From Fin24
Cape Town – One of Cape Town’s greatest entrepreneurs, print mogul Lambert Retief, has died.
He lost his short battle against brain cancer in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Retief (64), who hailed from Paarl, built up Paarl Media from a small rural enterprise to the JSE-listed company Novus Holdings.
Retief also served as a director on the boards of Media24, Naspers (stepped down in 2013), Quantum Foods, Zeder (until 2014) and Pioneer Foods.
Media24 CEO EsmarĂ© Weideman described Retief as “a great entrepreneur and an astute businessman, but also a man with a big heart and a big laugh”.
“Lambert truly cared for his people and he loved life. He will always have a special place in Media24 history and in our hearts. We salute a legend, knowing that his legacy will live on,” she told Fin24.
Pioneer Foods CEO Phil Roux said Retief served Pioneer’s board in an exemplary fashion.
“Lambert was measured and considered. He had a wonderful sense of humour notwithstanding his reserved demeanour.
https://twitter.com/eweideman/status/824535503336828928
“He assisted me greatly in a mentoring capacity while on our board. One of his finest qualities that I experienced, was that he never stood in judgement of another human being. He relied on fact-based opinion when necessary.”
Retief grew up in Nantes Street and matriculated at Paarl Gimnasium. He obtained the qualifications BCom and BCom (Hons) from Stellenbosch University. He then qualified as a CA(SA) and completed the Owner President Management (OPM) programme at Harvard Business School.
He also won the Naspers Order of Tafelberg in 2007.
After qualifying as a chartered accountant, he started working at the family business Paarl Print in 1978. His brother Nicol managed the printing press, while Retief became the head of the Paarl Post community newspaper.
Paarl Media Group, where he became chief executive officer and later the non-executive chair, has flourished under his reign. After selling Paarl Post to Media24, the Retief enterprise focused mainly on the printing industry.
Retief held various executive positions in the printing industry, including the positions of president of the Print Industry Federation of Southern Africa and chairperson of the Provincial Press Union.
Retief is survived by his wife Carol and three children, Tina, Nic and Esmé, his brother Nicol, sister Anida and son-in-law Matthew le Cordeur.
A memorial service to celebrate Retief’s life will be held at Anura Wine Estate on Friday February 3 at 16:00. – Fin24
Source: http://www.fin24.com/Companies/print-mogul-lambert-retief-has-died-20170126
