Full Name: Dougal Bennett

Position and Company Name: Chief commercial officer at Mukuru

Main Activity of the Company: Mukuru is a money-transfer provider in Africa and next-generation financial services platform that offers affordable and reliable financial services

Date and Place of Birth: 1978; Harare, Zimbabwe

Schools and Tertiary Education: Ruzawi School and Peterhouse School (both in Zimbabwe) and Rhodes University, South Africa

First Job: Working for my father when I was 16. I had to load crates of fruit onto the back of a bakkie and then drive 50 km to drop it off at the processing factory

Size of First Pay Packet: I seem to think it was enough to buy a few CDs back then

Career Path to Date: I had multiple ad hoc jobs post university whilst travelling, and this was followed by five years in marketing for a national UK newspaper, five years at a Big Four audit firm in London, nine years as CFO at Mukuru and I’m currently in my third year as chief commercial officer at Mukuru

Number of People under Your Leadership: 35

Management Style: Approachable, attention to detail, roll my sleeves up, get the right team in place and give them the necessary support

Personal Best Achievement: If I limit the question to a professional context, I would say growing the finance function at Mukuru from scratch to a Big Four-audited multinational company serving 16-million customers

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My grandfather

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Jane Boothey, a partner at KPMG in London and an incredible leader

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi – she has some great insights around the importance of mentorship and education in advancing women in the workplace

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: JK Rowling, for her ability to take on the adversities that life threw at her and become the incredibly successful businesswoman she is today

Philosophy of Life: Be genuine, treat people respectfully and do your best. Do that, and everything else will fall into place

Biggest Ever Opportunity: To get a good-quality education at a young age, without which I wouldn’t have got into the university of my choice, completed my CA later and be on the career path I’m on today

Biggest Ever Disappointment: Not meeting Nelson Mandela when I had the chance. I was probably 12 and he was at the same hotel we were staying at. He came around and chatted to my folks but my brother and I were more interested in his military helicopter so we rushed off to see the helicopter and I missed my chance to meet him

Hope for the Future: That we truly invest in children’s education in Africa

Favourite Reading: I generally read books for escapism, so any good thriller is up my street

Favourite TV Programme: Generally, whatever sport is playing is what I watch. For series I enjoy thrillers, detective/crime and easy comedy

Favourite Food/Drink: I’m not particular when it comes to drinks, as my choice typically depends on the occasion and the weather

Favourite Music: Indie Rock

Favourite Sport: I enjoy cricket, rugby, rowing and athletics. I love watching any big sporting events too, such as the Olympics and the soccer World Cup

Hobbies: Running and travelling

Car: A 2011 Mercedes-Benz B-Class

Pets: Three dogs and two hamsters

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Entitled people, wasting time (mine or other people’s), micro-managers and spelling mistakes

Married: To Julia

Children: Fraser, 11; Faye, 9; Neve, 7

Clubs: VOB Running Club