Takeshi Kimura
ByWBSComms
The defining moment of my career was when I left a successful career in the corporate world to join a few ex-colleagues and friends in starting a new bank. This was a daunting move after having spent most of my career in a world where complex challenges were sheltered by the relative security of size, then moving to another world of complex challenges with no security.
Late one Thursday night, as I walked past my library, an epiphany struck me. I realised, just then, in that moment, what the purpose of my life was.
J.R. Morgan said, “A man always has two reasons for doing anything – a good reason and the real reason.” At the end of 2009, I found myself at a crossroad in my entrepreneurial journey.
Since leaving Wits University, my life revolved around being an entrepreneur, co-founding NetActive, Call Centre Nucleus and NetFlorist.
As an activist and a businessman, I experienced several defining moments in my career. I completed my MBA at Wits Business School in 1971. I could not find any meaningful employment as the predominantly white corporate business sector would not employ people of colour in senior management positions.