New man to take Chamber forward

Cobus Oelofse has been a mentor to Trenley Tilbrook over  the past three years, and he was the first person who Tilbrook thought of when he was first offered a position with Tongaat Huletts Developments. “But I never thought he would accept the role as the Ilembe Chamber CEO,” said Tilbrook. Tilbrook recently accepted this job offer, which will commence this March, and already his successor’s size 11 shoes have matched his stride. Oelofse has been involved with the Ilembe Chamber since its inception, initially as a Mentor, then as a member of the Entrepreneurship Steering Committee and more recently as an Executive Committee member. “His vast experience in business has made him an invaluable asset to the chamber and his strong character make him the ideal person to lead the chamber into the next chapter,” said Tilbrook. With an impressive resumé, Oelofse certainly appears to be the man for the job. He has 20 years corporate experience with JSE and London FTSE listed public companies, working within a huge variety of industries. After a 10 year stint in the UK, Oelofse and his wife Wendy left the corporate rat race to return home. “Primarily because we wanted to raise our daughter Zara here in this beautiful country.” He established himself as an independent consultant and more recently, together with  his wife, Wendy, brought the surf-style Saltrock brand back to its birthplace. “We have an emotional commitment to the area. We moved to Salt Rock in 2009, having owned property here since the late 90’s. Wendy has a long family history with Zululand – we love this region and are so excited to raise our family here.” At home Oelofse can be found preparing to take to the great outdoors, to hike or travel, or reading. “I think that my bookshelf summarises me well. My autobiography’s shelve has titles ranging from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Hitler’s Mein Kampf, Fidel Castro’s History will Absolve Me (bought in Cuba) and Winston Churchill’s autobiography. These books grab my attention because I am interested in understanding other people’s point of view.” Cobus says he is looking forward to engaging with businesses in his role as CEO, which he says is just a formalisation of his existing investment in the Chamber. “I will continue consulting, and pursue my small business interests, alongside my work at the Chamber. I hope that as an active member of the business community I will be able to provide guidance and additional insight into taking the Chamber forward.”