WINDHOEK – Retired Chief Executive Officer of McCarthy Limited, the holding company of McCarthy Motor Holdings, which is the leading motor retail group in South Africa, Brand Pretorius, yesterday told Namibian business personalities that companies that ignore change will most likely perish due to the ever-evolving world of business.
“One thing is certain, companies waiting for the storm to pass will perish while companies that learn to dance in the rain and weather the storm will flourish,” warned Pretorius during a presentation themed ‘Guidelines for sustainable business success in a rapidly changing environment’. “The future will not be an extension of the past. Yesterday’s profits might not be the profits of tomorrow. To ensure sustainable success, the challenge is to fit into the new norms and conform to world-class levels of efficiency,” said Pretorius.
Complimenting Namibia on a stable business and political environment, Pretorius noted that while the country is relatively isolated it is not “insulated” from global events. “Therefore, Namibia cannot ignore what is happening in the rest of the world and the region,” he remarked.
Pretorius, who currently serves as a non-executive director on numerous boards in South Africa and who is also a member of the advisory boards of the international consultancy firm Alexander Proudfoot as well as the Motor Industry Ombudsman of South Africa, advised Namibian companies to be aggressive, proactive, to embrace change as a friend and to move quickly and decisively.
“Companies also need to be socially responsible and cannot ignore poverty, inequality and problems such as education and healthcare. Doing good is good business so let’s make a difference,” Pretorius told the breakfast gathering at a local hotel.
He advised companies to ensure that their strategic planning is done properly and on time as well as strong financial management. In this regard, he noted that “cash-flow is the lifeblood of any business”, but cautioned companies not to grow too fast, as growth of any sort comes with its own inherent risks.
Pretorius, who also holds honorary positions at several South African universities, emphasised the need for companies to appoint the best leaders available. “Everything rises and falls on leadership. Autocratic transactional leadership pushes away people and demoralises them. Leadership is not about positional power and authority. It is about influence and influence is earned. Quality leadership becomes every business’ competitive advantage,” advised Pretorius.
In March 1995, Pretorius joined South Africa’s largest motor retail group, McCarthy Motor Holdings, as chief executive. In October 1999, he was promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer of McCarthy Limited, the holding company of McCarthy Motor Holdings. It is widely acknowledged that Pretorius played a pivotal role in saving McCarthy from bankruptcy. Due to massive bad debt write-offs in its Prefcor division, the group was declared technically insolvent in February 2001. However, under Pretorius’s leadership McCarthy was successfully recapitalised, restructured and restored to financial health. Thousands of jobs were saved and today the group employs 7 000 people, has an annual turnover in excess of N$20 billion and sells approximately 75 000 new and used vehicles annually.
Pretorius retired as CEO of McCarthy and as an executive director of the Bidvest Group in March 2011.