Much Asphalt FD Tommie Koeries had a 10-year plan pinned to his cupboard when he was still at varsity. It included a gap year to gain experience and find a wife.
For Much Asphalt FD Tommie Koeries, the dream to become an accountant started when he scored 100 percent on a grade eight accounting exam. With encouragement from his teachers, Tommie decided on the spot that he wanted to be a chartered accountant.
After matric, Tommie couldn’t afford to study full-time, so he got a job as a salesman and then studied part-time for a BCom, at the University of the Western Cape.
“During my first year of study, I also played cricket for UWC. Through the UWC Skills for Life bursary programme, I was subsequently awarded a sports bursary, which funded my studies from my second year onward,” says Tommie.
“Then, in 2003, after graduating with my B Comm Acc degree, I developed a 10-year plan as part of my vision board and it turned out almost as I wrote it.”
The vision board caught the eye of a friend who is a priest and today still uses that as inspiration when speaking to youngsters.
After completing his degree, Tommie decided to take a gap year to gain experience in accounting before starting the CA qualification. “Most people warned me against taking a gap year, but it worked for me,” he says. “During that same year, in 2004, I met my wife, Claudine, and got married in December 2005,” he says.
By 2010, he successfully completed his second exam and by 2013, he achieved his goal of becoming a CFO at 33.
Unwavering discipline and hard leadership lessons
The discipline that got him through part-time articles never left. Every morning before sunrise, Tommie spends 20 minutes meditating before heading to the gym for high-intensity workouts, occasional weights, then the sauna to wind down and mentally prepare for the day. He’s kept this routine throughout his life.
“The proudest professional moment in my life is becoming a CA. It was my childhood dream, and I did it on a part-time basis – it was proof that I could achieve anything if I put my mind to it. My proudest personal moments were meeting my wife and welcoming my two children into the world,” says Tommie.
While Tommie’s vision board mapped out his life’s milestones personally and professionally, it could not prepare him for some of the leadership challenges he was about to face.
“Part of my hardest lessons were learning how to deal with power dynamics and politics,” Tommie says. He references Niven Postma’s book on leadership lessons If you don’t do politics, politics will do you, saying he learnt that lesson the hard way.
“Managing power dynamics requires a good grasp of all the stakeholders you serve. During the recent divestiture of Much Asphalt from a listed entity, I represented the selling party while simultaneously transitioning into management within the new Much Asphalt. This created a potential conflict of interest,” he explains.
“To be honest, I did not initially see it as such, because my sole responsibility was to act in the best interests of Much Asphalt and all its stakeholders, including potential new shareholders. That became my guiding principle in navigating the power dynamics at play.”
He borrows a phrase from Niven Postma to illustrate his thinking; “This does not mean compromising the values you stand for.”
Technology and the changing workplace
On technology, Tommie is equally deliberate. “One thing I promised myself is to always stay updated with developments in my field and technology,” he says. “Right now I make extensive use of AI as a tool. I've even researched digital currencies like Bitcoin, stablecoins and blockchain technologies,” he adds.
He’s enthusiastic about the tools but cautious about the trajectory. “I believe we are still in the infancy stages of generative AI. We need rules to govern and regulate it because it has the power to outgrow us as humans and that can be dangerous.”
For Tommie, managing the effect of advancing technologies on the business and staff requires a flexible leadership approach.
“There’s a struggle from older generations to understand Gen Z’s work flow and their operating models. We expect them to be at their desk and computers all the time, be productive, get things done, operate like a machine. But it also goes both ways. Gen Z and the younger generations also need to make an effort to understand the older generations expectations,” says Tommie.
“If people want to work from home and we don’t have deadlines, we can be flexible about it. Many of them just want to earn enough to pay for their lifestyles and be comfortable, so they will give the best of themselves for that purpose,” Tommie says.
Vision: 2090
The original vision board has since been replaced. The new vision board titled 2090, and seen by CFO South Africa, maps out the next 65 years.
His main goals are to:
- Live well: which includes deep introspection and spiritual development.
- Love abundantly: nurture the relationships that are most important, carving out 10 hours of high quality time monthly with Claudine, and 15 hours divided between his two children.
- Professional development: Tracks his future areas of studying and quarterly meetings with friends who are also finance professionals.
- Personal development: Tommie believes he can live for another 65 years if he hits his weekly nutrition and exercise goals while aiming to read two books a month.
- Business empire: Perhaps the most ambitious part of the Vision 2090 includes timelines for him to establish a business and key net worth positions by 2040 and 2060.
