Tony Trahar has had a long and prestigious business career in South Africa and abroad. He held one of the most influential positions in the business arena when he was appointed as chairman and CEO of Anglo American plc Group in July 2000. He was also involved in several social programmes.

Perhaps his most widely praised social initiative was with regard to HIV/AIDS. Tony Trahar initiated a programme under which Anglo American became the first corporation in South Africa to provide free antiretroviral treatment to employees with HIV infection. As an environmental champion, Trahar also established the Mondi Chair in Forest Protection that has provided substantial impetus to forest health research in South Africa. These initiatives played an important part in the establishment and growth of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria.

During his term as CEO of Mondi South Africa, Tony Trahar supported a pioneering effort to incorporate novel technologies aimed at revolutionising forest plantation development in South Africa. One of the key initiatives was to promote clonal Eucalyptus forestry and thus the ability to tailor fibre for pulp production. In this regard, he recognised the threats that pests and diseases posed to the genetically uniform and intensively managed plantations and supported the establishment of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme. Tony Trahar retired as CEO of the Group in February 2007, and as a consultant to the Group in June 2007.

Tony Trahar has recently started a strategic advisory, consulting and investment business, Bartlett Resources Llp, and is a consultant to a number of industrial, financial and natural resource businesses.

Trahar also holds a number of directorships including in Anglo Gold, Anglo Platinum, Highveld Steel, Scaw Metals, Del Monte Royal Foods and McCarthy Retail. He is also the Chairman of the Paleo Anthropological Scientific Trust and an Executive member of the World Wildlife Fund for Southern Africa. He is also a council member of the SA Foundation.