Posted on May 23, 2022
Leading businessman Chris Griffith was recently presented with the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Chancellor’s Medal at a UP School of Engineering graduation ceremony.
The Chancellor’s Medal is an honorary award that recognises an individual’s achievements and contributions to society in fields other than those exclusively within the academic sphere. The recipient’s contributions should have impact on a national or international scale and be of the type that signifies a creative spirit and intellect. It is not enough to be successful career-wise or on a social level; the recipient’s public profile should be aligned to UP’s vision, mission, values, strategic goals and objectives.
Chris Griffith (57) more than fulfils these criteria to be selected for this honour.
Since April 2021, he has served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gold Fields, a globally diversified producer of gold with 10 operating mines and projects in South Africa, Ghana, Australia, Peru and Chile.
Prior to that position, Griffith spent 30 years with global mining company Anglo American, where he was CEO of Anglo American Platinum (the world’s leading Platinum Group Metals company) from 2012 to 2020, and CEO of Kumba Iron Ore from 2008 to 2012.
Before his term with Anglo American Platinum, which he joined in 1990, Griffith had held various management positions at two of its mines, and served as the company’s Head of Joint Ventures, responsible for a portfolio of six different joint ventures. He joined the company after his first job as a graduate trainee at Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Co. Ltd (JCI).
Businessman Chris Griffith addressing attendees at the graduation ceremony with UP Vice-Chancellor Professor Tawana Kupe on stage.
Griffith is a UP alumnus who graduated in 1988 with a BEng (Hons) degree in Mining Engineering – but his relationship with the University did not end there. Today, he is a member of UP’s Department of Mining Engineering’s Advisory Board, alongside other key mining industry leaders as well as the dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT), the chairperson of the School of Engineering, the head of the Department of Mining Engineering and the president of UP’s Mining Alumni Society.
The board serves to advise the department to ensure that its teaching and learning, and research initiatives remain relevant to the changing needs of society and the mining industry.
Norman Mbazima, former Chairman of the Anglo American Platinum board, said on Griffith’s departure from the company in 2020 that he had “notched up many significant achievements”, and his focus on innovation and developing diverse markets for its range of metals had positioned it well for future growth. “His exceptional contribution to improving safety, and the operational and financial turnaround of the business has produced excellent results,” Mbazima said.
Griffith said the position had “been the pinnacle of my long and fulfilling career with Anglo American – ending it back at Anglo American Platinum, which was where my career started 30 years ago”. But Griffith – who once told Mining Weekly his philosophy was “life is too short for comfortable shoes” – felt it was time to move on. “After more than seven years at the helm, and given all that we as a team have achieved, this is the natural time for the next generation of leadership to take this business forward and deliver further value,” he said at the time of his resignation.
Griffith was named Top Businessman of the Year at the annual African Access National Business Awards in both 2010 and 2012. In 2012, the judges commended him, noting that “part of Chris’ winning formula is that he is a people person, known for his common touch. He can relate to both the miner at the rock face and the executive in the boardroom”.
In 2018, the Institutional Investor Emerging EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) executive team recognised Griffith as the Best CEO in Metals and Mining.
“Chris has deep-rooted operational mining experience and an impressive track record of delivering safe operational performance and leading effective change,” said Cheryl Carolus, Chairperson of Gold Fields, on behalf of the board on welcoming Griffith to the company. “We are confident that Chris is the right person to take the business forward.”
Authorised by the UP Council, no more than two Chancellor’s Medals are presented in an academic year.
Previous winners include actress Sandra Prinsloo, who was awarded it during the spring graduation of September 2011, and Actom’s Chairman, Andries Mthethwa, who was honoured in April 2021 in recognition of his contributions to industry, society and UP’s EBIT Faculty over the previous seven years as a member of its Industrial Advisory Board.
The award itself is a gilded medal accompanied by a scroll. UP’s ceremonial coat of arms and the words “Chancellor’s Medal” appear on one side of the medal, with the name of the recipient and the date of the award engraved on the other side.
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