Full Name: Frederick Thomas Cawood

Position: Head of the School of Mining Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand

Main Activity of the Institution: Tertiary education

Date and Place of Birth: December 8, 1960, Westonaria

Education: National diploma in mine surveying, national higher diploma in mine surveying, government certificate of competence in mine surveying, graduate diploma in mining engineering, MSc in mining engineering, PhD in mining engineering and LLM mineral law and policy

First Job: Shop assistant. My first real job was learner official at the old Gold Fields of South Africa, starting as an onsetter at the West Driefontein gold mine

Size of First Pay Packet: R484 a month - a reasonable starting salary for a matriculant in 1981

Value of Assets under Your Control: Universities don’t think in this way – our assets are measured in student numbers, which was 763 in total in 2012

Number of People under Your Leadership: 30 full-time academic and support staff in the school, as well as 13 part-time staff, and seven in the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry

Management Style: Hands-on, encouraging individual contributions and any initiative that assists the school in achieving its strategic goals

Personal Best Achievement: Overcoming the drawback of never having the opportunity to attend full-time university studies

Person Who Has Had The Biggest Influence on Your Life: Petrus Dirker, a friend from school who came from a poor family and died early of cancer and who taught me humility – the best lesson I ever learnt

Person Who Has Had The Biggest Influence on Your Career: Professor Huw Phillips, former head of the Wits School of Mining Engineering

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Bill Clinton

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: The early Randlords, who had vision and were willing to take on unusual risks to build a mining house system that lasted a millennium

Philosophy of Life: I follow two philosophies, namely, ‘it’s not about them, it’s about us’ and ‘mind over matter’

Biggest Ever Opportunity: The day I started at Wits as a lecturer

Biggest Ever Disappointment: Doing military service instead of going to university

Hope For the Future: One often hears that mining is a sunset industry and bright school leavers should not consider a mining career. The reality is that South Africa is a treasure trove of minerals. It is true that we have many challenges, such as overcoming the constraint of mining at great depths and still being economically competitive internationally. But this is exactly why we need very bright people so that the wealth can be unlocked for the good of the country. There are many feel-good factors in mining because the industry makes a real difference, despite the bad press it sometimes receives

Favourite Reading: Anything, but mostly history

Favourite TV Programme: Business channels, news channels, sport and movies

Favourite Food/Drink: South African meat and merlot

Favourite Music: That depends on my mood – anything from opera to 1970s pop!

Favourite Sport: Rugby

Hobbies: Reading and walking in Marks Park

Car: Mercedes-Benz

Miscellaneous Dislikes: People who think too much of themselves

Married: To Antoinette

Children: Morne, 24; Ian, 21