Meet Gysie Pienaar. Smart, intelligent and stylish. He is a leader of note and has an incredible business mind. We’re very proud to call him our very own CEO and here’s your opportunity to pick his brain… He is the ORIGINAL Smart guy.
- Name: Gysie
- Surname: Pienaar
- Age: 36
- Profession/Life’s work: CEO OFS Smart Repair, Executive Director Beaufort-Wes Toyota, Chairman CRA Free State and Northern Cape, Board member CRA national, Board member Collision Repairers Co-operative, Vice-captain BFN Golf club
So, what’s your story?
- Where were you born? Bloemfontein
- Where did you go to school? Sentraal High school, Bloemfontein
- Where and what did you study? Central University of Technology, Mechanical engineering
- What was your childhood dream? When I was 6 or 7 all I wanted to be is a cowboy, later on the dream was to become a fighter pilot!
- What was your first job? I worked as a mechanical engineer in the design team at SA Truck Bodies.
- Advice that shaped you career? My dad taught me that you have to sometimes take risks to succeed, and that you have to keep a very close eye on figures within the business because figures never lie! My mom taught me to work very carefully with your money and that hard work gets rewarded. Together they taught me the perfect balance.
- What gets you out of bed in the morning? My son Sion, he wakes up around 5:00! Also to play golf on Saturdays;)
- What motivates you? Growing my business. Each day presents an opportunity to improve your business, to innovate and to make better profit margins. A very big motivator for me is to see my workforce successfully implement systems that I designed to make OFS more productive but also systems that empowers them to grow within OFS.
- How do you spend your down time? I love to play golf, spend time with my family and 9-month old son Sion. I gym, read a lot of car books, I like to go hunting and I enjoy a visit to our game farm.
- What does success look like to you? Being able to do ethical business while still managing to make good profit. Giving your employees the opportunity to grow with your business. That to me is the two core aspects of being successful in South Africa.
- What sets you apart as an influential man in business? Attention to detail and no compromise on quality. I consider myself to be innovative. I do things differently, I think differently. I never shy away from my responsibilities and I take a firm stand on what I believe in.
- What are the valuable lessons you have learnt in business? It takes a lot of hard work, time, effort and true commitment to succeed. There are no short cuts. To keep your company relevant and on the forefront always evolve and innovate.
- When I hire I want? What makes a great employee? An honest, committed, loyal and healthy employee is what I look for.
- Give me 3 words that describes you best? Ambitious, Innovative, Leader
- What are your 3 biggest accomplishments?
- Establishing OFS as not just a local, but a national front runner in our industry.
- Being a co-founder of the Collision Repair Association & Collision Repairers Co-operative
- Establishing a business network of note
- ALSO, hitting a hole-in-one at the beginning of this year!
- I wish I could tell my 22-year-old self: Listen and learn more. Don’t always think you know everything! Believe in your abilities and dream BIG.
- Hidden talent: I’m a pretty decent golfer, a great socialiser and I’m also very creative
- What other CEO’s do you look up to? This is a tricky one to answer, as I believe each successful CEO has to use their own special talents to become successful. To copy what other CEO’s do won’t necessarily bring success to you. I admire certain aspects from certain CEO’s. For instance, Steve Jobs, he refused to let outsiders who didn’t understand the core of Apple determine the future of Apple. That to me is crucial. The type of CEO I look up to are self-made CEO’s and entrepreneurs. People that grew with the expansion of their business. In the corporate world CEO’s come and go and they rarely understand the core principals and fundamentals of the companies they work for compared to CEO’s that started their business and grew the business to become a big corporate company. Having said that I have met some amazing CEO’s in the motor and insurance industry of predominantly listed companies.
- What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess? You have to be competitive, ambitious and have great discipline. I also believe you should be your team’s mentor and guardian. Be loyal to them and honestly care about their well-being.
- What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time? Always lead by example. Familiarise yourself with every aspect of the business. Also, numbers don’t lie. You have to keep tabs on progress and devise a proper system of measurement.
Favourites:
- Colour: Red
- Food: Margarita Pizza
- Sport: Rugby and Golf
- Sport persona: Hansie Cronje – he had his shortcomings and faults, but he was a great inspiring leader. He was always mindful and respectful of his teammates and he led by example on the field.
- Happy place: Our annual hunting trips – enjoying good friends’ company and the quiet of the bush.
- Band: Coldplay, Heuwels fantasties, U2
- Car: AC Cobra
- If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be and why? Nelson Mandela – Madiba definitely. I am always amazed by his integrity, humility and honour. How did he achieve such wisdom? He could have hated his oppressors, but he didn’t. He chose forgiveness and achieved ultimate freedom because of it. He was a GREAT man.
- Quote: No guts, no glory. No risk, No reward.
- Book or Magazine: Car magazine
