Full Name: Desan Naidoo
Position and Company Name: VP for Africa at SAS
Main Activity of the Company: Through innovative analytics, business intelligence and data management software and services, SAS helps customers at more than 75 000 sites to make better decisions faster
Date and Place of Birth: January 6, 1971, Durban
Education: National diploma in electrical engineering
First Job: Network technician at Eskom
Size of First Pay Packet: About R1 500 a month
Value of Assets under Your Control: Market capitalisation of R500-million
Number of People Under Your Leadership: 120 employees
Management Style: I like to empower my team to deliver results
Personal Best Achievement: Appointment as VP Africa at SAS
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My father, a retired school principal
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: My father
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Locally – Altron’s Mteto Nyati; globally – Microsoft’s Satya Nadella. I admire them because of the way they have been able to transform their organisations
Philosophy of Life: If I get into something, I give it my all
Biggest Ever Opportunity: My first job at Eskom soon after completing my studies
Biggest Ever Disappointment: When I embarked on my sales career at my previous company, one of my biggest disappointments was that the work that I put in was not enough to seal the deal
Hope for the Future: That we have a better society in which to raise children, and that there is no poverty and no divide between the rich and the poor
Favourite Reading: Books on leadership and how to improve oneself
Favourite TV Programme: NCIS New Orleans
Favourite Food/Drink: Pasta/single-malt whisky
Favourite Music: I like old-school music, such as Dire Straits and Roxette
Favourite Sport: Football
Hobbies: Golf, although I have not been playing lately, owing to surgery to my shoulder; scuba diving
Car: BMW
Pets: Two dogs, a Jack Russell and a Pekingese
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Taxi drivers cutting me off
Married: To Lenny
Children: Two girls – Jaimie and Teagan
Clubs: None