E
arth and nature has always been my passion. During my tertiary education at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE), currently known as the North West University, I completed a BSc Degree in Zoology and Physiology. My goal at that stage was to complete a postgraduate degree in Marine Biology. However, during my undergraduate studies, the Physiology Department introduced me to Occupational Hygiene, which was a relatively new and upcoming field in South Africa. After some consideration, I decided to complete my BSc Honours degree in Industrial Physiology.
In 1992, I joined the Department of Mineral Affairs as an industrial technologist, and obtained extensive experience in the mining industry. After a few years, I was fortunate enough to relocate to Saldanha Bay, situated on the West Coast of South Africa, where I joined ArcelorMittal (previously known as Saldanha Steel) as part of the initial Project Team. During this time, I was responsible for environmental management, occupational hygiene management and the implementation of the ISO 14001 Management System, as well as OHSAS 18001.
I joined EXCO Services in 2004, a small company with a dynamic team of very knowledgeable, energetic, and supportive members, and it gave me the opportunity to gain work experience in a vast number of industries, ranging from agriculture, fisheries, petrochemical, as well as the wine making industry. Fortunately, in my free time, I am still able to live out my passion for earth, nature and marine biology, by involving my time and energy into a small aquafarm situated on the West Coast.