Meet Marion Ten Cate
"Yes we need to work hard and strive for excellence. However, every success achieved is a gift from God, a result of His favour and grace over our lives, and the lives of our agents."
Marion ten Cate is much more than just a well-established real estate agent. This professionally qualified woman left behind an illustrious career in the banking industry before she and her husband settled in Malalane nearly ten years ago.
Marion was born in Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal as the daughter of a local pharmacist, Heno Liebenberg, and his homemaker wife, Audrey. She is the third of four children. The family later moved to Roodepoort, where she grew up as an adventurous little tomboy.
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Her fulfilling journey within the banking industry started in 1990. It was at Absa Bank, where she also met her soulmate, Henk ten Cate. They were married in 1995.
By 2000 she held the position of group regulatory consultant, where she played an influential role in the development and implementation of inter-bank trade agreements. As the first female chairperson on the inter-bank forum and having successfully led the implementation of various complex initiatives within the industry, the Absa Group recognised her leadership abilities. She was selected for a prestigious three-year intense leadership development programme, where she gained global exposure in China and Japan.
In 2008, having completed a LLB and LLM in corporate law through Unisa, she was admitted as an attorney and continued providing legal and consultative services to the industry within Southern Africa. The need for quality of life amid the busy and long work hours became a strong concern for both Marion and Henk.
The opportunity arose in 2011 to move to Malalane. During their first two years in town she mostly commuted to Gauteng and back, assisting the industry regulator in developing a training programme in the specialised field and facilitated the training of hundreds of students in the banking industry.
Focused on the goal of setting down roots within the Lowveld, she finally found the courage to follow a long-awaited opportunity and opened a Century 21 franchise in 2014. As Century 21, the world’s largest real estate company, was unknown to the Onderberg, it required aggressive and extensive brand-building initiatives.
Today, Century 21 Kruger South is a very successful real estate agency, with the majority market share in certain areas. In the past five years she has received many accolades within the group, such as brand ambassador of the year for two consecutive years, a first in the history of the group; she also received runner-up franchisee of the year and more recently made history again as the first branch with 100 per cent of their agents awarded the prestigious Pearl Award Agent status. Over the past five years, the team has collectively brought home 26 awards.
“I continue consultative services within the banking industry on a selective basis, however, it is in real estate where I am fueled daily. Beautiful people, opening their real lives to us and entrusting us with what many regard as their most prized asset. What an honour that is!
“Yes we need to work hard and strive for excellence. However, every success achieved is a gift from God, a result of His favour and grace over our lives, and the lives of our agents. I am so grateful for the people surrounding me, people more talented and skilled in their respective roles than I am,” said Marion.
