Takeshi Kimura
ByWBSComms
It seems like just yesterday when I moved almost 2 000km from home, Thohoyandou in Venda to Bellville in Cape Town, left a secure comfortable job in academia and joined Sanlam as a research consultant in their employee benefits division.
The most defining moment in my career so far was the opportunity to present and be a style expert for the global hit makeover show 10 Years Younger which was broadcast at primetime on Channel 4 in the UK.
The day I gave birth to my son, who is five years old now, was the day my career focus changed. That day I realised that I not only need to talk the talk but also walk it in order to be the example that I want my son to follow.
I was a really good social worker. I loved working in a community, doing long-term development work with individuals and groups. However, because I was a good social worker, I quickly became a manager of peers, then teams and projects, and ultimately organisations.
Every day is a great opportunity to claw one back for the ordinary person in a corruption-infested South Africa that is making every one of us poorer.
The most defining moment in my career so far was the critical decision that I made to transition from the corporate environment to the family business founded by both my parents.