Full Name: Sean Drishner

Position and Company Name: MD and CEO of Mezuzah Security Services

Main Activity of the Company: Mezuzah Security Services is a proudly South African security services company

Date and Place of Birth: Tel Aviv, Israel

Schools and Tertiary Education: Saxonwold Primary School, Kind David Linksfield High School and the University of South Africa, where I obtained a BCom degree in marketing

First Job: I worked in furniture sales after completing school. Before that, I worked as a waiter as a teenager

Size of First Pay Packet: When I worked in furniture sales, my commission was R5 000 a month on average

Career Path to Date: I spent much of 2003 and 2004 in Monsey, New York, US, honing my business skills and acumen across industries such as high-end catering, luxury goods importing, and cross-border road freight logistics. I returned to South Africa in 2004, establishing a short-distance transport company with my father. In 2014, we set our sights on the security services industry, combining our military experience to form Mezuzah Security Services in 2015. In 2017, my father and I established Mezuzah Property Management, beginning our journey in investing in property and the development thereof, mainly in downtown Johannesburg. I am currently involved in the design of several security-related applications

Value of Assets under Your Control: Not stated

Number of People under Your Leadership: 220 employees

Management Style: I try to lead by example, demonstrating the highest level of commitment to my role, which, hopefully, inspires my employees

Personal Best Achievement: Running a marathon

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My wife and children

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Attie vun Burryn, a life and business coach

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Jurgen Klopp, manager of English football team Liverpool. Although I am not a fan of the club, I am fascinated by his persona – his constant smile and positive energy in such a stressful position and environment is very admirable

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Renney Plit, who was a director and shareholder of Afhco Holdings. I was blown away by the time he made for so many of his employees and colleagues around him, including me, although I was not an employee of his

Philosophy of Life: Live simply; enjoy the small moments and be grateful for all you have

Biggest Ever Opportunity: To have been given the platform to speak at an underprivileged school in the inner city

Biggest Ever Disappointment: There have been many, although most have turned out to be blessings. For instance, I could say that I was extremely disappointed that I had given up on living in the US and decided to come back to South Africa. Returning to this country afforded me my greatest opportunity – finding my wife and having a family

Hope for the Future: That people will come to appreciate one another and treat one another fairly and caringly. I also hope that we will take greater care of the environment, remembering that the footprints we leave behind will impact on generations to come

Favourite Reading: Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, Martin Luther King Jr’s and Nelson Mandela’s autobiographies, and Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing

Favourite TV Programme: I don’t watch TV

Favourite Food/Drink: A good pasta/a hearty cup of roasted coffee, almond milk

Favourite Music: I enjoy many different genres of music, but what easily come to mind are Coldplay and Elderbrook

Favourite Sport: Soccer

Hobbies: Running, hiking, and birding

Car: Ford Mustang and Ford Everest

Pets: We have fish, a rabbit and a tortoise

Miscellaneous Dislikes: I’m bothered when people litter. I dislike it when people disrespect each other, especially when they have an arrogant attitude. Interestingly, I am fascinated by road rage and how people react so intensely to an event that usually lasts no more than a split second

Married: To Nechamah, which means ‘comfort’ in Hebrew

Children: Dov (which means a ‘bear’ in Hebrew, named after my wife’s great-grandfather), 12; Sarah (an old Biblical name, named after my grandmother), 9; Natan (which means ‘to give’ in Hebrew, named after my grandfather), 6

Clubs: I am part of a running club called Run Zone