“Every calamity is to be overcome by endurance,” wrote the great Roman poet Virgil. These are volatile times that require resilience to see them through. With this in mind, CFO SA is hosting a CFO Endurance Breakfast on 5 September 2017 at the Inanda Club in Sandton.
To examine the role of endurance and how one can develop it, CFO SA has brought together three compelling and complementary speakers. Prof Adrian Saville (pictured), Chief Strategist at Citadel & Cannon Asset Managers and a visiting academic at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, is a disciple of contrarian, deep-value investing, while celebrated raconteur Rob Caskie has delivered insightful keynote speeches to corporate and private clients in SA and the UK since 2004, including speaking at the prestigious Royal Geographic Society in London.
Deon Viljoen needs little introduction, being an active and popular member of the CFO community and CFO of the Year 2015. Earlier this year, financial services group Discovery on Thursday announced former Alexander Forbes executive as its new chief financial director. He had been CFO at the financial services giant for 14 years and has a wealth of experience in the industry.
CFO SA MD Graham Fehrsen is excited at the prospect of hosting a unique and relevant event.
"With the difficult economic climate, CFO South Africa was looking at ways to help finance leaders think about their business differently. Following a meeting with Professor Adrian Saville and a personal experience listening to guide and raconteur Rob Caskie. We came up with the idea of talking about endurance - perhaps one of the key characteristics of businesses and executives that survive challenging times. We then invited Deon Viljoen, CFO of Discovery and a man with a superb track record, to join us and share his experiences in what I believe will be a one-of-kind event.
"Professor Saville will talk to some research on businesses that have produced positive revenue and profit growth and what makes them stand out. Rob Caskie will be closing the event with some insights around the celebrated Arctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and between them we will hear how Deon Viljoen successfully navigated difficult circumstances and built endurance," he said.
If you're a CFO or FD and would like to attend this unique event, register here.
