Rob Richardson
Full Name: Robert Richardson
Position: MD of Air Products
Main Activity of the Company: Manufacture of industrial and speciality gases
Date and Place of Birth: 1961, Johannesburg
Education: BSc (mechanical engineering), University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), 1981; MSc (industrial engineering), Wits, 1993; PrEng, 1987
First Job: Assistant design engineer, Sasol Technology
Career History Prior to Current Position: Various operations and project management positions, including eight years as GM: On-Sites (responsible for Air Products tonnage gas production)
Size of First Pay Packet: R1 200 a month
First Job with Present Group: Projects manager
Value of Assets under Your Control: R3.5-billion
Number of People under Your Leadership: 680
Management Style: Participative and informal
Personal Best Achievement: Eighteen Comrades marathon finishes, including two silver medals (below 7 hours, 30 minutes)
Professional Best Achievement: Being appointed MD of Air Products South Africa
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My wife, Jane
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Mike Hellyar, previous MD of Air Products
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Albert Einstein
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Warren Buffett
Philosophy of Life: Try to recognise the individual qualities that each person brings
Biggest Ever Opportunity: Studying engineering on a Sasol bursary
Biggest Ever Disappointment: That South Africa has not been able to adequately address the growing problem of unemployment, especially youth unemployment
Hope for the Future: A South Africa where the leaders act in the interests of society rather than the interests of an elite few
Favourite Reading: Light nonfiction, such as Malcolm Gladwell
Favourite TV Programme: Detective series
Favourite Food/Drink: Steak/red wine
Favourite Music: 80s rock
Favourite Sport: Roadrunning
Favourite Website: BD Live
Hobbies: All kinds of do-it-yourself work
Car: Mercedes-Benz, Toyota
Pets: None
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Corruption
Favourite Other South African Company: Sasol
Favourite Foreign Company: Toyota
Married: To Jane Scott, since 1989
Children: Laura, 21
Clubs: None
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation