Congratulations are in order for the recently appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sasol Limited, Mr Fleetwood Grobler, who took up the reins in November 2019.

The 59-year-old veteran, with more than 35 years of experience at Sasol, started his journey with the multinational corporation in January 1984. This was soon after he received his BEng Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Pretoria in 1983.

“I have been blessed that in my 35-plus years with Sasol, I have worked in so many different places and divisions, that it feels like I have worked for different companies and not just one. I started in the fuel research department, then moved to maintenance, design, and in the late 1980s I was sent to Germany as project engineer for a big chemical company in Düsseldorf. That year-and-a-half in Germany, managing a project and being exposed to other entities and cultures shaped my thinking and skills, plus it gave me a different perspective on how the real world works. I have spent almost nine years in foreign countries working for Sasol and I am proud to have represented the company, to be able to say ‘I flew the South African flag’ and ‘I am an African’,” said Grobler.  

Grobler said while it was an honour to be appointed CEO, it was also daunting. At that moment he realised that the buck stopped with him and now an even greater responsibility had been placed on his shoulders to lead wisely, decisively and in the best interest of all stakeholders, putting the company first, then the team and lastly himself.

“Realisation is quite important, and humbling, because one needs to apply your mind to do your very best in every situation. There is always that little voice asking ‘am I making the right decision, have I considered all possibilities?’. Fortunately, there is deep business experience and expertise within my leadership team. While the final decision rests with the CEO, it is important to acknowledge that you are not always right. You have to realise that not everything you say is law, you have to be open-minded and listen to the counsel and views of others.”

Grobler, who recently visited UP for a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UP, Prof Tawana Kupe, said that the company’s collaboration and relationship with the University goes back many years, since Sasol employs high numbers of chemical engineering graduates. The UP talent pool is strong, and Sasol hopes that in the future it can still count on that solid stream of know-how and technical excellence.

Prof Kupe said, “Sasol is important, not just to UP but to the economy of South Africa. One cannot think of the economy of South Africa without acknowledging Sasol, as one of the iconic large companies that make a huge contribution to the development of the economy and the continent. Sasol plays a major role in the success of UP. The corporation provides students with bursaries, so it contributes to the institution’s mission to nurture well-educated and well-trained human capital for South Africa’s development. Plus there are some research projects that have been previously funded by Sasol at UP.”

Since the global outbreak of COVID-19, Grobler says from a global perspective the virus is affecting Sasol in a big way.

“The outbreak grew to such an extent that the global economy was not prepared for the impacts – and it was a significant market shock. One of its impacts was the demand for oil, crude going into fuel shrunk, and therefore the demand is really low. That means there is a shock in the system for Sasol. Furthermore, instead of curbing production, the major oil producing nations of the world produced more oil – which created the second shock.

“The combination of those two factors saw oil prices tumbling to a low of $30 per barrel. The global crude oil price halved virtually overnight. Our balance sheet was already strained, but the steep oil price drop put even greater pressure on us, specifically in South Africa, because while Sasol uses coal as a feedstock, our operating cost to produce equivalent fuel is priced relative to the price of oil.

“My goal as CEO is to restore Sasol’s global competitiveness. If I can make a difference – to get Sasol back on the road to being one of the industrial champions of South Africa – I will be very happy to have been pushing that wagon up the hill,” he said.

“To be a great leader you must have the ability to work and engage with people from diverse backgrounds, skill sets and experiences. It’s important to have well-developed social skills, in particular effective communication, active listening, empathy and respect. Developing your leadership skills is a life-long journey and one that I embrace,” he said.