MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The new CEO of arms manufacturer Denel grew up in Mossel Bay.

Daniel du Toit started at Denel on Monday (14 January) this week. On only his second day in the post, he told the Mossel Bay Advertiser about his new role and reminisced about his childhood.

His is a classic rags to riches story.

Du Toit told how his father worked for what was then the South African Railways and Harbours (SAR&H) for 48 years and had an office at the harbour. Du Toit related fondly: "I used to walk down to his office after rugby practice; we had some tea with condensed milk together. He was brilliant with numbers, a skill that he fortunately passed on to us [children].

Challenging times
"My parents did the best they could for us, but these were challenging times and we did not have much in terms of luxury and material things.

"I often wished we could have a car like our neighbours. We grew up in an SAR house next to the railway lines.

"I had a very happy, carefree childhood. I have travelled the world, but Mossel Bay remains home. I have good memories of my childhood and I have friendships that are still strong after 45 years."

Du Toit left his role as MD at the German arms firm, SAAB Medav Technologies, to join Denel. He has a B Comm Masters degree.

He attended Point High School in Mossel Bay. "I am very proud of Point. I follow its achievements on social media. I was in the class of 1984.

"I would like to visit the school if possible. My foundation was set at the school. I have a keen interest in accounting, economics, business management and physical sciences. This interest was initiated and stimulated by Mr Voges, our accounting teacher."

As a child, Danie loved roller skating. Yet, he had a fear of heights. "I used to be petrified of walking or driving up Parkside West!" he exclaims. This is the steep, upper end of Marsh Street, which flanks Harry Giddey Park.

Swimming and fishing
He enjoyed sports, swimming and fishing.

Sharing his memories of Mossel Bay, Du Toit said: "The oldest ones are swimming in the tidal pool at the Point, going to the Lyric Café and movies and having a cream soda Groovy cooldrink.

"There was also roller skating at Hartenbos and having a haircut at Laufs." The Laufs Barber shop is still operating in the centre of town, in Cuff Street.

Du Toit recalls: "Once a month we used to visit the park in Parkside West." This is Harry Giddey Park.

When asked who his mentors were, he lists the following: "My parents; Mr Du Plessis, my maths teacher in primary school; Mr Voges, my accounting teacher at Point High School; Brig-Gen Chris Gildenhuys, my former military commander; and Micael Johansson, the deputy CEO of Saab in Sweden."

Du Toit's parents are both deceased. His father was an administrator at the railways. Du Toit said: "My mom was a 'home executive', focusing on getting us all through school.

Tough expectations
"She had tough expectations and high standards. She was extremely intelligent and personally involved with our homework and I often had to pass her 'verbal exam' before I was allowed to relax. I remember her once asking me to name the countries of Africa. When I did well, she continued to ask me to name the capital cities of those countries."

Du Toit has two brothers and four sisters. Most of his siblings live in Cape Town.

"We all had to make do after we left school. We did well. My eldest sister was a very successful business woman. Three of us successfully completed Masters degrees."

"My wife Annette and I have been married for 30 years. Our son Jean-Claude is 28. He is a lawyer and we're very proud of him. My wife is my motivator and support."

Humble
Du Toit said: "I am a humble person. I have had wonderful opportunities in life. I'm thankful. I'm an introvert with a lot of extrovert training."

When asked to list his strengths, Du Toit, said: "I am an extremely focused and disciplined person. I have a strong sense of responsibility and commitment and perseverance, but my patience training is not yet completed."

The house in which Du Toit lived as a child. It has since been renovated. Photo: Grey Stopforth

Du Toit mused: "I won a baby beauty contest in Mossel Bay in 1967.

"Also, I won many roller skating competitions in Hartenbos in my teenage years. We used to skate for 24 hours, with a five-minute break each hour. After that the 'survivors' raced for the trophy.

"I remember the large, R1 coin-sized blisters on my feet. At the time, Walkman music players had just been introduced and Cliff Richard's Wired for Sound was a favourite on my Walkman, in the skating ring.

Extremely competitive
"I used to sell newspapers to the holiday makers. I was extremely competitive and won many prizes for selling the most newspapers."

Du Toit's peers at school included Mossel Bay policeman Wo Stephanus Marx (aka Turbo) of the K9 Unit, current Da Gamaskop Police Station spokesperson Captain Wollie Fourie and Emieel van Zyl, now deputy principal at Point High.

Marx said: "Danie is extremely intelligent. Even in those days, he was very interested in the army. Everything was army, army, army. He was one of the youngest colonels in the army. At school he loved being a cadet - the drills and everything."

Marx said one of the local fishing spots, Pasie se Gat, between Little Brak and Hartenbos river mouths, was named after Du Toit's father, who was a keen angler.

Nowadays Du Toit's pastimes include "any form of fishing", mountain biking, golf and squash.

Memory lane
"We try to visit Mossel Bay at least once a year," he said.

"We stayed at Point Village for some days in December 2017. We did a trip down memory lane in 2017, visiting all the places where I grew up, the military units where I served, all the houses where we stayed over time and we swam at the Point.

"Mossel Bay is a paradise with some of the best beaches in the world. We want to retire in the area one day."

Denel made an operating loss of R1.7 billion in the 2017/18 financial year. A rigorous turnaround strategy has been implemented.

The trade union, the Liberated Metalworkers of SA, criticised the appointment of a white, male CEO, but Denel responded, saying Du Toit was the right person for the job and provided statistics on its employee demographics to demonstrate its commitment to workforce transformation.

When asked about his game plan for the embattled state-owned entity, Du Toit replied: "It is my second day in the office and I have met many capable, bright and motivated people here at Denel.

Acute sense of urgency
"We are working on the turnaround plan with an acute sense of urgency. We have an action-oriented approach.

"Our first priority is to stabilise the business and work on our operational performance. In parallel we work on a comprehensive and thorough business review to assess our position and align our strategic objectives."

Du Toit concluded: "It's great to be back in South Africa after living in Germany for three and a half years.

"I'm extremely excited about our country and the future."

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