Growing up in a township on the East Rand during the apartheid years, Bonang Mohale is defined by a need to take responsibility – and when his father died in his teens he stepped into the breach to help his mother raise his younger siblings.

Despite the challenges of his home life, he looked to the black business leaders of the day for inspiration. To emulate their success he forged ahead with his studies during a period of volatile, political turmoil. Determination, hard work, boundless energy and a larger than life personality has seen him make it to the top in the corporate world.

Today he is widely viewed as one of the most respected leaders in corporate South Africa having been at the helm of a string of multinational giants including Shell South Africa and Upstream. He remains driven by purpose and a bigger picture world view. “Coming from a township I knew others were rooting and even praying for me. I realised that others have gone before me to prepare the way.”