Full Name: Freddy Mugeri

Position and Company Name: CEO of Hydro Power Equipment (HPE)

Main Activity of the Company: Established in 1985, HPE is a high-pressure water-powered drills, valves and other mining products and services provider

Date and Place of Birth: February 22, 1974, in Johannesburg

Education: BSc Eng, University of Cape Town; MPhil in International Business, Gordon Institute of Business Science; Government Certificate of Competence

First Job: Junior engineer

Career Path to Date: I have had a 29-year career spanning engineering, manufacturing, mining, banking and entrepreneurship

Number of People under Your Leadership: 559 employees

Management Style: Values-based and results-driven, focused on leading empowered, caring and high-performance teams

Personal Best Achievement: Co-founding Copaflo Pty Ltd, an investment company focused on manufacturing and industrialisation

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My father and mother, Richard and Selina Mugeri. They started several small entrepreneurial business ventures and instilled an entrepreneurial mindset in me

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Several people have influenced my career, each at different stages of my journey: Ian Langridge, engineering manager at Mondi Kraft; Richard Mkhonta; Talitha Tabane, fellow co-founder of Copaflo; Dawid Ras and Francois Malherbe, founders of Armadillo and Fabchem; and Anthony Harvett and Graeme Pattinson at ABSA and Standard Bank

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Patrice Motsepe

Philosophy of Life: Purpose + creativity + hard work + integrity and a bit of luck always pay off in God’s perfect time

Biggest Ever Opportunity: The blessing of co-founding Copaflo Pty Ltd (Mapungubwe), an investment company, in 2000, with ten fellow engineers. This profoundly influenced and later shaped  my career

Biggest Ever Disappointment: The deindustrialisation currently under way in South Africa. Employment is primarily created by getting people to produce goods and services. 

Hope For the Future: I pray and hope for a united Southern Africa that is at the cutting edge of the application of all relevant contemporary technologies

Favourite Reading: Zakes Mda’s And then there was a void, Engineering News & Mining Weekly, Economist and Harvard Business Review

Favourite TV Programme: How it’s made, BBC News, NewzRoom Africa, eNCA, and the occasional bingeworthy series that catches my attention

Favourite Food/Drink: Tea made with mineral-rich water from Tshiozwi village in Makhado, in Limpopo province

Favourite Music: South African music of various genres, international soul, pop, R&B and jazz

Favourite Sport: Soccer

Hobbies: Running, cycling, inventing and innovating in manufacturing and mining

Car: Toyota Prado – I appreciate its incredible off-road capabilities, even though I hardly go off-road these days

Pets: I wish to own two Labrador Retrievers at some stage in my life

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Untidiness, dishonesty and lack of integrity

Married: To Nobothwe Mugeri for more than 24 years now



Clubs: Run Zone Athletics Club