BACKSTORY: Lynn Madeley

What’s your one top tip for doing a deal?

Know your real number.

What was your first job?

Merchandising assistant for FCUK.

How much was your first pay cheque, and how did you spend it?

Probably about £100 and I spent it on equipment for my horse.

What is the one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out?

You can’t do everything.

If you could fix only one thing in SA, what would it be?

The corruption. It cripples this beautiful country, which would be paradise without the crime and corruption.

What’s the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know?

I’m happily adopted.

What’s the worst investment mistake you’ve made?

Buying property in Joburg.

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made?

Buying my flat in Hong Kong.

What is the hardest life lesson you’ve learnt so far?

The hardest and the best lesson: Do not let your ego rule you.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Fairness — it doesn’t exist and you must never expect it.

What is something you would go back and tell your younger self that would impress them?

Not much — my younger self was much more impatient and aggressive than I am now. But I suspect younger me would quite like it that I am a CEO. Actually, she would like that a lot.

Was there ever a point at which you wanted to trade it all in for a different career? And if so, what would that career be?

Well, this is my second career — I was a professional horse rider and coach prior to going into advertising. And if I traded it all in, I may well go back there, or become a vet.

If you were President Cyril Ramaphosa, what would you change, or do, tomorrow?

Get really hard on corruption and crime.