He memorised the Quran at 12, skipped a grade, and once went behind a café counter in Mauritius to show a barista how to steam milk properly. Finance boss Faheem Sarwan does not do half-measures – whether it's latte art, crisis management, or steering half a billion rand in revenue.
Faheem Sarwan doesn’t fit neatly into the usual corporate mould. Long before the boardroom became part of his world, iOCO’s finance director made a decision that already set him apart.
In grade six, he stepped out of school to focus on learning the Quran, spending two years immersed in memorisation before returning and skipping an entire academic grade. It was an experience that demanded discipline and patience, qualities that have stayed with him. But these days, they surface in unexpected ways, including his deep appreciation for well-made coffee, where precision and care matter just as much as the end result.
“I’m very particular about coffee,” Faheem says, smiling. “I’ve got a manual machine at home. I grind the beans myself, pack the puck, steam the milk properly. I even do latte art. That attention to detail follows me everywhere, even on holiday. I was in Mauritius and ordered a coffee, and it just wasn’t right. In the end, I asked if I could go behind the counter and make it myself. They actually let me, and I ended up showing them how to steam the milk properly. It wasn’t about being difficult at all. It’s the same principle I apply to everything in life. If you’re going to do something, do it properly and take pride in it,” he explains.
Faheem grew up in Lenasia, Johannesburg, in a close-knit family with one younger sister. His mother was a teacher at the school he attended, while his father worked as a credit controller, first at a private firm and later at the University of the Witwatersrand, where Faheem would go on to study accounting.
His professional journey began at EY, where he was placed on the Aveng audit, at the time of one of the firm’s most demanding engagements. The experience was intense and formative, and he credits it as one of the environments where he learnt the most.
Success factors
Faheem progressed to audit manager at EY and also completed a secondment to California before leaving the firm in 2019. From there, he joined Africa Sun Oil, a privately owned edible oils manufacturer.
In 2023, he moved to iOCO (then EOH), joining as a finance executive in a listed, fast-moving tech environment. After navigating a period of significant change within the group, he was promoted to financial director in 2025, overseeing two major divisions: iOCO Digital and its Outsourced Knowledge Solutions.
Faheem noted that there are a few ingredients that have inspired his rise to management. “For me, the biggest one is ownership. Doing your job as if the business is yours, not just ticking off tasks. You have to keep asking yourself how you can add value to the bottom line, what really matters to shareholders and stakeholders, and what makes the company tick,” Faheem says.
“Alongside that, resilience and consistency are critical. You have to keep showing up, especially when things are tough, and not disappear when the pressure is on. Insight and people skills matter too. Understanding the numbers is not enough if you can’t work with people or earn their trust.”
For Faheem, his biggest career highlight is not just a job title, but the fact that he has consistently been trusted and valued by the people he has worked with. While becoming a financial director was a goal he had from the early days while studying to be a CA, he sees it as the result of many smaller moments along the way – being given responsibility, being backed to make decisions and being recognised for the work he put in.
Opportunities to grow
Faheem credits several leaders across his career who took the time to guide him. He also pointed to the influence of his family, particularly his mother, whose values of fairness and selflessness shaped how he approaches both leadership and life.
“I also define success as doing something I am genuinely passionate about,” Faheem said. ‘If I wake up each day excited about the work I am doing, then I know I am on the right path. Early in your career, it is important to explore, gain experience and figure out what truly excites you, because once you find that, work no longer feels like a burden.”
Faheem believes leadership should be based on fairness, responsibility and respect for people. He believes that a leader’s role is not only to deliver results for the business, but also to care for the people who make those results possible. He understands that every decision affects different stakeholders and he therefore tries to balance senior expectations with what his team needs to do their work well.
“I try to lead in a way that my team feels supported, but also challenged, and to know that their contribution matters. I believe people perform better when they feel valued and treated fairly, not when they are driven by fear or pressure.”
A successful strategy, for Faheem, is one that people genuinely buy into and understand. In his view, even the most well-designed plan will fail if the team does not feel part of it from the start.
A practical mindset
He emphasises the importance of setting a clear objective and keeping it front of mind, rather than allowing plans to become overly complex or lost in endless meetings and committees.
For him, effective plans are simple, focused and action-orientated. He has seen that progress comes not from over-planning, but from taking decisive action around a shared goal.
Building on this practical mindset, Faheem’s views on financial reporting and sustainability are equally concrete. He believes that accurate, timely and standardised financial reporting remains critical, not only for compliance but as a powerful decision-making tool.
Faheem does not have many regrets from a career point of view. “If anything, I believe early in your career you shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes, ask questions and be inquisitive, because that’s how you learn,” he says.
“I would advise younger professionals to chase experience rather than titles, take risks early on while you have fewer responsibilities, and push yourself to learn as many new skills as possible.”
When Faheem joined his current company, it was going through a difficult period marked by severe cash flow pressure, which required tough decisions to be made quickly including drastic cost-cutting measures and letting people go. From this experience, he learnt that strong leadership matters most in such moments. ‘I learnt that how you handle a crisis is just as important as the decisions you make. You need to be empathetic, transparent and communicate clearly with your team about why those decisions are necessary and what the bigger picture is.’
Away from the crises and triumphs of the office, Faheem has a full and busy family life. A devoted family man, he is the father of two daughters and is expecting a third. When he does switch off, his passion for football comes to the fore, with an unwavering loyalty to Liverpool, living through the Anfield mantra of never walking alone.
