Author: Editor
By Rujeanne Swanepoel, Inspection Body Quality Manager at Remote Metering Solutions The phrase ‘green building’ is often associated with our interaction with the environment, responsible use of resources, reducing our carbon footprint, adopting eco-friendly habits and improving our quality of life. It is not only the planet that will benefit from green construction and the resource efficient operation of buildings – there are social and economic benefits to green building as well as the more obvious environmental benefits. According to the World Green Building Council: “[green buildings] provide some of the most effective means to achieving a range of global…
Safeguarding your wealth By Natalie Shama, Specialist Tax Consultant at Eversheds Sutherland, South Africa and Renand Pretorius, Partner at Eversheds Sutherland, Mauritius Trusts have historically been, and continue to be, a particularly popular asset protection mechanism for South Africans. In recent years, we have seen significant reform of the South African taxation regime applicable to the utilisation of local and offshore trust structures. Although many of the noteworthy tax benefits, particularly in the realm of estate planning, have largely been minimised as a result of this legislative reform, trusts – and in particular international trusts – still present a host…
By Howard Feldman, Head of Marketing & People at Synthesis Remember when motivation was all the rage? When at the beginning of every year someone would be dragged in to tell us how armed with a broken Bic pen and half a glass of tepid water, he survived 32 days in the Amazon? The implication was that if he could do that, then sure we could muster enough enthusiasm to reach our sales targets? Or when a genetically modified 6 ft pole vaulter took us through his training schedule, ending with a story about a gold medal that he didn’t…
By Lindt South Africa Whilst some people might think that ditching chocolate is the best way to get their New Year’s off to a healthy start, it’s important to not shun the things you love: everything can be enjoyed, in moderation. Chocolate is not your problem; it can be your solution. If you want to have your chocolate and pull your sweet tooth in the process, you’ll have to consider dark. Dark chocolate is the preferred option because it contains higher levels of cocoa and less sugar. Research also shows that dark chocolate can help you control consumption after you…
By Joshua Maraney, CEO at Top Click Media Yesterday, I took my kids to a movie – It really was a fantastic movie and we had a great time. I went with my 12-year-old, 10-year-old, and 7-year-old and we got there early, as we always do, to watch the trailers. There were a few adverts in between the trailers. All of them were big budget ads that obviously cost a lot to produce. The quality of the ads were fantastic. There is nothing like a big screen to immerse oneself in the production value. They certainly grabbed my attention, partly…
For the results of the Top 12 visit – The best Sauvignon Blancs of 2021 – The Drinks Business Durbanville Hills’ The Tangram White Blend 2018 has been awarded as one of the world’s 12 top-scoring wines at the 2021’s Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters hosted by The Drinks Business. With 200 Sauvignon Blancs from around the world, tasted blind, Durbanville Hills’ cool climate excellence shares the Top 12 recognition along with the very best Sauvignon Blancs produced in France, Chile, New Zealand and the USA. Cellar master, Martin Moore, is overjoyed at the incredible achievement of the flagship classically styled…
Two Mountains, a South African group of companies operating in both the financial and burial services industries since 1999, has contracted Microsoft Gold Certified Systems Integrator DAC Systems to migrate the organisation to Office 365 as it was looking for a more cost-effective and integrated productivity suite that could also deliver telephony features. “Our emails were hosted by a third-party provider that was unable to deliver on our growing capacity requirements. Furthermore, their email system did not have many of the features that have become commonplace today like a corporate global calendar and meeting scheduler,” says Lindani Ngema, CIO of…
The pandemic has exacerbated addition and many employees are struggling The pandemic lockdowns of 2020 were tough and tight, with the government clamping down on smoking and drinking. As a result, many people turned to other forms of substance abuse as a way of coping. Now, after a more than a year of remote working, employees are returning to the office with additional issues that were either not there before the pandemic, or made worse by it. According to Nicol Myburgh, Head: HCM Business Unit at CRS Technologies, this puts the company in a tough position. “From a legal perspective,…
By Jake Shepherd, Synthesis Founder & Director Adapted from his talk: What AI Teaches Us About Being Human There are few books that alter the way you see the world after you’ve read them. Homo Deus is one of these books and in it the author Yuval Harari examines humanity’s future. In it he offers a vision of tomorrow that at first seems incomprehensible, but soon looks undeniable: humanity as we know it will lose its dominance. We are in the process of creating a totally new form of life. Artificial life. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the potential future it…
Leader in information-driven transformation, Decision Inc. takes a look back at 2021 and how one of the most challenging years in recent history shaped the stratospheric growth and expansion of the company. For Allan Saffy, Managing Executive at Decision Inc. South Africa, the year was an important milestone, one that saw Decision Inc. refine its vision and strategy and gain significant ground in fractured economic times. “We managed to deliver the best year end results in the history of the company in June 2021 – our financial year end,” he explains. “We then shifted our strategy in the second half…