Full Name: Aneesh Misra

Position and Company Name: CEO of Sedibeng Iron Ore and MD of IMR South Africa

Main Activity of the Company: Iron-ore mining

Date and Place of Birth: July 26, 1993, Varanasi, India

Education: BEng (Materials Science and Engineering), First-Class Hons, Imperial College, London, 2015

First Job: I joined Trafigura PTE, one of the world’s largest commodity trading houses, as part of its undergraduate training programme in 2015. I initially worked on the nonferrous trading desk, before joining the Copper & Zinc Concentrates team in May 2016

Size of First Pay Packet: Not stated

Career Path to Date: Having worked for Trafigura until 2018, starting in the nonferrous space and progressing from the copper concentrates book to the refined copper book, I decided to widen my skills-set in other commodities with IMR, where the potential to develop the iron-ore book was presented. Within IMR, since 2018, the roles I have occupied have changed from trading to business development and eventually to executive management

Value of Assets under Your Control: Not stated

Number of People Under Your Leadership: 850 people

Management Style: Performance-driven, fair, empathetic, encouraging and energetic

Personal Best Achievement: Successfully navigating the company through Covid-19, particularly during the Level 4 and 5 lockdowns, when there was so much uncertainty about the wellbeing and safety of both our employees and our business

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My father – for his work ethic, commitment, drive, line of thinking, and ability to manage multiple issues without losing his composure

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: My father, for the reasons mentioned above. From the corporate perspective, it is Raoul Bajaj, who was my principal and head of Trafigura India, where I started my career

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Nelson Mandela

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Andrew Carnegie, JRD Tata and Dhirubhai Ambani

Philosophy of Life: To always work hard smartly, and to keep knocking on the door of opportunity, because, if you do not knock, that door will never open

Biggest Ever Opportunity: Coming to South Africa, where I have been able to embrace a new lifestyle and culture, and to understand the country’s tricky working environment. Conducting business here teaches me something new every day

Biggest Ever Disappointment: Suffering a major rugby injury, an anterior cruciate ligament tear, in my knee, which meant I could not play rugby for an entire season and had to postpone commencing my university studies by a year. However, from such a disappointment came a lot of learning, particularly with regard to patience and understanding that events in life happen for a reason and that good things come to those who wait

Hope For the Future: To continue growing the business that is not only commercially viable, but also sustainable, and in areas that are forward-looking to adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Favourite Reading: Noughts & Crosses, by Malorie Blackman, and The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga

Favourite TV Programme: Big Bang Theory, Billions and Friends

Favourite Food/Drink: Red wine and anything Italian

Favourite Music: Chilled House Music and any track by Rufus Du Sol, Kygo or Lane 8

Favourite Sport: Rugby, Formula One and running

Hobbies: Running, tennis, listening to music and spending time with friends

Car: Not stated

Pets: A gold Labrador called Leo

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Dishonesty and disloyalty