Entrepreneurs exposed
2010 winners The Lifetime Achievement Award - Dr Bertie Lubner
Bertie Lubner grew up in an entrepreneurial family – his father, Morrie Lubner, was one of the founders of the Plate Glass Group.
After school, he completed a B Comm at the University of Witwatersrand and then joined the Plate Glass Group in 1951 as a trainee. In 1953 he moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to develop the company’s interests in what was then the Central African Federation
After 14 years, having developed the Group’s interest in seven different countries of the region, he returned to South Africa at the end of 1967. On his return, he assumed responsibility for expanding the Group’s interest in the wood industry and successfully launched this area of the business both nationally and internationally. The Group also became the single largest worldwide supplier of hard woods emanating mainly from the Far East and Africa and supplying to world markets.
By the early 1990’s the Group was operating in 19 countries, employing 23,000 people, with a turnover of over $1 billion. Bertie and his brother Ronnie were joint Chief Executives of the Group, and in 1982 Bertie was appointed as Chairman, a role he held for the next eight years. In 1992 the Lubner family sold control to SA Breweries; however the family bought back, together with Management, all its glass interests in South Africa, and continued with its investment in the international glass arena.
After 41 years with the Plate Glass Group, Bertie changed his focus to allow him to undertake a number of initiatives which were no longer related to creating his and his family’s own wealth, but to play an overall role in the national sphere, which included continuing involvement with major business organizations, government bodies, his family’s philanthropic initiatives. In particular he wanted to create organizations that would look after the future interests of the new generation of black children. Another vital issue was the time he needed to be involved with his now growing up children. He also wanted to spend more time with his loving and supporting wife, This led him to initiate, and become a founder and thereafter the Chairman of a number of outreach programs, such as:
· MaAfrika Tikkun – a Jewish led community organisation to assist the previously disadvantaged children, President Mandela is the Patron-in-Chief of this organization.
· The Field Band Foundation – an organisation which, over the last few years, has developed 31 college style bands, bringing not only musical skills, but lifestyle skills to over 4000 children from the most depraved areas;
· Trustee for the Worcester Home for the Deaf and Blind;
· Patron of the Lubner “Kibbutz” – a farming project in South Africa, incorporating people with Downs’ Syndrome.
He is involved directly and indirectly with many other community based organizations, locally and internationally – far too many mention.
In addition, Bertie has put his significant business experience and acumen to good use by advising and participating in organisations such as:
· Initiator and now member of a Public Private Partnership with DTI and the Ministry of Economic Development, which strategizes and implements priority programs to assist the development of the Manufacturing Sector in the economy.
· Council member of Business Leadership – comprising of 80 top companies in South Africa, interacting with government on major challenges facing the country.
· Honorary life member of the Jewish Board of Deputies.
· Vice President – Institute of Directors
· President – South Africa Israel Chamber of Commerce
· Member of Task Force, representing Business and Government at the World Economic Forum.
· One of the Vice-Chairmen of the Board of Governors of the Ben-Gurion University.
Member of the of Harvard/Kennedy School Dean’s Council.
· Director of the Plate Glass Group and other various companies.
· Associated with many charitable and social organizations and active member of various sporting activities.
Bertie is also a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the Ben-Gurion University in 1987. In 1990 received the highest South African Civil Award – O.M.S.S., which embraced his role in business, the interests of the country and his direct involvement in philanthropic and social community projects. Associated with many charitable and social organizations and active member of various sporting activities.
Master Entrepreneur category -
Marcel Golding and John Copelyn - HCI
Marcel Golding and John Copelyn became business partners in 1995. Prior to that, both held leadership positions in the trade unions, Marcel was involved in the National Union of Mineworkers in various senior capacities and John was the General Secretary of the SA Clothing and Textile Union. They were both founding members of the Central Executive Committee of COSATU and were among the twenty union leaders delegated to form part of the ANC National Parliament list contesting the 1994 parliamentary elections. In 1997, having sought and received permission to leave parliament, they reversed their business interests into the JSE listed shell: Hosken Consolidated Investments Ltd (HCI). The vision of the company was to bring the vast majority of the wealth to the working population of the country. In order to ensure that they were personally invested, Marcel and John structured their investment into HCI through their own investment companies by putting their own capital into the businesses in which HCI invested. Marcel became the Executive Chairperson and John, the Chief Executive Officer of HCI from January 1997. HCI was the third company on the JSE to be regarded as black empowered and the first to have a significant portion of its shares owned by broad based black economic empowerment. Over the last 14 years, Marcel and John have built HCI into a prominent JSE listed company with majority shareholdings in a number of industries including buses, casinos and hotels, television, clothing and textiles, mining, renewable gas, property and motor component manufacture.
Using HCI’s more mature assets to fund new ventures and acquisitions, of which many have significant politic risks attached, strategic organic growth, continues to occur despite the economic recession.
Emerging Entrepreneur category -
Wally and Debbie Fry - Fry Group Foods
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Seeking alternatives for meat products that provide similar levels of protein, and that have the same taste as their meat counterparts, Fry’s Vegetarian was started in 1991 by Wally and Debbie Fry in their own kitchen and a small office that they owned from a previous business. What was a hobby pursued more for personal satisfaction than for business ideals – the Fry’s began experimenting with food types in 1989 looking for vegetarian alternatives that were tasty, nutritious and easy to make. In September 2010, Fry’s launched the Meat Free Monday’s campaign in South Africa as a global initiative to invite South African’s to pledge their support and declare Mondays a meat free day in their households. Meat Free Mondays has begun as an environmental initiative aimed at raising awareness of the environmental impact of meat farming and production, and hence the impact a reduction in consumption could have on the environment as a whole.
Social Entrepreneur category -
Olivia van Rooyen - The Kuyasa Fund
The Kuyasa Fund (“Kuyasa”) is a non-profit social development organization that provides microfinance as a tool to improve the housing conditions of South Africa’s poorer communities. Olivia van Rooyen started The Kuyasa fund to support community groups to save towards housing and grants loans to individuals who qualify for the state housing subsidy within their belief that the poorer of the poor are still credit worthy and that through mobilizing savings they are able to build financial and social capital – specifically housing. To meet their vision of enabling these marginalized communities the ability to own and finance their dwellings, Kuyasa provides microfinance services to those with secure occupational rights but whom are traditionally excluded by the South African banking fraternity. The underlying belief behind the business of Kuyasa is that by improving the quality of housing of these people – the moral and social fibre of the community is enhanced by pride felt in being a home owner, and the stabilization it gives to families.
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