After a year of military service, I studied Accountancy at Pretoria University, obtaining a B Com Honours degree.
While doing my “articles” at Von Geusau, Coetzee and De Wit (who later became the Pretoria office of Deloittes), I qualified as a chartered accountant.
In 1978 I moved to Johannesburg and became an audit partner at the firm Meyer, Wilson & Marsh. This firm went through a number of name changes and in 2010 merged with a “mid-tier” firm, BDO SA Inc.
I retired as a fulltime partner/director at the end of 2016 and now work for them on a part-time basis, being responsible for a few JSE and London listed entities.
Belinda and I were married in 1974 and we have three children: Michele, Jeffrey and Douglas. Michele also qualified as a chartered accountant and moved overseas. This enabled me to spend time in places such as Bermuda, New York, Boston, Singapore and lately Sydney.
We lived in Linden, Johannesburg for 35 years and have recently moved to a retirement complex in Northcliff. We now spend a few weeks a year in various game reserves and have been on a cruise or two. I have been involved with the Old Grey Reunion since about 1977, firstly in Pretoria and then in Johannesburg where I was on their committee as treasurer for many years.