Raymond ackerman insurance
That leg is as important as the other two. The fourth leg is people, and that goes with the third leg. Thus it is that, aside from Ackerman's reputation as a doughty fighter on behalf of the consumer who, in "Ackerman speak" is always she , few other companies can claim to have done as much for their people as Pick 'n Pay has.
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Long before it was either fashionable or necessary, Ackerman simply believed in promoting people on merit. But all this was still to come. Ackerman returned home from the US bursting with ideas for Checkers, which had got off to a slow start. Of course, people with ideas are often threatening to establishments, and viewed with suspicion.
Journalists Wessel Ebersohn and Eamon Ryan, who profiled the group and its history in , record that Ackerman was sent to Greatermans' equivalent of Siberia the jewellery and gents department of a store whose name, Belfast, has long since faded from retail memory. After six months he was brought back to Checkers and given one of its four stores, in Boksburg.
It was "an ugly, dirty little store", as Raymond's wife Wendy described it to Ebersohn and Ryan.
He turned it around. Finally he was given charge of the group, and by he had grown it to 85 stores. That year, Gus Ackerman died. If Raymond, then 35, had thought he was alive in the Greatermans group on the strength of his performance, it was more likely in spite of it. With Gus gone, Norman Herber may have felt free to dispense with his own father's old sense of obligation.
Raymond, whose adventurous approach to retailing was the source of constant differences between him and the Greatermans board, was fired. It was the lowest point of Ackerman's life. His father was dead. He had just been fired brought low; it seemed, by his very success. And he had four children. Recalling it all, Ackerman returns to that last fact time and again: "I had four kids.
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It is a clue, also, to Ackerman the patriarch father to his children, father to a business, father to its people. He superseded his own father in commercial rigour and achievement. At 68, with his soft spokenness and gentle manner, his authority is nonetheless unquestioned. He combines a calm exterior with an extraordinary force of personality.
It makes him a formidable presence.
See full list on entrepreneurs.ng: Raymond Ackerman GCOB (10 March – 6 September ) was a South African businessman, who purchased the Pick 'n Pay supermarket group from its founder. He purchased four stores from Jack Goldin in the s.
Jobless but indefatigable, and determined to carry through his ideas, Ackerman found backers, bought four small stores in Cape Town trading under the name Pick 'n Pay, and opened for business. Checkers threw everything it had at the upstart, but Ackerman kept his eye firmly on the ball. No less in the Jewish community, where their concerns have always been around education, inspiration, and inclusivity.
Ackerman received an honorary doctorate in law from Rhodes University in His alma mater, the University of Cape Town , awarded him an honorary doctorate in commerce in He was voted 79th in the Top Great South Africans in In November , the Financial Times named him the only South African among the world's greatest business leaders.
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Raymond Ackerman published three books on his experiences and with advice for young entrepreneurs. The story of Raymond Ackerman as told to Denise Prichard. Cape Town: David Philip, Raymond Ackerman's simple, straight-forward formula for success as told to Denise Prichard. Key Principles to build your business. Cape Town: Jonathan Ball, Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent. Raymond Ackerman is married to Wendy, also one of the richest women in South Africa. Their union is blessed with four children who are also involved in the family business. Ackerman handed over to his eldest son, Gareth in He purchased four stores from Jack Goldin in the s.
Raymond Ackerman was chairman until he stepped down in Ackerman was eventually offered a position at Greatermans head office in Johannesburg.
In the early s, food retailing supermarkets first began to appear on the scene in South Africa. Norman Herber , chairman of Greatermans decided to start a food retailer called Checkers. Ackerman was eventually put in charge of Checkers, making a resounding success of the business. Ackerman won the Outstanding Young South African award in , along with Gary Player and by , at the age of 35, he was the managing director of 85 Checkers stores; however, he was fired in the same year.
In response, using his severance pay and a bank loan, Ackerman bought four stores in Cape Town trading under the name Pick 'n Pay. The Pick 'n Pay Group employs more than 30, people in several African countries.
Raymond ackerman bio
Ackerman campaigned heavily for consumer rights. He lobbied Anton Rupert for cheaper cigarette prices and with the government over the price of bread. We even tried to offer our customers a discount for fuel if they bought food from us, but this was stopped too. Eventually, the government threatened to arrest me if I sold petrol at a discount.
In he announced his retirement and that his son, Gareth would succeed him as chairman [ 4 ]. In , the Ackermans donated R4 million to the hospital.