Women’s Month Spotlight: Get to Know Heidi Meintjes, CFO of DPD

As Chief Financial Officer at DPD and the only women on the executive board, Heidi plays a central role in shaping the company’s direction and has paved the way for fellow female leaders to take their rightful place at the top. She brings depth, perspective and a deep sense of purpose to everything she does. In every conversation, you get the sense that she’s building something bigger and lifting others up with her. Her career journey is rich with lessons in growth, resilience and intention, and it all started with a decision to get closer to the heart of the business.

After completing her B.Compt (Hons), Heidi began her career at a small KPMG office in Bloemfontein. Over three years of articles, she immersed herself in a wide range of disciplines – from auditing and forensic work to financial management and operations. It was during this time that she discovered her passion lay in the day-to-day reality of business, not in observing from the sidelines. She wanted to be involved, make decisions and influence outcomes for her customers.

That clarity led her to a management accountant role within a Barloworld subsidiary, where she would go on to spend the next 16 years shaping the future of this powerful business. Heidi moved through several business units and eventually found herself in the transport division, a space that challenged and energised her. She describes this chapter as one of high involvement and fast learning, where the dynamic pace of the industry gave her space to grow her leadership instincts.

Her next role was as Chief Financial Officer of a national truck rental company, where she expanded her experience beyond finance to include HR, IT and board-level strategy. It was a chapter defined by new challenges, responsibility and an ever-growing understanding of how to lead across disciplines – a skill that made her the perfect candidate to lead DPD.

Upon joining DPD in July 2023, Heidi was instantly attracted to role for its strategic and operational depth, but also for its timing. The company had recently undergone a merger and was at a pivotal point in its evolution. “What excited me most was the opportunity to help shape something new,” she says. “As an exco team, we’ve spent the last two years setting the strategy, defining the culture, and aligning on clear financial and operational targets. We’re on a journey to greatness.”

Today, Heidi’s approach to leadership is anchored in self-awareness and values. She credits early executive coaching and mentorship with helping her understand her strengths and build a leadership style rooted in alignment, empathy, and courage. “I’ve always had a strong sense of direction, but those experiences helped me understand how to lead others with clarity and conviction,” she explains.

Throughout her career, she’s drawn inspiration from the leaders she’s worked with, who shaped the way she thinks about people, business and growth. From them she learned to lead with respect, think mindfully, pursue continuous improvement and meet challenges head-on with courage and integrity. When asked what lessons have made the biggest impact on her journey, she mentions two: The power of active listening and a quote by Viktor Frankl, that continues to guide her to this day – “between the stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space lies our freedom and power to choose our responses. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Heidi is also passionate about the role companies like DPD can play in helping women grow, both within the business and beyond. She speaks highly of DPD’s focus on internal development through leadership programmes, job shadowing and succession planning. “These opportunities show that with the right mindset and willingness to invest in yourself, there is real room to grow.” She believes businesses also have a responsibility to create access for women-led enterprises by actively integrating them into supply chains, offering mentorship, and enabling real collaboration.

To women hoping to grow their own businesses or take on leadership roles, Heidi shares this: “Be courageous. Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with people who share your values. Be intentional in your work, knowing that real growth takes effort. Stay curious, stay enthusiastic, and see every challenge as an opportunity to grow.”

At DPD, Heidi is helping shape our strategy and creating space for progress, all while proving what’s possible when women are given the opportunity to lead with heart, wisdom and vision.