Liane McGowan: That magical 2am moment – and why this year’s CEO SleepOut just had to be at Liliesleaf

LONDON — Liane McGowan is the chief executive of the CEO SleepOut™ and will once again be on site for South Africa's biggest fundraising event of the year. In this interview she explains the rationale behind the project, how the patron Dr Makiziwe Mandela became involved, and why the 2018 edition just had to be at Liliesleaf Farm. Liane also shares that "magical moment" which she says happens every year at around 2am… – Alec Hogg

And in this update of the CEO SleepOut™ we speak to the CEO of theCEO SleepOut™, Liane McGowan. It's all coming to a head on the 11th of July, were 200 CEOs from around SA and their invited guests will be sleeping under the stars at Liliesleaf. It's on the 55th Anniversary of that famous raid, where many of the Rivonia trialists were arrested. Liane, why Liliesleaf?

Alec, I think, as you say, one of the most pertinent things about Liliesleaf is its link, not only to Nelson Mandela, who we are honouring this year, but also to SA, in terms of its history and one of the key things that we need to do is ensure that we preserve the correct aspects of SA history, and that is one of the main reasons why Liliesleaf plays such a significant role for this year's sleepout.

One of the most interesting interviews that I had was with Nic Wolpe, the CEO of the Liliesleaf Trust, who was taking us through all of the history, and with the various people that I've been talking to who are coming there. They say, they'd love to hear Nic Wolpe. Is he going to be able to do that on the 11th? Is that part of the proceedings that he'll go from group to group, and tell the story?

I think that's definitely something that should be done. I don't think people often realise just how important Liliesleaf is as a heritage site and the role it played in Madiba's life. So, I think it's going to be hugely important to have Nic there, sharing all of those experiences and how he has managed to keep Liliesleaf as it is, to 2018.

You've mentioned Madiba (Nelson Mandela) – it is a week before his 100th birthday, his centenary, which is on the 18th so it's a very historic time. What does Nelson Mandela bring to theCEO SleepOut™ this year, apart from naming rights, if you like?

I think the most important thing is what Madiba stood for. In terms of us as South Africans, to honour his legacies and the things that he stood for as a leader of this country, and who we refer to as 'Father of the Nation.' They are key pillars, if you like, that the CEO SleepOut™ itself, stands for, when we link up our beneficiaries and raise funds for people who need it. I think the elements that were so important to Mandela, as a South African, and what he wanted to see SA achieve, links up and aligns so well for us, not only because we can honour him in what would have been his 100th year, but also, because we can help continue his legacies by raising funds for our specific beneficiaries.

Just take us back a little bit. You've managed to get some real, heavy hitters involved, starting off with the patron, Dr Mandela herself. How did you get her to come to the party?

We just happened to meet her husband, funnily enough, and got chatting to him and he said, 'please phone my wife and speak to her.' I'm not sure if he felt that she needed something to do, to keep her busy, but we went and met with her and the synergy was incredible. The ways in which she wishes her father to be remembered and honoured, was completely in line with what we were trying to achieve for this year. So, we had a very long afternoon of chatting and talking about her father and the kinds of things that he stood for. His legacies, which we, as South Africans, try to uphold, ad everything just sort of worked. She said, 'whatever you need, I'm here, and thank you for taking this time and this opportunity to honour my father in these special ways.'

And Nic Wolpe and the Liliesleaf Trust, which is a major beneficiary this year?

Yes, so Liliesleaf is one of our primary beneficiaries, and again, as I mentioned previously, it plays such a pivotal role. Not only from a Mandela perspective but also, from a SA history perspective, in terms of education. One of the key things that Madiba was always focussed on and that we're trying to raise funds for is education, which is one of the pillars of homelessness, as well as the preservation of history in SA. Places like Liliesleaf hold the key. They are the key to our history and a lot of the information that comes out of Liliesleaf is not readily known. I, myself, who have lived in this country for far too many years, learnt so many new things from one visit at Liliesleaf. I think it's absolutely vital that we help and support places like Liliesleaf in order to continue the correct SA history.

How did you engage first though, with Nic Wolpe?

