Alec Hogg: My day of contrast, featuring two all-time heroes

By Alec Hogg

Some days deliver more than others. For me, yesterday was one. It was highlighted by an interview the world’s greatest business thinker, Clayton Christensen, the father of disruption theory. A Harvard Professor and best-selling author, his inspirational life, visionary books and peerless work have influenced much of what I’ve done this past half decade. We met briefly in Davos two years ago. Yesterday, once more, this brilliant intellectual’s consistency struck me. He is as genuinely humble and deeply spiritual in real life as in his books and interviews.

Christensen is a similar being, in many ways, to another remarkable man it has been my privilege to know, the chairman of Allan Gray SA, Simon Marais. Starting in 1997 and continuing for some years, every Wednesday evening I got to chat for ten or so minutes to Dr Marais on my radio show. Like Christensen – and Warren Buffett – my regular radio guest had the rare ability to simplify and communicate highly complex subjects in a way everyone could understand. Doing so with humility and humour.

Simon Marais, moved to Australia some years back. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer shortly after his 50th birthday last year. He passed away on Wednesday. Although his last years were spent building the Australian branch of the money management firm, Marais remained head of Allan Gray SA and returned regularly to Cape Town. We had scheduled a get-together on his next visit. That will have to wait for a different time and another dimension. Rest well Simon Marais.

 


Yesterday’s Top Stories:

Budget 2015: SA’s Debt:GDP ratio – Scariest graphic in Nene’s package

Future of cancer therapy – is it already here? Dr Gary Fettke says yes!

SAICA’s Muneer Hassan: Enough already – too heavy a tax burden on individuals

Matthew Lester: Budget 2015/16 – Is the new South Africa sustainable? 

 

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