Full Name: Dean Naidoo
Position: People leader: Africa at Aurecon
Main Activity of the Company: Professional consulting
Date and Place of Birth: July 3, 1972, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Education: MSc (completing)
First Job: Human resources graduate
Career History Prior to Current Position: A variety of human resources positions at NMP, Medscheme, Momentum, Redis and Aurecon
Size of First Pay Packet: Small to very small
First Job with Present Group: People leader: Africa
Value of Assets under Your Control: Immeasurable – I work with very talented people across Aurecon
Number of People under Your Leadership: 27
Management Style: Ambidextrous, agile and consultative
Personal Best Achievement: Being admitted as a member of the Institute of Directors of South Africa
Professional Best Achievement: Seeing the lives of people enriched through education programmes established in sub-Saharan Africa
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My parents and God
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: My parents, my wife and my external mentor, Nicky Jacklin
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Desmond Tutu, Bill Gates
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Sir Richard Branson and Jack Welch
Philosophy of Life: To inspire, to make a difference and to shape the future
Biggest Ever Opportunity: Building and leading teams in Africa and the Middle East
Biggest Ever Disappointment: Not learning to speak Swahili or French
Hope for the Future: Making high-quality education accessible to everyone
Favourite Reading: Biographies
Favourite TV Programme: Documentaries
Favourite Food/Drink: Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, Italian
Favourite Music: R & B
Favourite Sport: Cricket, Formula 1, rugby and soccer
Favourite Website: Google
Hobbies: Reading
Car: Mercedes-Benz
Pets: Two dogs (German shepherds)
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Arrogance
Favourite Other South African Company: Unilever
Favourite Foreign Company: Google, Microsoft
Married: To Belinda, since December 27, 2003
Children: Talia, 11; Laila, 9; Yuval Aaron, 6
Clubs: None