"BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR"

LAURIE Dippenaar was named Businessman of the Year at the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies banquet this week.
He was by far the winner from a poll of chief executives of last year's top 100 survey finishers. This year's survey comes to you in this week's Sunday Times.

This year, from the saddle of his bicycle while competing in the Argus race around Chapman's Peak, Dippenaar secured the funding necessary for the R60-billion deal in which Anglo American entrusted management control of its financial services investments, Southern Life and First National Bank, to the Rand Merchant Bank/Momentum team. Dippenaar became chief executive of the merged group, now called FirstRand.

The story began 21 years ago when GT Ferreira, Dick Goss and Dippenaar formed Rand Consolidated Acceptances. Paul Harris joined a year later, and in 1984, the company bought Rand Merchant Bank from Johann Rupert. Eight years on, RMB bought Momentum Life, and Dippenaar was despatched to look after Momentum, which he steered to robust health and a top 10 placing in the Business Times Top 100 companies a year ago.

"We don't do many deals," says Dippenaar, but when we do them, they are big ones."
Furniture retailer Profurn was the top-performing share in the five years ending September 30 1998 and the winner of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies award for 1998.

The award is based on total investment return to shareholders, including capital appreciation and dividends. A R10 000 investment in Profurn had grown into R277 725 during the period - a compound rate of return of more than 90% a year.
Accepting the award on behalf of Profurn, chairman Gerald Rubenstein said it was a fantastic tribute to the efforts of everyone at the company that Profurn had achieved this honour. Profurn's parent, Supreme, was liquidated in 1992 and it faced the prospect of being sold off to pay creditors.

Profurn has prospered locally and on the continent, turning over more than R1-billion from nearly 300 SA stores and more than 100 in eight African countries. It has a market capitalisation of R2.7-billion .

In second place was Tiger Wheels; Gencor was third and Dimension Data fourth - the sixth year in succession it has made the top 10.

$Boopathi$, October 14, 2008