Remembering Benjamin Mophatlane, CEO of Business Connexion
It's always sad when someone dies young, particularly when it's someone like Business Connexion CEO Benjamin Mophatlane, a larger than life personality who worked his way up to the top ranks of South Africa's corporate world from humble beginnings as a part-time store clerk. Mophatlane died on Thursday of a heart attack, aged just 41. Often, when someone passes away, there are mixed feelings. But with Mophatlane, the mourning has been near-universal. South Africa has lost a bold, charismatic, and effective business personality, who was an inspiration to many. – FD
ALEC HOGG: Grattan Kirk, the former Chief Executive of the JD Group joins us on the line now as we pay respect to BCX Chief Executive Benjamin Mophatlane. Matthew didn't know him. Grattan, you certainly did. When did you first meet Ben and his twin brother, Isaac?
GRATTAN KIRK: Hi, Alec. We met in 1997, when I joined the JD Group Software Connexion – Incredible Connection – and Benjamin and Isaac were looking after Business Connexion. They'd been partners/founders of the original Software Connections – Philip Coles and Paul Moses – way back in the early 90's. They'd been working in Software Connection in the Pretoria store from the early 90's, so that's when we crossed paths.
ALEC HOGG: He literally worked his way up from a part-time job, while he was a student.
GRATTAN KIRK: For sure. Yes, it's always good to see that type of person come through the ranks. They started on the bottom of the corporate grease pile, as you would say, working in the store when they were at university – helping out – and look what they achieved. Look at what they built over the years. It's a phenomenal story of success.
ALEC HOGG: He was a guy who made friends everywhere he went, Grattan. There's been a lot on Twitter. We've had many of the media outlets, who are going to be devoting their programming today to Benjamin Mophatlane. That's unusual, very unusual…unusual character and an unusual personality.
GRATTAN KIRK: Well, he was a big personality, Alec. When I heard the news this morning, I could just hear that laugh. That laugh and that smile was infectious. He was a big personality. He was very well liked. I guess…he said he was educated by the Irish priests down there in Kimberley, so we used to have a good laugh about that and how the Irish priests used to behave and educate. He had a very soft spot for Ireland and obviously, coming from Ireland, we had a lot in common. He was a wonderful character. He always had a good joke and a great sense of humour. He was hugely popular and a really likeable and amicable guy. Everybody knew Benjamin. He had a big personality.
ALEC HOGG: Now you've sat in the Executive Suite. You've gone through lots of turbulence, both at Connection Group and then at JD as well. What is happening within BCX today?
GRATTAN KIRK: Well, a couple of weeks ago, when the news broke on Telkom, it really was a dream come true for them. It's something they've wanted to do on a Business Connexion level for many years. They had one sale attempt a number of years ago, and now this was a dream come true. They had put it together. They thought it through. They made attempts from a strategic point of view, it really was a culmination of many years' of effort to do the deal, and they were really excited – both Benjamin and Isaac – to be able to secure such a deal for Business Connexion and move into the next level of the business, from Business Connexion's point of view. Business Connexion is a significant player. It's one of the remaining IT service providers. They have a very diverse portfolio, not only in South Africa, but in the rest of Africa as well, so they really built a powerful, strong brand. One of the stories it reminded me of is… You know Business Connexion is spelt with an 'x' and we came out of Connection Group, which had two 'n's'. We were quite possessive of our trade name (I suppose you would call it) and we wouldn't give them the name Connection with the two 'n's', so they just changed it to an 'x'. Business Connexion grew with a slightly different spelling than you would expect from 'connection', but it's an honourable business and they really have built an empire.
ALEC HOGG: So even though you might have had a little bit of a legal punch-up…certainly, over the years Ben had to come in here and face the music while BCX wasn't doing that well. He never changed, did he? He always had the same generosity of spirit.
GRATTAN KIRK: Yes, he was a very mature businessman. We never boxed on the name for example, but he knew what he wanted. He was very well connected in the industry. Way back in the early days when Software Connection were [inaudible 4:42] account to Telkom. He knew the industry. He'd been in the industry for 20-odd years, so he knew what was going. He was a major player. Just to put together…if you think of that Business Connexion came out of Connection Group in the late 90's, and then the [inaudible 5:03] transaction and how he managed that… He was not only an operator from the IT issue point of view, but on the MNA side, he did a lot of work in Africa and built a profile for the business in Africa. He was involved in the Cloud initiatives, so they were players Alec, and they built the business from the ground. It was only at the end of 1999 when they bought out of Connection Group, that they really started to grow. What they've achieved in 20 years has been phenomenal and that has a lot to do with Benjamin's drive and energy, his ability to build relationships, and a proper business. It's a big business – Business Connexion – and it hasn't always been easy going for him, as you said.
ALEC HOGG: That was Grattan Kirk, the former CEO of the JD Group. A man whom, as he said, sat down a couple of weeks ago with Benjamin Mophatlane who told him that the deal with Telkom was a dream come true. It's never a good time to leave, but it's nice to know that at least the dream has been fulfilled.