Full Name: Hennie Heymans
Position: MD of DHL Express South Africa
Main Activity of the Company: International express shipping
Date and Place of Birth: Newcastle, August 27, 1967
First Job: Telesales agent at M-Net
Career History Prior to Current Position: I started at M-Net in 1990 as a telesales agent and climbed the ranks to eventually become financial manager for the Free State and the Eastern Cape. I then joined MultiChoice in Johannesburg in 1995 as finance manager for Africa, becoming GM for agency countries in 1997. In 1998, I joined Olivetti Lexikon as finance director and was promoted to country manager in 1999. I joined DHL Express in 2001 as direct sales manager, becoming GM for Central Africa in 2006, GM for Central Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands in 2011 and MD for South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland in 2013
Size of First Pay Packet: R12 000 a month
First Job with Present Group: Direct sales channel manager
Value of Assets under Your Control: Not stated
Number of People under Your Leadership: About 800
Management Style: I spend 70% of my time at DHL Express on the floor, among staff and customers. I strive to have an open-door policy, with a promise to be always open and transparent, regardless of the message
Personal Best Achievement: Achieving a fair balance between work and personal life
Professional Best Achievement: Seeing a number of mentees progress in their professional lives to reach great heights
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My father
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: My first financial manager at M-Net, Percy Padayache, who has since passed on
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Sir Richard Branson
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Lou Gerstner, who led IBM from the brink of bankruptcy and mainframe obscurity back into the forefront of the technology business
Philosophy of Life: Live life to the fullest. I often refer to this philosophy as the three Ls: live, love and laugh
Biggest Ever Opportunity: Managing the biggest DHL entity in sub-Saharan Africa for the most international company in the world
Biggest Ever Disappointment: Missing my daughter’s first steps
Hope for the Future: That we can rescue South Africa from becoming a veritable Third World country, with failing infrastructure
Favourite Reading: Autobiographies
Favourite TV Programme: All types of sport
Favourite Food/Drink: Good curry/a cold cider
Favourite Music: Any current pop music or a good soulful saxophone number
Favourite Sport: Mountain biking
Favourite Website: Wikipedia and Amazon
Hobbies: Cycling
Car: Jeep Grand Cherokee
Pets: Two dogs adopted from the SPCA
Miscellaneous Dislikes: People chewing while talking to me over the phone
Favourite Other South African Company: South African Breweries and Naspers
Favourite Foreign Company: Deutsche Post DHL
Married: To Anel, since January 19, 1991
Children: Jeandre, 17; Janco, 13
Clubs: Bryanston Sportsclub