Meryl Pick

If someone came to you tomorrow with R100m to invest in just one company, which would it be?

Remgro, for the underlying diversity at a decent price.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I’d love to be able to run faster. I have to work really hard just to finish a road race within the cut-off time.

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made?

Investing time into an MBA. Without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled onto this career, which has turned out to be a perfect fit.

How much was your first pay cheque and what did you do with it?

For my first full-time job, about R8,000. I didn’t do anything memorable with it: paid rent, bought groceries. I saved half of it because I was planning to buy my first car and I needed a deposit.

If you could turn back time, what would you change in your life?

I think I could have been less serious at high school and varsity, but I wouldn’t change much other than that.

What’s the worst investment you’ve ever made?

I’ve probably lost the most on Anglo American — on a personal account, fortunately.

What is your most treasured possession?

Story tapes that I listened to during childhood, with matching books. My mom saved them for grandkids.

What travel experience is on your bucket list?

A food tour through Istanbul, Turkey.

If you found a lottery ticket tomorrow that had won US$100M, what would you do with it?

Buy my dream home and car; travel; give some away to extended family and friends; invest enough to take care of my immediate family’s needs so that I’d never feel as if I work because I have to, only because I want to; and set up a scholarship trust for underprivileged kids to get better basic and tertiary education.

What was your last purchase?

Lunch — a hake burger from Now Now.

On what occasion do you lie?

My most frequent lie is probably saying, “I’m fine” when I’m actually having a bad day.