who had defaulted on loans and absconded and seeing many Christians on the list.

“You can’t say you’re a practical Christian if you will pray for 5 hours but will not commit to paying back a loan you took for your own benefit”, Mrs Probley intimated.

The Practical Christianity Hangout, an initiative of The New Wine Temple and its partner organisations, brings together leaders and potential leaders for practical conversations about the critical success factors for personal and professional development as well as the role of faith in the journeys of various leaders.

Various leaders in the Agribusiness, Hospitality, Construction, Media, Advertising and Financial Services have so far taken their turn to share their experiences and lessons.

Mrs Porbley traced her career progression to how she was raised and the foundation of a very supportive family. She shared how she began her career in a not-for-profit as a personal assistant and rose to become a senior executive in six years.

The experienced executive got the audience excited as she shared her diverse experiences of turning around different loss-making companies to become profitable. She challenged young professionals to position themselves for leadership.

“If you do not stick up out of the pack, you won’t get noticed. Improve yourself and determine not to be ordinary or like everybody else. And in all things, make your first impressions count”, she advised.

Taking his turn, Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO of UMB Bank, Ghana, traced his 27-year career journey that had taken him to several African countries as well as the United Kingdom and intimated that it often felt like a dream.

He spoke about the different kinds of barriers and challenges he had had to overcome and challenged the youth to make the most of their formative years.

“Make the most of your time, especially your youthful days; they are the most exciting and the most definitive time of your life”, he said.

He shared how he often found himself as the youngest person in the executive team and how the early exposure helped shape his leadership and outlook on life. 

He also shared about the role prayer played in his professional journey and how it kept him grounded in the face of difficult situations.

The in-person and virtual participants asked questions on a wide range of issues and expressed their satisfaction at what they saw to be a highly beneficial session.  

An online participant, Daniel Dadson from the UK wrote, “Even though I am unable to participate in person, I am glad my questions were answered. I will certainly join the online stream again next Wednesday.”

“My high point was the networking and cocktail session afterwards where I got to speak freely with all these high-level executives and take pictures with them. It was simply amazing”, said Genevieve Mensah.

Organizers of the Practical Christianity Hangout, Rev. Albert and Comfort Ocran, expressed their satisfaction at the content and patronage so far. 

They indicated their intention to bring together more high-profile leaders from various sectors in these weekly conversations that seek to build professional networks, mentor emerging leaders and also create jobs for the unemployed.