Adrian Gore is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Discovery Group.
He launched Discovery in 1992, with a simple and core purpose of making people healthier and enhancing and protecting their lives. Discovery has since evolved into a diversified and multinational financial services group. Discovery is widely acknowledged as a global thought leader in wellness behavioural change and its integration with health, life and short-term insurance.
Discovery listed on the JSE in 1997, and under Adrian’s leadership, has expanded its international reach to the United Kingdom, United States and China. Discovery generates total income flows in excess of R50 billion and has over 8 000 employees globally serving six million customers world-wide.
Adrian Gore Definition Of Success | I think external success is when you have made a difference to society and the people around you. Internally, I think you’re only successful if you’re happy with your lot. I think chasing money is a counterfeit route to success and will ultimately lead to unhappiness. A friend of mine retired at 35 and raised his children. He said: “There’s nothing I need.” I definitely believe that you have true wealth when you’re content with what you have.
I Am Driven By | Creating change inspires me. I’m motivated by the slope of the curve, not the height of it. It is when I am building something of scale which positively impacts society that I feel the greatest sense of achievement.
I’m not sure I know much more now than I did when I started. I’ve learnt more about strategy and I have a lot of faith in young people to innovate and shake the system. That excites me.
My Highlights | The whole journey has been a highlight. When you’ve had the honour and good fortune to build an organisation from the start, every development feels brand new. I can’t think of one, specific highlight. It’s all been a constant rush of growth – both corporate and personal.
Performing At My Peak | I am kept excited by the rate of change and opportunity we are faced with. Discovery has a unique approach to insurance – wellness-linked insurance – where
Vitality is integrated into health and life insurance. It is a model we pioneered in South Africa and are now exporting globally. This means that we are continuously faced with exciting growth points in the business, for example launching in a new market, or launching a next generation integrated product in an existing market. I find the process of manifesting this growth very challenging and exciting, as opposed to reveling in the reflective glory of success. It inspires me.
Principles I Live By | I think I live by a belief in the positive. I’m naturally positive, but I also believe you’ve got to work at it.
Lessons I Have Learnt | Do whatever it takes to recruit smart people. I handpicked every employee carefully. I started out by recruiting Barry Swartzberg – it took me three months.
Have a purpose for your business beyond making money. I have always wanted to make a difference in a positive way, even if I didn’t know right from the start what I wanted to do at a granular level.
Keep innovating. Innovation is an ethos for Discovery. We’re a big organisation today with legacy systems and processes and we’re innovating at a faster pace than ever before. There is a relentless focus on progress.
Louis Minnaar forms one half of Albino Creations, with Werner Burger. Their amazing collaboration allows them to tackle animation, illustration and design work, and from what we can see, there is no shortage of magnificence in their work. They see beauty in things that ordinarily seem odd, and this gives them their explicit uniqueness. From […]
Dave Foord serves as the Chief Investment Officer and Director of Foord Asset Management (Pty) Limited. Dave Foord founded Foord Asset Management in October 1981 when he was 28-years old together with Liston Meintjies. This month marks the companies 33rd birthday. My Definition Of Success | Success to me means having the independence to be […]
Ommo is the Founder and CEO of iBez, a technology company that provides software development services and also owns a number of web-based applications. She is a qualified IT Practitioner, entrepreneur and public speaker with many years of experience gained from working for a string of well-known investment banks and software companies both in the […]
It is with thanks to this dedicated author and meticulous researcher that the indigenous South African Nguni cattle, their widely patterned and multi-coloured hides and the poetry surrounding their Zulu naming, have been recorded for posterity in a beautifully crafted coffee table book following a doctoral thesis. Dr Marguerite Poland is revered for, inter alia, […]
Empower, impact and independence are three significant words to Tracey Gilmore. Formerly the co-founder of Dress 2 Impress, a non profit organisation that helps low income and unemployed women prepare to enter the workplace, Tracey joined up with Tracey Chambers and together they founded The Clothing Bank. Today, the work of this generous spirit enables […]
Debbie Millman – TLP is an American writer, educator, artist, and designer who is perhaps best known as the host of the Design Observer podcast ‘Design Matters’. She is ‘President of Design’ at Sterling Brands, based in New York City, working with brands such as Pepsi, Gillette, Colgate, Kimberly-Clark, Nestlé, and Campbells. She chairs the […]
With more than 10 years experience in the physiotherapy, hospital and medical field, Hayley Warren is a business and profit focused executive recognised as a technology pioneer in the evolution and implementation of specialised medical technology. Working from start-up phase through domestic and international market penetration, Hayley has secured a reputation for her ability to […]
Misha had the idea for Greenpop after racking up 360 000 air miles while doing an advertising job. They wanted to offset their carbon footprint but couldn’t face just handing over money – they wanted to get their hands dirty. Misha gathered like-minded individuals and started a campaign which aimed to plant 1000 trees in […]
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
