Full Name: Ian Burger

Position and Company Name: MD: Technical at SOLA Group

Main Activity of the Company: SOLA develops, designs, constructs, operates and manages solar PV and battery energy storage facilities, primarily via wheeling agreements with industrial and commercial clients

Date and Place of Birth: I was born in Bellville in 1984 but grew up in Windhoek, Namibia

Schools and Tertiary Education: I attended Windhoek High School, then studied electrical and electronic engineering at Stellenbosch University, followed by PhD and postdoctoral studies in biomedical engineering at the University of Cape Town

First Job: I worked part-time during my postgraduate studies, repairing X-ray machines in morgues and emergency rooms around Cape Town

Size of First Pay Packet: The morgue job paid R4 000 to R5 000 a month, depending on the number of call-outs

Career Path to Date: I worked in various jobs to fund my postgraduate studies in medical imaging before moving into renewables. Since joining SOLA as a design engineer in the rooftop solar division, I have been growing alongside the company

Value of Assets under Your Control: None directly under my control, though I provide engineering support to the SOLA portfolio, which exceeds R20-billion in operating assets and those under construction

Number of People under Your Leadership: 17 direct and indirect reports

Management Style: Treating others with respect, leading by example, and recognising that trust must be earned

Personal Best Achievement: Contributing to advances in cardiovascular MRI and playing a role in an industry central to decarbonisation. I am also proud to be raising two boys I hope will contribute positively to environmental sustainability and to making the world a better place

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My parents, who instilled in us hard work alongside an appreciation for nature, music, reading, art and travel. After a few years on my own, my wife Rachelle became my compass and companion

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Most of the people I have worked with have had a positive influence on me

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: If ghosts are allowed, Beethoven or Salvador Dali; if not, then Barack Obama

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Steven Bartlett – for his perspective on business, particularly his emphasis on the central role of people

Philosophy of Life: Don’t raise your voice; improve your argument

Biggest Ever Opportunity: Given SOLA Group’s contribution to the industry, the importance of the renewables industry to the South African economy and the global environmental impact, I would have to say four guys taking a chance on an Afrikaans boy 13 years ago

Biggest Ever Disappointment: Each disappointment I have had has contributed to the path that has led me to where I am today

Hope for the Future: To spend my time doing work I genuinely love, in balance with family life, playing outside, and contributing meaningfully to positive change in the world

Favourite Reading: Philosophical fiction, music biographies, leadership, psychology, science and history. My favourite fiction authors include Fredrik Backman, Karl Ove Knausgaard, and Paulo Coelho. Essential biographies include The Storyteller by Dave Grohl, Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen, and Life by Keith Richards. Influential business and leadership reads include Steve Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO, Peter Thiel’s Zero to One, Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence and Jonah Lehrer’s The Decisive Moment

Favourite TV Programme: I don’t really watch TV

Favourite Food/Drink: Coffee in the morning, milkshake midday, beer in the evening – and pizza, always pizza

Favourite Music: Live music, from big, loud festivals to intimate blues shows, and rock ‘n’ roll in its various forms – grunge, metal and alternative – alongside classics like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and the greats of classical music, such as Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven

Favourite Sport: Running and riding in the mountains

Hobbies: Running, downhill mountain biking, surfing, bonzai art, photography, and playing the drums

Car: A 20-plus-year-old rusty Land Cruiser

Pets: Two wire-haired dachshunds, two tortoises, two cockatoos, a tarantula, three resident hadidas, a stray cat and a roster of kid-adopted reptiles and invertebrates. I have been told by my kids that we are in the market for an ant farm and a snake

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Bigotry and bad music

Married: To Rachelle

Children: Two boys aged 9 and 4

Clubs: A poker club that has been in hibernation for the past 12 months