Roelof van den Berg

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Roelof van den Berg

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Group CEO and Co-Founder of Gap Infrastructure Corporation | Innovator & Visionary in African Infrastructure | Blaauwklippen Wine Estate Owner | Griquas Rugby Union Board Member | Govan Mbeki Award Winner

19/08/2026

I always enjoy seeing Adrian Saville’s thoughts on LinkedIn because he isn’t afraid to speak his mind, even if others disagree with him.

In May this year, he shared some thoughts about “The Three Things That Don’t Change” when it comes to strategy that we should all keep in mind.

The first is that economic context is the single biggest driver of business performance. As Saville says:

“Across the roughly 2,000 largest companies in the world, half of revenue growth and half of earnings growth is statistically explained by the economic growth rate of the country in which business is done.”

In short, your home market matters a great deal.

The second is that economic growth is driven by six things, as attested to by 60+ years of data across 160 countries. These are savings and investments above 25% of GDP; demography; policies and institutions (with policy stability especially crucial); education and health; and openness to trade, capital, information, and people.

The third constant is what separates great businesses from those that, as Saville says, got lucky. According to Saville, a study of 20,000 companies over four decades, using a Monte Carlo simulation, found that only 0.7% of businesses are truly extraordinary because of two attributes: agility and absorption.

Agility is the capacity to move, make many small bets, build innovation into everyday operations, treat capital allocation as a competitive advantage, and “run lean hierarchies that let intelligence flow from the bottom up.”

Absorption is the “foundation that makes movement possible without collapse - customer centricity, fat balance sheets, stable leadership, and a culture that behaves counter-cyclically when everyone else is panicking.

I especially love his thoughts on absorption. There will always be tough times, but there are always opportunities to be seized if you are willing to look for and implement them.

If everyone is going after the gold, make sure to be the one selling the spades.

18/08/2026

My job demands a lot of my time, including time on the road and in the air to meet with key stakeholders across South Africa and the wider region.

Over time, I've learned a few tricks about travel to ensure that I arrive at my destination focused and ready to achieve the objectives I've set for myself:

𝟭. 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱
At times, I’ve had to travel on short notice, which is why I always have a carry-on bag ready to go with the basics, including toothpaste, the works, so that I can go at a moment's notice.

𝟮. 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲
Business travel loses its glamour quickly and takes a toll on the body and mind. Exercising before and after a trip helps me refocus and get mentally and physically ready for the demands waiting for me off the tarmac.

𝟯. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 "𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝗳" 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲
On flights, I tend to default to work. Over time, I have learned the value of taking 30 minutes to do something entirely unrelated to work, even staring out the window, just to clear my head.

As I've learned, as much as I enjoy my work, sometimes a forced break is the best way to stay in balance over the long haul.

17/08/2026

Cape Town's planned R20 billion-plus airport investment points to forward-planned demand preparation.

These include upgrades to Cape Town International Airport and the development of Cape Winelands Airport. These are long-horizon assets, and the value will be built over many years.

I see this as the right kind of infrastructure thinking. It prepares for growth before it becomes a strain, avoiding the trap of induced demand and setting the Cape region up for further growth in a crowded, highly competitive tourism market.

It's obvious, but when it comes to tourism, Cape Town is competing against the rest of the world. South Africa is, to put it politely, far away from other markets of a similar size, and in tourism, distance and the cost of travel, including time, matter.

The more Cape Town International and the coming Cape Winelands Airport can ease the path of travel for potential tourists, the better it will be for the regional and national economy.

14/08/2026

South Africa’s wine industry is blessed with a long history and is increasingly being recognised internationally for its quality and value.

Being part of the sector is a privilege, and the level of competition keeps the work energising.

At Blaauwklippen Vineyards, we carry the responsibility of a farm with a history of over 340 years. Taking that legacy into its next chapter requires care and a clear view of what patrons and guests expect from a modern wine estate.

Offerings such as Blaauwklippen’s weekend markets and the De Blaauwe Kitchen are important to how we think about the estate. They create different ways for people to enjoy the setting, experience the farm, and use their time in rewarding ways.

I am excited about how Blaauwklippen will continue to develop over time, as we continue to contribute to South Africa’s wine story and an evolving sector that is a major driver of job creation and economic participation up and down stream, from the vineyards and hospitality to retail shelves.

13/08/2026

Tony Brown signing a contract as an All Blacks assistant coach from 2028 says a great deal about talent in high-performance environments.

The timing of the move breaks convention. The role only starts after the 2027 Rugby World Cup, and the appointment was made before the next head coach has even been selected.

