Staff of the University of Pretoria’s Department of Mining Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology was saddened by the news of the passing of a valued and esteemed colleague. After a valiant fight, senior researcher Dr Johann Uys lost his battle against cancer on 8 March 2023.

Dr Uys joined the Department in 2017 as a senior lecturer in Leadership and Management, and was the course leader of the Harmony Gold Leadership Capacity Development Programme for emerging, senior and executive managers. He led the Mining Engineering Leadership Academy, and was a senior researcher in the Murray & Roberts Chair in Industry Leadership 4.0. He will be remembered as a steadfast, engaging and courageous man. His passing is a great loss for the Department.

As a chartered psychologist, Dr Uys joined Anglo American as a senior consultant in organisational development, strategic planning, large-scale change and leadership development in 1993. In 2000, he moved into an entrepreneurial role as Managing Director of a holding company with a number of businesses in the retail sector. In 2005, he returned to consulting. His main involvement was in leadership development in the mining industry.