Visionary | Strategist | Dot Connector | Problem Solver | Critical Thinker | Master Diagnostician

Leadership defined:

“The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. He depends for his power on his ability to make others powerful.

My job was to awaken possibility in other people.”

 

– Benjamin Zander, Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra

 

“Manage the top line: your strategy, your people, and your products, and the bottom line will follow.”

– Steve Jobs

My Brand

“A brand is a promise made and kept in the marketplace.”

-McKinsey & Co.

My promise:

What I will do:

  • I see dots to connect that other don’t
  • Subsequently, I will understand your big picture better and faster than most
  • Consequently:
    • I will understand the systemic forces (cause-effect) of your business
    • I will approach your requirements from angles never done before
  • So, fortunately, I will get to the root of your problem and define it even with limited information available

Why I am able to do what I do so well:

  • I think systemically in just about every context
    • I have a rare left-right brain balance
    • This gives me a very holistic view of the world – blending creativity, science, people and systems
  • I apply “first principle thinking” like Elon Musk to evaluate any context
  • I subsequently don’t accept everything as is but challenge its validity first

How I will do it:

  • I will NOT oversimplify your situation
  • I will NOT mistake symptoms for root causes
  • I will do, what I say I will do, when I said I will do it.
  • I will communicate clearly and frequently
  • I will fearlessly challenge the status quo without alienating
  • I will inspire you to be better

Integrity is….

 “…a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values (incorruptibility); an unimpaired condition (soundness); the quality or state of being complete or undivided (completeness)…”

 My Integrity is at stake if I don’t honour these promises

 

Biography

Academic history and current status

I completed a B.A. at U.F.S in 1993, a B. Eng. (Industrial) at Stellenbosch in 1997 followed by an M.B.A. (Finance) (Cum Laude) in 2002 and finally a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) in 2020.   In 2012 I took the Mensa test just to see if I could pass. I did. 

<< Since semi-retirement in 2021, I spent a lot of time pursuing my hobby as photographer  and love using my knowledge to serve Paarl Gimnasium in various activities >>

History

I started my career as project manager at The Marketing Shop (now Knowstosis)

My job as side-kick to the MD was fast paced. He said if I could learn as fast as he could teach he will take me everywhere he went. I did. My learning curve was vertical for almost two years. Our company was listed, I became a director and he the CEO; my learning curve waned and I did not agree with the direction that the new divisional MD was taking us on. Boredom set in and I fell for RMB‘s advertisement that they employ engineers and sought a career with them.

Once there, we brought the RMB philosophy to FNB and I soon ran the culture change program for the branch network. I implemented the “How can we help you?” philosophy. It resulted in me being Wendy Lucas-Bull’s (CEO) assistant. After that, I was working in FirstRand‘s technology incubator which was both sexy and frustrating because everything had to go through channels and I am too much of an entrepreneur to wait for slow wheels of corporate banking to turn.

So I rejoined my mentor as a shareholder and ran the whole company. Meanwhile, I completed my MBA (cum laude). This made me a rounded consultant more than anything else. In fact, having had to implement change first hand at FirstRand, I came back into consulting much less naive and my strategies were now much more practical.

I bought all the shares from my mentor in 2004 and have loved steering my company where I wanted it to be ever since. This meant breaking open new markets in Australia and Europe, diving into major opportunities like turning around a R500M+ company and simply using my skill and expertise to improve businesses where ever the opportunity presents itself. I’ve worked in automotive, education, government, agriculture, transport and hospitality.

Between 2015 and 2020 I was involved in major litigation as plaintiff and expert witness with another expert holding, among other qualifications a CFE. I saw the value of the qualification, enrolled and completed the CFE in 2020.

I think big and systemically about just about everything and am at my best in charge of a large team of competent people. If I can share and implement my vision, so much better.