BACKSTORY: John Reade of the World Gold Council

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

Don’t fall into the trap of zero-sum thinking: deals should cause better overall outcomes, not one side benefiting at the expense of the other.

What was your first job?

My first job post-graduation was working in the packing department of an electronics company, and I stayed with them for three months until I left for South Africa to start my career. I still wrap an excellent Christmas present.

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

I started as a mining engineer in training with Gencor in the Evander gold field and earned about R2,200 per month. Much of this was spent on food and drink at the mine social club.

What do you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out?

Give up smoking now and go to the dentist regularly.

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

Chronic and high unemployment.

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

I read a ton of books, both fiction and nonfiction, and Amazon’s Kindle was invented for me (or at least it should have been). Recently I have particularly enjoyed the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

On that note, what’s the best book you’ve read this year, and why did you like it?

Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century by J Bradford DeLong. Because it’s the best explanation of the extraordinary period of prosperity the world experienced since 1870 with an insightful analysis of what the future may hold. 

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

Buying property in Joburg in 1995 and selling it in 1999.

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

After UBS closed its commodity business in 2008, I was left without a sales team in London, so I had to start calling on clients myself. The London Underground ticket I bought to travel to the West End to visit hedge funds cost less than £2 and resulted in a number of job offers.

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

People are harder to fix than machines.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Good looks. Attractive people do better in life for no real reason. But at 190cm, I think the height benefits are fully justified.

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

That you will become a confident public speaker despite being absolutely petrified of this when you were at school and university. I always encourage my colleagues to take presentation training, it’s a skill almost anyone can learn and will benefit your career.

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

Regularly, when my alarm clock went off at 5am ahead of a winter morning shift on the gold mines. And at that point, I would have considered anything else instead.

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

As much as I could, which, in fairness, may be what he is doing at the moment.