Peter Moyo: Keen writer and photographer

Leseja Mokgata

PETER Moyo is looking surprisingly relaxed, typing away at his laptop at a Sandton coffee shop just days after announcing his resignation from Alexander Forbes.

“A friend of mine is writing a children’s book,” he explains with a smile.
“She asked me to write something for the introduction. I’m just finishing off the last few paragraphs.”

One would expect a man in Moyo’s position to be writing frantic letters to shareholders or employees putting them at ease about the future of the company.

But, taking another sip of his cappuccino, Moyo says he has already moved past the situation.
“I like this place,” he says. “I can have my meetings here and it’s close to the highway. I have to be in Pretoria in half an hour.

“I don’t go into the office any more; what’s the point if I’m not involved in big decisions any more?”

Moyo’s next position will be with Amabubesi In vestments, a company he set up with Thabiso Tlelai and chief executive Sango Ntsabula.

“I genuinely liked the company [Alexander Forbes], but I felt this was a good time for me to leave.

“Next year I’ll be taking on a permanent position at Amabubesi, but for now I’ll be seeing more of my kids.”

Last week Moyo announced his resignation from Alexander Forbes as the group’s chief executive, citing irreconcilable differences with the board.

While Moyo declines to comment further on the reasons for his departure, he says that he is still very good friends with his executive committee.

“My main issue was with certain positions that the board was taking,” he says.
“They asked me to stay, but it was time for me to move on and focus on Amabubesi.
“I’m a strong believer in black people and at Amabubesi I believe we can create a lot of regeneration of black business,” he says.

“We need more black companies led directly by black people with serious business experience.
“When we started out we had very little choice in the companies we invested in, but now we will be able to work with companies with the same values as us and there are good growth prospects,” Moyo says.

Amabubesi owns assets worth R1.3-billion in transport and logistics, property and infrastructure, healthcare, information and communications technology and other strategic investments.

The company has majority holding in several companies, including a 26percent stake in Iso Leisure, an interest in Growth Point, Basil Read Holdings, Enaleni Pharmaceuticals, Digicore Fleet Management and Peregrine Technologies.

Moyo says: “I’ll be working much more closely with the companies, assisting them with whatever management issues they feel we can provide.

“But until then I’ll be working on my golf game and figuring out how to use a camera I just bought.”