We met with Nic, and basically, it all boils down to his utter passion and dedication to this place, and obviously, the relationship that he has with Liliesleaf, and the essence of what it means. I think Makaziwe, when we were at the media launch, spoke about being at Liliesleaf and what she remembers from Liliesleaf Farm, and all the stories that they could tell. The raid, which took place, which led to their arrests. The Rivonia Trial, imprisonment on Robben Island. It's one of the starting points of history. When we met with Nic and again, we sat for hours, talking about Liliesleaf, what it means, what it means for South Africans? How important it is to support places like Liliesleaf? We knew it just had to happen.

It's an extraordinary story, but let's move onto the 11th of July. What exactly is going to happen to the CEOs that arrive there? What do they bring?

All the information will go out to all our CEOs who are participating, as well as their guests. This year, we've changed things up a bit and everyone is allowed to come as a party of 5. Obviously, it's going to be a remarkable evening honouring Madiba and also, gaining empathy. Not only for our beneficiaries, for the homeless – discussing the why and how we get to this point and spending a cold night outside together. CEOs bring something warm to wear, very warm – it is a very cold evening, but something very magical happens at around 02h00, and the CEOs who have joined us in the past and continue to join us – some of them are going for their 3rd year. Something magical happens and that's why we do what we do, is waiting for that magic moment where that little bit of empathy is gained, and change starts to occur.

I take it, it's also weather related. That 02h00 empathy lightning-bolt, because it sounds like it's definitely going to be below zero.

It probably will. I think we'll be very cold, but it really is, it's an incredible night and you, yourself will experience it. You'll do nothing like it in your lifetime, and that's why it's such a remarkable event. That's why we have CEOs who come year after year, because it is something that really has to be experienced. There's so many things in life that you actually can't tell someone how they will feel until they experience it for themselves, and this is one of those occasions.

The energy as well of Liliesleaf will certainly permeate the whole event, given it's the 55th anniversary of that very important day in SA's history. It's at this incredibly historic place. The spirit of Madiba, no doubt, will be there. He spent so much of his life or so much of his time at Liliesleaf, in fact, living there under cover, when he was the 'Black Pimpernel' so, you almost get the feeling that this could be the most special sleepout yet.

I think, ultimately all of them have had their special moments and their remarkable points and reasons why they came to fruition. But I think as South Africans, we all hold a very special place for Madiba. It's something we can all enjoy together and celebrate for him and for the other accused members of the ANC, who were also arrested during that raid. I think it's a very special night for Liliesleaf as a venue, and as a place with Nic Wolpe obviously, going to be there on the night. There's lots of anniversaries and emotions that will come into play that evening.

Liane, how have the challenges been going? A few of the people that I've spoken to, Chris Griffith for instance, challenged a whole bunch of his mining fellows. Today, I was talking to Imtiaz Patel, who challenged Jabu Mabuza, who I hope comes because I'm sure he'll keep us all entertained, and Sipho Maseko, and the CEO of Vodacom. Have the challenges been accepted?

Some of them have. I think the key is, and what we found through most of the years, the people don't realise the time that we have left and suddenly wake-up and then everyone comes. So, it becomes this very interesting cycle that we've seen over the last few years, and I suppose it happens naturally. We assume we have time, the 11th of July is over there so we'll worry about that later. Everyone we've spoken to has said yes, wonderful, I'll look now. Give me 5 minutes, I'm on it. It has been very well received and a lot of the challenges have been accepted, and there are a lot of people who have said, 'we still have 2 weeks, we'll rise to the challenge within that time.'

Well, we'll look forward to all of that and I'm sure, Liane from you and your team, this is going to be a pretty hectic couple of weeks before we get to the 11th of July?

It is, it's a very exciting few weeks. Bringing all these key event elements together is always an exciting part of what we do. There is a lot of hard work. There are a lot of people. There's a lot of support that goes into something like this, and  it is something we enjoy and we love to do. We love the fact that we're helping the beneficiaries who need it, and the CEOs get to bring their guests and experience something utterly unique.

And unique, indeed, it shall be. Well, I'm looking forward to being there for the first time on the CEO SleepOut™, that is this year's Nelson Mandela's CEO SleepOut™ and it is to honour Madiba, who would have turned 100 years old on the 18th of July. We're going to be sleeping on the 11th of July, which is the anniversary of the raid on Liliesleaf where 6 out of 10 of the Rivonia treason trialists were arrested in the most famous trial in SA's history, the one that changed the country forever. That was Liane McGowan, and she's the CEO of the CEO SleepOut™.

Until the next time, cheerio.