The Editor’s Desk: Behind the failures of WeWork, Uber, et al

The failed WeWork IPO has dominated global business headlines in recent weeks, and with good reason. It looks like the "smart money" actually really is in public markets, where investors are rejecting stratospheric private valuations for loss-making "tech" companies that are actually old-fashioned businesses wearing tech face. In this episode, Alec Hogg and I deconstruct the struggles at WeWork, Uber, and other businesses that have found public markets a little too rational. We also look at the strange tale of ousted Sasol chief David Constable. – Felicity Duncan

David Constable came to SA amidst fanfare in 2011 and set about reshaping national petrochemical giant Sasol in his own image. He led the company to some disastrous investments in the volatile US fracking industry, losing billions in the process. He left the company in a cloud on 2016, but has apparently moved seamlessly back to his former employer, Fluor. Perhaps not coincidentally, Fluor was a major beneficiary of Sasol's multi-billion rand project in the US state of Louisiana. One wonders what the Sasol board makes of all this.

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