What I find most interesting is how they got there. New Zealand Rugby consulted a good swathe of people who may lead the All Blacks after 2027, including current coach Dave Rennie. All of them wanted to work with Tony Brown, so the organisation did what it had to do to get its man.

It also says a great deal about how well SA Rugby and Rassie Erasmus did in bringing Brown into the Springbok setup in the first place. When talent is valued that clearly, organisations tend to act early.

The same principle applies in business.

High-quality talent will always be the difference between average and exceptional. It should be retained and supported as much as possible, because the right person in the right place, with the right support, is a real force multiplier.

12/08/2026

In infrastructure, you get infrastructure you can see, and infrastructure that is mostly invisible to the public. The infrastructure we don’t see is a lot like a referee in a soccer or rugby match: you only notice when something isn’t working as it should.

Wastewater is such an example. If challenges emerge within a wastewater system, the problems these challenges create surface very quickly.

That’s why I focused on wastewater investment and the challenge of wastewater management and delivery, because it’s an infrastructure area that demands constant focus and vigilance.

As water resources come under pressure from climate change and urbanisation, South Africa will need wastewater systems that are sustainably supported and funded over the long term.

In this respect, public-private partnerships can play a crucial role where municipalities need specialised expertise and delivery capacity at scale.

11/08/2026

As a proud South African, I enjoy seeing South African brands spreading their wings to new markets.

Freedom of Movement is doing that as its reach extends into the UK. The brand has grown from a Stellenbosch dorm-room business into a premium lifestyle brand with 30 stores and 180 employees.

I enjoyed reading a recent story about FOM’s growth because the beginning was, in its own way, very ordinary.

Roal Boezaart was studying civil engineering at Stellenbosch when he decided to solve a problem that had been bugging him. He could not find clothing he genuinely liked, and he noticed a gap in quality between what university students wanted and what they were able to get.

Roal and his brothers began creating their own products and selling them from their dorm room. The business grew from there, first through apparel and later through leather goods that have become a popular part of the FOM brand.

There is a simple business truth here: if you can serve the customer or client better than your competitor, you have an opportunity. Better yet, never forget that you are a customer yourself.

Roal seems to have understood that clearly. I’m probably biased because of my bias towards engineered solutions, but his civil engineering background may have been a useful help.

FOM’s journey so far has been linear in the best way, underpinned by a strong brand that has grown over time.

06/08/2026

Succession planning is a can that, for psychological and operational reasons, can regularly get kicked down the road.

It’s not easy for current leaders or managers to envisage someone else performing their role, while the day-to-day can make time spent on an unknowable future a secondary priority.

If you want to create unnecessary risk, this is one way of doing it.

Succession planning should and must be treated as a core part of governance, implementation, and compliance because it impacts all three. Nothing can unravel business performance or create uncertainty more than a lack of clarity about who fills the shoes of a leader or manager who has left the organisation.

Beyond mitigating key-person risk, succession planning is fundamental to career development and, as a result, to business continuity and growth. It’s among the clearest responsibilities of leadership.

Succession should never be done at the last minute, because that inevitably produces last-minute results. It may work in the near term, but it is not sustainable for the long term.

05/08/2026

A project can start drifting long before the delay is visible on site. Transparency in reporting is usually the first place where that drift becomes clear.

Treasury’s 2026 infrastructure update points to the need for more consistent infrastructure reporting, and I see that as a practical delivery issue. Infrastructure work involves public institutions, funders and delivery teams who all need to make decisions from the same facts.

When reporting is transparent, progress becomes easier to test against what was promised. Risk can be measured, assessed, and compartmentalised earlier, and delays have less room to hide behind vague explanations.

Communities also deserve transparency because they are the end users. Infrastructure delivery depends on many moving parts. Transparent reporting helps keep the work visible while those parts are being managed. It’s why governance bleeds into other project pillars, such as implementation and compliance.

04/08/2026

I was interested to see CHARGE launching off-grid, solar-powered EV charging stations along the Johannesburg-Durban N3 corridor, the logistics artery that feeds Gauteng much of what it needs.

We are seeing the first ripples of structural change that will shape South Africa’s mobility market over the next decade or two.

EV adoption here will depend on whether the supporting infrastructure works under local conditions. Practically speaking, drivers will be more willing to drive longer distances if they can “fuel” their cars.

This is a principle that supports the existence of Engen 1 Stops and Shell Ultra Cities, which, for many children, are an oasis from the boredom of a long-distance drive.

That’s a pull factor. Combined with the push of high fuel prices, South Africans are increasingly rethinking the long-term cost of transport.

I’ve also seen Uber Electric operating around our office and in places like Sandton, which is another sign of where the market is going.

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Pretoria

Website

https://www.linkedin.com/in/roelof-van-den-berg/

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