Full Name: Thomas Garner
Position: CEO of Cennergi, since 2012
Main Activity of the Company: Developing, owning and operating cleaner energy projects in Africa
Date and Place of Birth: February 19, 1968, Pretoria
Education: Matric, Affies, Pretoria, 1985; mechanical engineering degree, University of Pretoria, 1992; MBA, University of Stellenbosch Business School, 2003
First Job: Engineer in training at the Iscor Tshikondeni mine, an underground coking coal mine in Limpopo
Size of First Pay Packet: I cannot remember but I think it was around R8 000
First Job with Present Group: Engineer in training at the Tshikondeni mine. Iscor unbundled to become ArcelorMittal South Africa and Kumba Resources. Kumba Resources unbundled into Kumba Iron Ore and Exxaro by doing a deal with Eyesizwe. Cennergi was formed out of Exxaro
Career History Prior To Current Position: From 1993 to 1995, I was an engineer in training. In 1996, I was a planning and development engineer (responsible for capital expenditure, planning and project execution as well as maintenance planning and oversight). During the period 1998 to 2000, I was an assistant resident engineer
Value of Assets under Your Control: At this stage, we are executing two projects with an asset value of around R7.5-billion
Number of People under Your Leadership: 55
Management Style: I believe in creating a strong team around me for whom I provide the vision, with the team members being empowered to execute their responsibilities in an environment where they are valued in a high-performance culture and where things need to be done right the first time
Personal Best Achievement: Positively impacting on the lives of many family and friends around me
Professional Best Achievement: Turning Cennergi from an idea into an operating company
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: Venture capitalist Laurie Olivier, who is a good friend and has impacted on my personal and professional development. He has been like a personal mentor. He taught me a lot about hard work, care for people and a focus on enjoying life
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Ernst Venter – he is a visionary leader who gave me the space to perform, with Kumba and Exxaro. He’s currently the chairperson of Cennergi
Person You Would Most Like To Meet: Meeting with Nelson Mandela and Mahtma Gandhi together would probably be first prize
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Hendrik van der Bijl and Steve Jobs
Philosophy of Life: Positively impacting on the people around me while enjoying life. So many people forget to do that
Biggest Ever Opportunity: Becoming the founding CEO of Cennergi
Biggest Ever Disappointment: We had a fall-of-ground mining accident at Tshikondeni in 1996 where ten people died – that was traumatic
Hope for the Future: My hope is to help create a South Africa where we eradicate inequalities and poverty and create a great future for all our people
Favourite Reading: I love reading history and biographies
Favourite TV Programme: News (to my wife’s dismay)
Favourite Food/Drink: Steak – medium-rare – and white wine with ice
Favourite Music: Afrikaans folk music
Favourite Sport: Definitely rugby
Favourite Website: None
Hobbies: I love the outdoors
Car: Mercedez-Benz GL350 CDI
Pets: Five cats (Lucy, Whisper, Mowgli, Bibble and Isabella)
Miscellaneous Dislikes: I dislike people who cannot create solutions and only see problems
Favourite Other South African Company: Exxaro and Naspers
Favourite Foreign Company: Apple
Married: To Faye Julia Wood, since February 22, 2003
Children: Victoria 8 and Matthew
Clubs: I am not a club person