In 1984, at a time when South Africa was beginning to feel the consequences of international isolation and sanctions, and when the tourism and hospitality industries faced bankruptcy and failure, Protea Hotels was launched – without a cent of capital and with just four hotels. Under the leadership of Arthur Gillis, the Protea Hotels Group grew from the initial four hotels to over 130 hotels operating in seven African countries, and is today the largest and leading hotel operating company in Africa.
Arthur is currently the CEO of Platinum Hospitality Holdings, a leading hotel asset management company with approximately 15 hotels in South Africa.
He has been extremely active in all facets of the hospitality industry and has received many industry awards. He was recognised by a highly esteemed business community, having received the ABSA Jewish Achiever of the Year Award for non-list companies in 2008.
Where do you think your ‘MAGIC’ comes from? | Insatiable curiosity.
What do you think is often the difference between people who are good at what they do and people who are great at what they do? | Persistence and getting up again when knocked down.
What are the principles and values that you believe are important to live by? | Respect for human dignity.
What is your biggest weakness? | A belief that everyone around me is honest.
What are the most important lessons you have learnt so far, in your career or life journey? This could be anything from very simple small lessons to much larger bigger lessons. | To remove myself from toxic relationships as soon as possible.
What is the best advice you have ever received? | Narrow your business focus and pursue it relentlessly.
Who inspires you and who are your role-models? | My wife Lauren who sees only good in people and works tirelessly for those who don’t have opportunities.
Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He has written five books – The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference; Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking; Outliers: The Story of Success; What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures; and David […]
Mr. Ian Moir has been the Chief Executive Officer of Woolworths Holdings Limited since November 18, 2010. Mr. Moir served as Managing Director of Retail at Country Road Ltd. since January 1, 2010, served as its Chief Executive Officer from November 2000 to January 1, 2010 and served as its Chief Operating Officer. He served […]
Ian Gabriel is a South African film and commercials director based in Cape Town, South Africa. He directed the film Forgiveness starring Arnold Vosloo, which treats the theme of forgiveness in post-apartheid South Africa. His 2013 film Four Corners was selected as the South African entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy […]
Desiree-Anne Martin Legacy Project believes in the inherent ability for anyone to change. Her mantra is that there is hope, always and she is a Change Facilitator and Inspirational Speaker. Desiree-Anne has her Postgraduate Diploma (with Honours) from UCT and is a Honorary staff member at WITS University where she is a consultant to the […]
Dr Sherylle Calder is a visual skills coach and guru. She is a sport scientist and performance coach, who is also known as “The Eye Lady”. Dr Calder has helped teams win 2 back-to-back Rugby World Cups amongst many other sporting trophies and her expertise in this field has long been recognised by the top […]
Alastair Humphreys is an English cyclist, adventurer, author, motivational speaker, blogger, film maker, photographer and a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. Whilst at University, he cycled from Pakistan to China, Land’s End to John O’Groats, Turkey to Italy, Mexico to Panama and across South America. Since graduating, Alistair has cycled round the world for […]
Prof Saurabh Sinha cannot but leave an impression on those who encounter him. As one of South Africa’s great electronic engineers he has obtained his B. Eng, M. Eng and Ph.D. degrees in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pretoria (UP) having achieved both his B. Eng and M. Eng with distinction. As a published […]
Bora Yoon Definition Of Success | Success means living a satisfied life, in which one can pursue the art of creation, cultivating self-knowledge, community and enlightenment both inwards and outwards. I Am Driven By | Transformation, purpose and progress, creating something that wasn’t there before. Defying people’s perceptions and ideas of what could or should be, and […]
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
