Craig Yeatman

ByWBSComms

Craig Yeatman

Current title
Group Operations Manager: Worldsview Holdings

Course at Wits Business School
Master of Business Administration, 2006

A defining moment in my career

I believed that I could work hard enough to earn a fabulous early retirement. I started a retail company in 1989 and my optimistic best mate helped me raise ‘capital’ by polishing up and selling my Hi-Fi system. More than a decade later, after a drunken lunch at which I confessed my need for large amounts of capital to fund a detour into distribution, another friend stepped in and wrote a cheque on a handshake. Five years later a third friend stepped in to run the businesses while I set out to complete an MBA. The MBA, along with trust in his ability to run the core business, gave me the confidence to detour into consulting and academia.

The reading, teaching and consulting work exposed me to an array of experiences outside of the first company I started, and equipped me to come full circle back to an executive role in the original business. I think people have trusted me because I worked hard, detoured when invited to, and kept trying to learn more. I think every detour turned out to be the main road, not a detour after all. The fabulous retirement is still under construction, and so I chop wood and carry water in search of a better way to get stuff done.

Similar Posts

Deon Opperman

Deon Opperman

ByWBSComms

The defining moment of my career happened when I was 12 years old. My father was the managing director of Glenton & Mitchell in the Eastern Cape, the company that launched Joko Tea during the first half of the 20th century. 

Wendy Luhabe

Wendy Luhabe

ByWBSComms

After spending about ten years in corporate South Africa from 1981 to 1991, I was overlooked for a marketing position that became available. The marketing manager would not even allow me to be interviewed.

Takeshi Kimura

Takeshi Kimura

ByWBSComms

There is no doubt that applying to business school can be a very stressful undertaking. However, even after my graduation more than ten years ago, I can say Wits Business School was a great fit and special for me with quality time spent.