Full Name: Andrew Human
Position: CEO of the Loeries
Main Activity of the Company: The Loeries recognise and reward creativity in the brand communication industry
Date and Place of Birth: Johannesburg, 1966
Education: BSc (engineering), MSc (engineering), the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits); Dr-Ing, Darmstadt, Germany
First Job: Research scientist
Career History Prior to Current Position: Scientist at De Beers; partner in Grey Matter, a Web development agency; director at Logitech Internet Solutions; and strategy director at Marchfirst, New York City
Size of First Pay Packet: I cannot recall, but it was less than my stipend as a doctoral researcher in Germany
First Job with Present Group: MD
Value of Assets under Your Control: R30-million
Number of People under Your Leadership: We have a small permanent team of about ten people, but the total production team comprises more than 600 people
Management Style: I try to afford people independence to manage themselves and their own time, but I insist that they be accountable for their actions
Personal Best Achievement: Pivoting from a potential career in materials engineering and applying it to engineering a different part of the economy that is not the built environment – the economy of ideas
Professional Best Achievement: Growing the Loeries into the largest celebration of creativity across Africa and the Middle East, and Loeries Creative Week into the largest gathering in the region for the brand communication industry
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: Professor Silvana Luyckx, my supervisor at Wits
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Not stated
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Jim Simons
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Jim Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies and the Flatiron Institute
Philosophy of Life: I try not to treat anyone in a way that I would not like to be treated
Biggest Ever Opportunity: Offer to start a production facility in China in the 1990s – at the beginning of the Chinese boom
Biggest Ever Disappointment: Not starting a production facility in China
Hope for the Future: Not stated
Favourite Reading: Book: The Fly Trap, by Fredrik Sjoberg; weekly magazine: The New Scientist
Favourite TV Programme: Foyle’s War
Favourite Food/Drink: Italian country food, accompanied by a good rosé wine
Favourite Music: Franz Liszt, Consolation No 3
Favourite Sport: Cycling and cricket
Favourite Website: The New York Times
Hobbies: Cycling, hiking, reading
Car: No particular brand loyalty – it must function
Pets: Not stated
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Queues and crowded places
Favourite Other South African Company: Discovery
Favourite Foreign Company: Apple
Married: Not stated
Children: Joseph, 7; Benjamin 6
Clubs: Not stated