Full Name: Nirishi Trikamjee

Position and Company Name: Interim CEO of the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) and CEO of the NFS Group of Companies

Main Activity of the Company: BASA is an industry association representing all beer manufaturers in South Africa, while the NFS Group of Companies is a leading financial services group offering services ranging from accounting and tax consulting to risk management and compliance, financial advisory, private wealth, asset management and offshore structuring, fiduciary services, short-term insurance, and finance transformation and economic empowerment advisory services

Date and Place of Birth: April 22, 1981, Durban

Schools and Tertiary Education: I matriculated at Sastri College, and received BCom and BCom (Honours) degrees as well as a postgraduate diploma in business management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a postgraduate diploma in financial planning from the University of the Free State. I am also a qualified chartered accountant, a certified financial planner, and a registered external compliance officer

First Job: Admin clerk at South African Financial Enterprises, a business owned by my parents. It was a labour of love, and there was no pay. My first paid jobs were as an academic article clerk at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which came with a monthly salary of R4 000, and as an article clerk at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Johannesburg, earning R4 500 a month

Career Path to Date: I completed chartered accountant traineeship at PwC from 2004 to 2005 and worked for South African Breweries (SAB) and AB Inbev in various roles from 2006 to 2018

Value of Assets under Your Control: R250-million

Number of People under Your Leadership: 35

Management Style: Engaging, involved and practical following a collaborative decision-making process and coaching people

Personal Best Achievement: Completing my certified financial planner training in a year while running a business and caring for my family

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My mother, whose advice, toughness, independence and guidance have come in handy at every step of my journey through life

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: My husband, who convinced me to initially take up my role at SAB, and my boss and manager at the same company, Andrew Blyth, who saw potential in me early on in my career

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Roger Federer

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Warren Buffett – for his simplicity, steady discipline and patience

Philosophy of Life: Everything in balance and moderation. Give your all, as it always comes back to you somewhere, somehow. I hope to embody the words of John Maxwell, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”

Biggest Ever Opportunity: To move from finance to corporate affairs during the SAB-AB Inbev merger

Biggest Ever Disappointment: I have no real disappointments other than perhaps travelling more when I was in the early stages of my career and perhaps not having played a few more card games with my father

Hope for the Future: A safe South Africa thriving with entrepreneurship and economic activity, where people are employed and educated

Favourite Reading: Self-improvement books

Favourite TV Programme: Crime investigation – NCIS and Hawaii Five-O

Favourite Food/Drink: Pizza and a special Gujarati curry – red beans

Favourite Music: 80’s music

Favourite Sport: Tennis

Hobbies: Watching and playing tennis, and travelling

Car: Porsche Cayenne

Pets: None

Miscellaneous Dislikes: When recipients don’t read email or Whatsapp messages or other forms of communication in full

Married: To Shaylen Trikamjee, a chartered accountant

Children: My son Veer Trikamjee, aged 15, who is a top 10 South African tennis player in his age group, and my daughter Mahi Trikamjee, aged 12, who is a gymnast and netball player

Clubs: Not really a club but I am a lifelong member of a religious institution called the Divine Life Society, which works with the underprivileged in South Africa and has done more than 700 projects, including with creches, schools, churches and skills training centres, to name a few. It was founded by His Holiness Sri Swami Sahajananda, who has forever shaped my life, and with whom I had the good fortune to grow up with