Vera Wehrle
Director

German-born Vera Wehrle moved to South Africa 13 years ago with no thought of becoming part of a leading IT company.

She had first visited the country as a part of a student exchange programme and 'really liked it' so when the opportunity arose to travel after graduating with a business science degree from university in the south of Germany, she 'came over and stayed'.

She had never worked in IT or even studied computer science so when she was employed by oil giant Caltex, her career path changed forever.

'It was sheer luck that Caltex needed someone to translate training manuals into English,' she says. Caltex was, at the time, implementing its SAP system (SAP is the market leader in ERP systems) and that's how Wehrle met Celestine Donough, her partner in Software Colors.

As a director and shareholder in Software Colors, Wehrle is responsible for operations, finance and administration and heads up the SAP division of Software Colors.

Her business science background creates confidence in business clients and allows her to communicate in business language rather than IT jargon to business clients looking for an IT partner that understands their needs.

"Our ability to cater for clients' need beyond technical know-how is what differentiates Software Colors from other providers," says Wehrle.

Cool and composed, she provides a perfect foil for Donough's palpable energy and enthusiasm yet clearly the pair is driven by the same mission to be the best service provider of application software services in South Africa.

Donough and Wehrle made Software Colors into the external service provider of application system products and services that the company is today. This included creating bespoke software for corporate clients in South Africa, creating their own Internet based software products and implementing large SAP projects in South Africa and Europe.

Like Donough, Wehrle believes in the power of business combined with effective IT. 'You have to combine the two to show the measurable benefit that clients want to see,' she says. 'Projects such as the rollout of the Tiscover Destination Marketing system complement Software Colors' business very nicely and benefits from the know-how gathered by Software Colors in past years.'

Wehrle says gambling and tourism are major growth industries on the Internet. 'Tourism, and business in South Africa, is bursting with opportunities - opportunities that Software Colors can maximise for our clients as a result of our extensive experience."

It's a full time job considering the breadth of the undertaking but Wehrle still finds time to take advantage of some of the very reasons that Cape Town is a premier tourist destination.

'I love walking and hiking on Table Mountain, reading, dancing, going to the theatre and spending time with friends. That's how I relax,' she says.

Oh, and she loves travelling too!