BACKSTORY: Tebogo Skwambane of WPP

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

Take time to understand the interests and choices available to the parties involved, and focus on reconciling these.

What was your first job? 

Wrapping gifts in the mall over the school holidays in high school. I worked numerous jobs on campus through university, including as a switchboard operator. My first real job was in financial services.

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

I don’t recall the exact amount, but I definitely spent it on rent, transport and the first payment on my student loans. 

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

It’s all going to work out, be sure to have fun and take the time to enjoy all the special moments. 

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

The gender-based violence that permeates our homes and streets, and continued misogyny.

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

Though I no longer make time for it, I love to paint and draw and have a minor in studio art.

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

Not doing sufficiently rigorous due diligence before investing in a start-up in renewable energy, and at the wrong time. 

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? And how much of it was due to luck?

The best investment I ever made was in my education.

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

Assuming that what you see is what you get in others. We are not all driven by doing the right thing.  

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

Your instincts about people are very accurate, trust yourself more. 

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

Reconfigure my cabinet and top team to include the competences, capabilities, experience and ethics required to turn the economy and the country around. Embolden this team to have the courage to make the tough decisions required to build an SA with the promising future our children and young people deserve.