A lifetime of worthy causes

From helping to build a retail empire to championing education and women’s rights through her philanthropical initiatives, Wendy Ackerman, now 89, is proud to have been part of South Africa’s journey of growth and transformation. Co-founder and Honorary Life President of Pick n Pay Stores, Ackerman is one of this year’s two Kirsh Family Lifetime Achievement Award winners. 

“I’m not ambitious and I’m not a person who looks for publicity,” says Ackerman. “I’m observant – I see needs, and I try and help fill them in my own quiet way. That’s how I’ve always done things.” 

Together with her late husband, Raymond Ackerman, she helped to build Pick n Pay, which today has about 2 000 stores and employs nearly 90 000 people. Yet, guided by a philosophy rooted in the Jewish value of tikkun olam (repair the world), Ackerman has fulfilled a role that goes far beyond commercial success throughout her decades-long career. 

“Both my husband and I, as very young people, had horrible experiences of antisemitism,” she says. “This made us aware of the underdog, and we dedicated our lives to fighting prejudice and divisiveness.” In the days of apartheid, this often meant crossing boundaries. 

“We broke the law, left, right and centre,” Ackerman says. Often called into the president’s office as a result, her husband was nevertheless never arrested. “Years later, former president FW De Klerk told him, ‘Half the Cabinet wanted to put you in jail, and the other half said you’d get too much publicity.’ Raymond was disappointed he never went to jail because he wanted to see whether he’d get publicity,” she laughs. 

Ackerman herself remained dedicated to ensuring that Pick n Pay could be a force for social good. “I fought for black managers to have access to housing; for black cashiers to serve customers; and for women to be recognised as senior professionals in retail. These were bold steps at the time, but they set the tone not only for our business but for the wider industry.” 

This spirit underpins her ongoing philanthropical work and lifelong commitment to empowering others and breaking barriers. For example, both the Ackerman Family Educational Trust, launched in the 1970s, and the Ackerman Pick n Pay Foundation, founded in 1997, have enabled sustainable development through education, entrepreneurship, and job creation. 

Long before the government implemented policies amid the rising rate of HIV in South Africa, Ackerman introduced workplace education and antiretroviral drug access at Pick n Pay, saving countless lives. 

A champion for women’s rights, she also co-founded the 1000 Women Trust to fight gender-based violence and provide resources including shelters, advice centres, and survivor support initiatives. “I read a lot,” Ackerman says. “When you read 19th century novels, you see the appalling way women have been treated through the centuries. My husband always said I would have been a suffragette, and I probably would have been one, right in the front.” 

When Ackerman was once asked to make a speech at an event, she was introduced as the chairperson’s wife. “I got up and said, ‘I am not the chairperson’s wife. I am a person in my own right. I am Wendy Ackerman, a director of Pick n Pay.’” Nobody ever called me the chairperson’s wife again.” 

Having married young, Ackerman had her first child at 20. “My husband was always interested in retailing,” she recalls. “He wanted to go to America to study supermarketing, and a new course came up called ‘Modern merchandising methods’. I thought carefully, and realised that in 20 years, my son would be off at university, and I’d be left high and dry.” 

So she left her baby with her mother, and joined her husband in America, where she studied alongside him. Here, they learned about the importance of “serving the consumer, not the shareholder, and not ourselves”. Ackerman hopes that this philosophy will remain Pick n Pay’s legacy. 

She also speaks of various initiatives which reflect her eclectic interests. For example, when her daughter was deemed too young to go to school, Ackerman built a bigger school to accommodate her. 

“Then a friend of mine asked me to come to Soweto to teach English and run a Shakespeare Festival at the English Academy,” she says. “The person who was running it was ill, and I had to take over. That’s been my life. Things have happened, and things have needed to be done. I never said, ‘I can’t do it.’” 

Inspired by her domestic worker’s grandson who is autistic, Ackerman contacted Rotary a few years ago and established a school for autistic students in Cape Town’s townships, which has grown from 28 to more than 100 students. “When the boy outgrew the school, he was sitting at home again, and it just hit me one night,” she recalls. “I jumped up out of my shower, nearly injuring myself, and ran down to tell my husband I was starting a workshop for sheltered employment for autistic people.” 

Within six months, Noluthando Sheltered Employment Workshop, one of Ackerman’s proudest accomplishments, was born. Providing job opportunities in carpentry, sewing, weaving, and gardening for young adults with autism, Noluthando means help. “It’s just a start, but we’ve got 16 people whose lives we’ve managed to change,” she says. 

Stemming from her long-held passion for music and nurturing talent, Ackerman has also run bursary schemes for aspiring musicians, many of whom now perform at the world’s leading concert halls and opera houses. “Through the Duet Endowment Trust for the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and Cape Town Opera, I have worked to ensure the sustainability of the arts in our city,” she says. “Nurturing young talent and watching it flourish on the global stage is one of my greatest joys.” 

In 2024, Ackerman received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from Stellenbosch University, recognising her decades of philanthropic work and contributions to the arts and education. 

She remains inspired by the courage and integrity of her late husband, who she calls her mentor and role model. “From our earliest days in business, we worked side by side, not just as business partners but as life partners, learning from each other, and building a partnership based on trust, shared vision, and mutual respect,” she says.