Full Name: Trevor Michael Dickinson
Position: CEO of the Dickinson group of companies
Main Activity of the Company: Furnace and industrial services in sub-Saharan Africa
Date and Place of Birth: May 9, 1965, Vereeniging
Education: Matric, St Stithians College; BSc (Building Management) (Hons), University of Natal (Durban); MBA, University of the Witwatersrand Business School; EDP, University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business
First Job: Refractory bricklayer and trainee for our refractory installation company, JR Dickinson & Sons
Career History Prior to Current Position: I joined our family business in 1990, after having worked for our partner company in Germany. I started my career as a trainee refractory bricklayer and progressed to project manager and sales director, before being appointed CEO of the Dickinson group of companies in 2009
Number of People under Your Leadership: We have 700 people working for our company throughout our operations in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
Management Style: I strive to adopt visionary, coaching, affiliative and democratic leadership styles. I also adopt an empowering management style. Our company has business operations throughout sub-Saharan Africa and requires the leaders throughout our organisation to be empowered to lead with autonomy
Personal Best Achievement: Becoming a father to my first son in 1998 and my second son in 2002
Professional Best Achievement: Being appointed CEO of our fourth-generation family business, which was founded in 1910
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My parents, Neville and Margaret Dickinson, as well as my wife, Leanne
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: My father, Neville Dickinson, retired chairperson of the Dickinson group of companies. My sons have also inspired me to sustain and expand our family business to be Africa’s leading provider of furnace and industrial services
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Bob Buford, cofounder of Leadership Network and founding chairperson of The Peter F Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Alhaji Aliko Dangote, a business magnate in Nigeria who owns the Dangote group. Previously, not well known and having started from humble beginnings, he has an estimated net worth of $25-billion
Philosophy of Life: Never, never, never give up (Winston Churchill)
Biggest Ever Opportunity: A good education.
Biggest Ever Disappointment: Our fourth-generation, 104-year-old family business not being successfully transitioned across generations
Hope for the Future: That South Africa, together with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, becomes a leading region of economic growth
Favourite Reading: Inspirational and leadership books by authors such as Peter Drucker, Ken Blanchard, Bill George, Daniel Goleman and Malcolm Gladwell
Favourite TV Programme: BBC History channel as well as inspirational true story movies like Pursuit of Happyness, with Will Smith
Favourite Food/Drink: Italian, Thai and Vietnamese, with good wine, as well as cooking fresh mussels with my family at our holiday home on the coast
Favourite Music: Easy listening genres like Café del Mar music compilations
Favourite Sport: Rugby, particularly live Test matches with my sons
Favourite Website: www.amazon.com and www.audible.com
Hobbies: Reading, camping and outdoors, wildlife and overlanding trips with my sons and friends
Car: VW Toureg
Pets: Three dogs, two Staffies and one Ridgeback
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Arrogant and pessimistic people
Favourite Other South African Company: MTN and Shoprite
Favourite Foreign Company: Berkshire Hathaway Inc
Married: To Leanne, since April 1992
Children: Mitchell, 15; Cameron, 12
Clubs: Virgin Active