Takeshi Kimura
ByWBSComms
As an activist and a businessman, I experienced several defining moments in my career. I completed my MBA at Wits Business School in 1971. I could not find any meaningful employment as the predominantly white corporate business sector would not employ people of colour in senior management positions.
There are many moments that felt important in my career, such as when I conducted my first leadership development course for the Chief Justices of the Southern African Development Community countries.
The defining moment of my career happened when I was 12 years old. My father was the managing director of Glenton & Mitchell in the Eastern Cape, the company that launched Joko Tea during the first half of the 20th century.
My experience in the City of Johannesburg (COJ) in the late 1990s involved the restructuring of the institution to avert a financial meltdown.
I believed that I could work hard enough to earn a fabulous early retirement. I started a retail company in 1989 and my optimistic best mate helped me raise ‘capital’ by polishing up and selling my Hi-Fi system.
J.R. Morgan said, “A man always has two reasons for doing anything – a good reason and the real reason.” At the end of 2009, I found myself at a crossroad in my entrepreneurial journey.