Full Name: Deon Van Den Berg

Position: Production manager at SBS Tanks

Main Activity of the Company: SBS Tanks is a manufacturer of liquid storage tanks

Date and Place of Birth: May 30, 1971, Pietermaritzburg

Education: Matric, Alexander High School; diploma in mechanical engineering, Durban Technikon; diploma in production management, Varsity College

First Job: I was a paramedic for six years

Career History Prior to Current Position: After working as a paramedic, I joined Dunlop in 1996, before moving to Concord Refrigeration Manufacturers, where I was operations manager for two years

Size of First Pay Packet: R3 500 a month

First Job with Present Group: Production manager

Value of Assets under Your Control: A few million rands

Number of People under Your Leadership: 67

Management Style: Everyone is unique and different management styles should be applied to manage different people

Personal Best Achievement: Fathering four children

Professional Best Achievement: Achieving quality ratings at Dunlop and implementing systems that are still being followed

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: God, and my best friend, Johan

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: One of my first bosses, Alison Lindsay

Person You Would Most Like to meet: Liam Neeson

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Dave Douglas

Philosophy of Life: Make a difference in someone else’s life and build relationships with people

Biggest Ever Opportunity: Working with different types of people over the years

Biggest Ever Disappointment: Failing my ex-wife and children – I am twice divorced. Professionally, my biggest disappointment was when I was mentored to become operations director, after which another person was brought in to take the position, although I continued to do all the work

Hope for the Future: South Africans working together to make the country a better place for all

Favourite Reading: The Bible

Favourite TV Programme: Suits

Favourite Food/Drink: Lamb chops and Flying Fish

Favourite Music: No specific genre – I like to listen to songs with meaningful lyrics

Favourite Sport: Rugby and mountain biking

Favourite Website: Gumtree and Facebook

Hobbies: Mountain biking

Car: Ford Kuga

Pets: Four dogs

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Conflict

Favourite Other South African Company: Ford

Favourite Foreign Company: Samsung

Married: To Yolandi, since November 6, 2016

Children: Macheila, Natasha, Stephanie and Owen

Clubs: Giba Gorge Mountain Biking Club (BMX Club)