BACKSTORY: Deepa Vallabh of Hogan Lovells

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

Have a commercial mindset and keep your ego out of it — it’s about serving your clients’ best interests.

What was your first job?

My first full-time job was as a trainee attorney at Werksmans Attorneys.

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

I think it was around R4,200. I bought my mom and aunt a gift — they were my biggest fans and always inspired me to push myself.

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

You are going to feel like you don’t know anything for a long time; all you can do is cultivate a mindset of constant learning and improving.

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

Bring the unemployment rate down to under 2%.

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

I am a serial Bollywood fan. I love all the drama, colour and song.

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

Buying penny stocks where I basically lost all my money — but it was a good lesson.

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

A bank pref share. The returns were modest, but the luck is that I held on until it recovered post the pandemic. But if I have to think of my best investment, it’s nonfinancial, and that’s the time I make for important people in my life.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the past six months and why did you like it?

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis. It was deeply personal and resonated with me in terms of her stance on championing the truth and shattering expectations.

What is the hardest life lesson you’ve learnt?

Know your circle; not everyone in your boat is rowing, some are drilling holes.

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

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

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

This is a complex question and there are many things I would like to change, but if I had to choose one thing it’s that as leadership we have to recognise where we are failing and own it and then have the courage to fix it. I would privatise core state assets that the country desperately needs to create infrastructure stability and let them be run as businesses by people who have the skills to do so. We owe it to South Africans to deliver the basics because it’s only when the foundation is strong that we can grow.