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So, You Think You Want to Be a CEO?

Business EN ↓ 5 episodes

Everyone wants the title. Almost no one is ready for the truth behind it. This is a News24 podcast series for people who build things – and for those who want to understand what leadership actually costs. Hosted by Bruce Whitfield, each episode is an unfiltered conversation with people who have sat in the chair: founders, executives, disruptors and industry leaders who have faced the pressure, responsibility and personal contradictions that come with running something bigger than themselves. No consultants. No spin. No highlight reel. Just honest conversations about the distance between what l

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News24

Episodes

Sir Brad Fried: Leading by design 06.07.2026 42:19

Brad grew up in Cape Town. A phone call to Jim Wulfensohn who later became head of the World Bank changed his life. He worked at McKinsey, ran Investec in London and was drawn into public service culminating in being appointed Chairman of the Court of the Bank of England. He has been chairman of Goldman Sachs International and in recent years has been CEO of Kirsh International – running the compl...

Gary Lubner: Leading Through The Cracks 29.06.2026 43:24

His grandfather pushed a cart of glass through downtown Johannesburg at the start of the 20th century and became chair of Belron. His father later ran the business. When Gary Lubner took it over, it had a turnover of €600 million; by the time he retired it was headed to €7 billion and employed 36 000 people. Listen to the extraordinary story of building Belron, the world’s biggest autoglass busine...

Mike Teke: Leading from the coal face 22.06.2026 36:30

Mike Teke built Seriti Resources into one of South Africa’s most significant coal miners. Now he’s navigating the uncomfortable transition to renewables in a country that still depends on fossil fuels to keep the lights on. No consultants. No compromise. Just an expectation that his people show up with global best practice or don’t show up at all. This is a conversation about what genuine convic...

Leading Tashas in a war zone 15.06.2026 36:39

Natasha Sideris grew up running the till in her dad’s restaurant, and was studying psychology when she started a side hustle she named after herself. Now with 45 stores in five countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, she has been fighting for survival on the dangerous fringe of the Iran war. This is a conversation about what you actually find out about yourself when the t...

Letting Go Was Yuppiechef Founder’s Toughest Test 08.06.2026 40:56

Andrew Smith and Shane Dryden built Yuppiechef from a lounge-floor startup into one of South Africa’s most recognisable online brands – then had to confront the hardest truth in founder psychology: the skills that build a business are rarely the ones that scale it. A self-confessed people-pleaser who struggled to delegate control, Smith’s real leadership test wasn’t the funding rounds or the growt...