You can speak second transition but if you can’t inspire kids to learn, it’s pointless
By SIYA MITIBusiness Reporter

JONATHAN Goldberg walked away with the Business Person/Entrepreneur of the Year award at the annual Absa Jewish Awards ceremony held at a gala event at the Sandton Sun recently. Goldberg is the founder of Global Business Solutions, a national labour law, human resources, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and business consultancy.

He has shares in various companies employing more that 300 people.

Goldberg’s business interests extend to property investments, solar energy and food chemicals. He holds shares, directorship or office in more than 30 business enterprises across South Africa.

A management buyout of Dow Chemicals gave him shares in the company now called Segen Chemicals, which exports to 30 countries and turns over R800-million per year.

Goldberg has been a shareholder and chairman in the food acids company which supplies food manufacturers all over the world, since 2004.
“We export to 30 countries around the world but the company runs operations in Durban and we have a plant in Johannesburg.
“Some of our clients are Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola,” said Goldberg .

Goldberg ’s Global Business Solutions, which has six offices around the country including in Johannesburg and Cape Town, is rated at Level 1, the highest of the BBBEE rating scale. Goldberg started Global Business Solutions Mthatha in 1989, where he opened up the first Global Business Solutions office.

Armed with a law degree, Goldberg ’s bold next step was taking an opportunity to represent employers in the former Transkei versus labour experts representing Cosatu. “I was fresh out of varsity when I represented employers in drafting labour legislation in Transkei. Cosatu was represented by top labour law experts. “The only labour law books I had were written by those guys,” Goldberg recalled with laughter.

Goldberg received his education from some of South Africa’s finest learning centres, having attended Kingswood College, an exclusive private school in Grahamstown, and studied law at Stellenbosch University. Although he graduated top of his class in 1988, Goldberg admits that his university career had a difficult start. He said although getting the right education lays the foundation for success, hard work and maximising one’s potential are the main ingredients for success. “In the end I really applied myself so the last part of my law degree went well,” said Goldberg , who also holds an MBA degree.

He said tackling the nuts and bolts in the education system would be what closed the inequality gap in South Africa over time. “You can speak second transition but if you can’t inspire youngsters to learn, it’s pointless. Access to finance for education is also prohibitive,” said Goldberg .

He attributed his success in business to the relationships he has built along the way, adding that he chose business partners with know-how in the different sectors he invests in. — [email protected]

View the newspaper clipping here.