Full Name: Pieter du Preez

Position and Company Name: CFO at Blyvoor Gold

Main Activity of the Company: Blyvoor Gold is a South African gold mining company operating the Blyvoor mine, on Johannesburg’s West Rand. The company is led by an agile leadership team and strong investors, who have built a high-quality, long-term, profitable mining asset offering steady growth and low costs, and produces 40 000 oz/y at an all-in sustaining cost of less than $1 000/oz

Date and Place of Birth: February 10, 1968, Johannesburg

Schools and Tertiary Education: BCom (Hons), University of Johannesburg; Chartered Financial Analyst

First Job: Graduate trainee in the Mineral Economics Division at Gold Fields of South Africa (GFSA)

Size of First Pay Packet: R1 800 a month (if my memory serves me well)

Career Path to Date: Group economist at GFSA; financial economist and analyst at stockbroker EW Balderson; corporate finance executive at Radagast Capital; Sasfin Capital; Touchstone Capital, which I founded; and CFO at Taung Gold, the controlling shareholder of which is listed in Hong Kong

Value of Assets under Your Control: Market capitalisation of more than R6-billion

Number of People under Your Leadership: 1 800 (directly and indirectly), and this number is set to grow to 5 000 as we ramp up operations at the mine

Management Style: Collaborative

Personal Best Achievement: Every time I raised money for an SME mining company

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My wife – she is my life companion and perfect joint venture partner

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Every manager with a red pen (that was in the era before desktop and laptop computers)

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Ben Shapiro

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Elon Musk – a serial entrepreneur

Philosophy of Life: If it were easy, everyone would be doing it

Biggest Ever Opportunity: Joining the Blyvoor team

Biggest Ever Disappointment: Every time I failed to learn from a setback

Hope for the Future: That my generation leaves this world a better place – counterintuitively, this begins with each person first looking inward (attitude, not wallet) rather than outward

Favourite Reading: Biographies and religious philosophy

Favourite TV Programme: Sport (I don’t watch much else on television)

Favourite Food/Drink: A good whisky

Favourite Music: Cantorial

Favourite Sport: Golf

Hobbies: Reading and music

Car: Mitsubishi Pajero

Pets: Snowy, the Persian cat

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Lawlessness, fake news, confirmation bias and lazy research

Married: To Channa Kayla

Children: Liz, 28; David, 27

Clubs: Family, community