The Chicago-born chief executive officer (CEO) of Shell Mauritius has come to appreciate what she calls the “small island politics blended with diversity”. Her flexibility is instantly obvious and a real necessity in a job that has taken her all over the world.

Sheri Updike is refreshingly candid. Her arrival, from The Hague in Holland, in the direct wake of cyclone Dina, in January 2002, illustrates her ability to adapt. She was heavily pregnant, about to undertake a top position in a top company and the island that greeted her had just been ravaged by a tropical cyclone. “Dina was really bad but I’d never been here before so I didn’t know any better.”

Everything went smoothly though and Sheri gave birth to a healthy boy, Hart, at Darné Clinic. Her husband, Lee John, who arrived in Mauritius five months after Sheri, works for a financial services firm in Port-Louis. “Moving to a foreign country either breaks or strengthens your marriage”.

Fortunately, in Sheri and Lee John’s case, it was the latter. She is also very upbeat about raising two year-old Hart in a place like Mauritius. “He’s very free here. He spends his time on the beach.” She’s also ecstatic about having left the grey skies of Holland behind. “We hated the weather there,” she chuckles.

As far as the business environment is concerned, Sheri was rather taken aback. “It’s more formal here. Europe and the United States have gone business casual. It’s also a lot more serious than the rest of Africa.” As CEO of Shell, Sheri has 175 employees to manage and a company that enjoys 42% of the market share.

Was it difficult to make her mark on what is still considered a man’s domain in Mauritius? “People were shocked to see that a woman would be running Shell. And a pregnant woman at that! But Shell has a great team so everything was all right,” she responds emphatically.

Living on an island can’t be just business though. Unfortunately, work does occupy the bulk of Sheri’s time and what’s left is entirely devoted to the apple of the couple’s eye, Hart. “I ran marathons before Hart arrived. He’s our hobby now. We also used to do long-distance biking but I’m scared to death of getting run over here.”

For those who’ve just alighted on our fair isle, Sheri has a handy tip. “Word of mouth is the way things get done here.” Her advice is not limited to foreigners though. According to her, Mauritians would do well to just stop and appreciate what they have. “Mauritians beat themselves up too much. They don’t seem to realize that the situation they live in is unique.” She’s also realistic about how politicised the place is. “Everything is political here. It makes life fun. It’s like living a Harvard case study.”