The South African CEO who went from earning under R2,000 to R2.1 million a month
Felicia Msiza’s career has taken her from earning less than R2,000 a month as a young articled clerk to heading a major South African infrastructure and construction group—earning over R2.1 million.
Msiza is the CEO of Raubex, one of South Africa’s leading infrastructure development and construction materials supply groups, with operations across southern Africa and Western Australia.
The group manages assets worth around R7.5 billion and has around 19,000 employees, including 9,200 directly employed by Raubex and a further 9,800 indirectly employed.
Msiza was born in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, and later moved with her family to Soshanguve, north of the capital.
She attended Agnes Chidi Primary School, Memezelo High School, and then Promat Private College, where she completed matric.
She went on to study towards a BCom degree, initially registering at the University of Pretoria and completing her qualification at Vista University.
She subsequently obtained a Higher Tax Diploma and an MBA. Her interest in strategy, governance and risk later led her to qualify as a Chartered Director (South Africa) through the Institute of Directors South Africa.
Msiza started her professional career as an articled clerk at Deloitte, where she said she earned less than R2,000 a month. More than two decades later, her remuneration has increased dramatically.
According to Raubex’s latest integrated report, her total emoluments increased by 32% in the 2026 financial year to R25.58 million, up from R19.38 million in 2025.
This works out to an average of about R2.13 million a month. Her basic salary rose by 6% in line with inflation. However, performance-linked remuneration accounted for much of the increase.
Her short-term incentive bonus increased by 42%, while her long-term incentive award rose by 67.5%.
The company’s chairman, Rudolf Fourie, linked the remuneration to the group’s operational performance.
“Raubex delivered a solid performance across its key operations, demonstrating the Group’s resilience in a year marked by persistent headwinds,” he said.
He also credited the executive committee, saying that the dedication and resilience demonstrated by Exco have played a pivotal role in sustaining Raubex’s growth trajectory.
Raubex’s strong growth
Among the most notable improvements was the turnaround in the Materials Handling and Mining Division.
Operating profit increased from just R4.2 million in 2025 to R444.9 million in 2026. The division’s operating margin consequently improved from 0.1% to 10.8%.
Bauba Resources’ mining operations played a significant role in the improvement, with the business moving from an operating loss of R235.8 million to an operating profit of R243.7 million.
The PGM plant at the Kookfontein mine was also successfully commissioned, with the company reporting that “PGM production exceeded expectations”.
Raubex’s Infrastructure division also recorded strong growth. Revenue increased by 30.2% to R4.35 billion, while operating profit climbed 42.2% to R426.9 million, supported by South African built-environment and renewable-energy contracts.
The group’s secured order book grew 11.6% to R31.46 billion, which the company described as “meaningful earnings visibility to stakeholders”.
Its net asset value increased 10.1% to R7.87 billion, while its debt covenant gearing ratio of 0.42 remained below the 0.70 limit.
Raubex was also named the preferred bidder for the Lebombo Border Post project, part of a government programme to upgrade six major border posts.
Additionally, the group reported a 44% reduction in lost-time injuries, with its overall rate falling to 0.19 against an internal target limit of 1.00.
Msiza has also received external recognition, having been announced as the African Business Leader of the Year for 2025 by African Leadership Magazine.
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