Plaudits for Covid victim Peter Matlare
Tributes poured in on Monday for Peter Matlare, who succumbed to Covid-19related complications the day before. Absa, where the 61year-old was deputy CEO and led its African operation outside SA, hailed the “significant contribution” he made to the banking group and said it mourned the loss of ”a dedicated leader, a visionary and an amazing human being”. Former CEO Maria Ramos said she was devastated.
Tributes poured in on Monday for the late Peter Matlare, who had succumbed to Covid-19-related complications the day before.
Absa, where the 61-year-old was deputy CEO and led its African operations outside SA, hailed the “significant contribution” he made to the organisation and said it mourned the loss of “a dedicated leader, a visionary and an amazing human being”.
Former CEO, Maria Ramos, who was instrumental in getting Matlare to come on board as an executive, said she was devastated.
“He stood out amongst the very best executives I have worked with in the private and public sectors. He was a seasoned, experienced executive with significant experience as CEO by the time he joined as deputy CEO in August 2016.
“I always felt very privileged that he agreed to join the team. We had a huge ambition to build a pan-African business and he understood and had experience of what it took to build sustainable businesses in SA and across Africa,” Ramos said.
Matlare “built enduring relationships of trust and respect across a broad spectrum” and was “fully vested in leaving things better than he found them”. Ramos worked closely with Matlare until she left the banking group in 2019, as it neared the completion of its divorce from former UK parent Barclays, a process he was instrumental in seeing to its end.
“His optimism was infectious but he was equally determined to drive outcomes and set high standards of excellence. He was generous in sharing success and did not shy away from responsibility for failures and obstacles, which we all have to deal with from time to time.”
Listed fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Tiger Brands, which Matlare led from 2008 to 2015, said in a statement on Monday his influence and values were “still very much felt” in its corridors.
“He had a vision of creating a ‘new’ Tiger that would showcase all the talent of our continent and strove to build the first African FMCG champion, a vision that attracted some great talent to the company.
“In pursuing this, he had the courage to invest in growing our business outside of SA. This courage was only exceeded by the way he subsequently owned and took personal accountability for these investment decisions.”
Another of Matlare’s former employers, the SABC, which he led from 2001 to 2005 and left in a position of financial strength and unblemished by political influence, hailed Matlare’s “great aptitude and leadership”.
“Matlare’s legacy at the SABC was felt for years following his departure,” and those trying to turn it around from its current state of crisis “will continue to learn from the lessons and foundation” he left behind, SABC board chair Bongumusa Makhathini said. “He will forever be remembered for being a remarkable business executive, whose tenure at the SABC and subsequent companies he led, has left a blueprint on how to run successful businesses.”
The Black Management Forum said the banker’s passing robbed the country of one of its greatest people.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Peter Matlare. He was a seasoned executive whose track record of quality performance and commitment to excellence speaks for itself. He leaves behind an example of ethical leadership that is anchored in a values-based leadership approach that doesn’t compromise both transformation and business performance,” president of the forum Andile Nomlala said.
Matlare is survived by his wife, Nomvula, and their three daughters.
HE LEAVES BEHIND AN EXAMPLE OF ETHICAL LEADERSHIP THAT IS ANCHORED IN A VALUES-BASED APPROACH