Full Name: Sietse van der Woude
Position: Senior executive: modernisation and safety, Chamber of Mines
Main Activity of the Company: Representing our members in the interest of our beloved country
Date and Place of Birth: February 1, 1965, Johannesburg
Education: MSc, MBL
First Job: Cleaner at Fokker, the Dutch aircraft company
Size of First Pay Packet: Enough for an extended self-discovery travel through Europe
Value of Assets under Your Control: Not applicable
Number of People under Your Leadership: Nobody is under me – I aim to serve
Management Style: It depends on the situation
Personal Best Achievement: Paying lobola and marrying at the age of 47
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My wife
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Philip Metcalf, Dr John Stewart, Zoli Diliza, Dr Frans Barker, Bheki Sibiya and Roger Baxter
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Not one specific person – from every person I can learn to live and love better
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Lebo Malepa, of Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers
Philosophy of Life: All that really matters is the love you give and the love you receive
Biggest Ever Opportunity: Playing a role in the modernisation of South African mining by working with many others
Biggest Ever Disappointment: That it is so hard to accept that disappointments are God-given gifts to learn and grow
Hope for the Future: An all-gain, no-pain modernisation of South African mining
Favourite Reading: My two-year-old son’s books with him
Favourite TV Programme: We have no TV
Favourite Food/Drink: Unhealthy – toasted cheese and tomato with a vanilla milkshake; healthy – my wife’s vegetarian meals with an amazon cocktail
Favourite Music: Powerful music from different genres, including Verdi’s Requiem and The Gathering’s Saturnine
Favourite Sport: Rugby
Hobbies: Discovering ways to reduce any family’s carbon footprint, water use and waste through technology, behaviour change and other means
Car: Lexus Hybrid
Pets: None
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Politicians who serve themselves more than those who elected them
Married: To Marli
Children: Two-year-old Simo – short for Simangaliso, which means ‘miracle’
Clubs: None