BACKSTORY: Msizi Khoza of Absa CIB

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

Always ensure that it is not a zero-sum game and that there is value for both sides.

What was your first job?

I was a junior control and instrumentation engineer.

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

It was R14,500 when I finished university and relocated to Joburg. I used some of it to buy essential household goods and gave some to my mother.

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

It all comes down to relationships. At the end of it all we will be remembered for the quality of the human connections and relationships that we have.

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

I’d fix the education crisis. There will be no immediate benefits, but there are very few interventions in other sectors that can give you the same long-run benefits in terms of economic growth and driving down inequality.

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

I do a great Barack Obama impersonation.

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

I invested in a company that owned a large block of flats in downtown Joburg. We were too excited at the prospect of closing the deal and we made some crazy assumptions about how much we could reasonably collect and what the utilities payments would be. Suffice to say, it always looks rosy on a spreadsheet.

What’s the best book you’ve read recently and why did you like it?

What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill. It’s a powerful and compelling case for how individuals and firms should think about future generations.

What phrase or bit of jargon irks you most?

It’s not business jargon, but I hate it when people call me “Ngamla” — it represents everything that is wrong with South African society, namely our apartheid history and deep inequalities, and the fact that the colour of privilege and opportunity is still very much white.

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

It will take a wartime-like effort to address the polycrisis facing South Africa. So I would make wholesale changes to the national executive (cabinet) and hire fit-for-purpose ministers from across the party-political, business, academic and nonprofit sectors. Empower and trust them. And remove unnecessary bureaucratic processes to speed up decision-making and accelerate implementation.