Relativ Group announced the appointment of Sijadu Mzozoyana as Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Founder of Relativ Group, Brett Tucker said, ‘This is the first big step towards transformation in our Group, and what we believe is a crucial move for media owners in South Africa. Mzozoyana is a phenomenal home-grown South African success story, a man who has literally beaten all the odds to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit, which is already having such a positive impact within the business.’
Born in a small village in Maluti, Mzozoyana was a cattle herder attending a mud hut school in Ramohlakoana in his adolescent years. He was raised in a household with 29 other children. Through sheer hard work and determination, Mzozoyana’s parents raised funding for him to study at St Andrews College where he owned his first pair of school shoes. After completing high school he obtained a bursary to study at UCT before joining Investec’s graduate programme.
Before joining Relativ Group, Mzozoyana was en route to filling the position of Treasurer at Investec Bank. ‘I’m an entrepreneur at heart with a massive social conscience,’ he said. ‘After spending an initial couple of weeks with the team here, it became very clear that not only is the business made up of specialists within their own right, but here’s a company that is set on changing the dynamic of media owners in South Africa, both from a service offering and a transformation point of view.’
‘I grew up in a dichotomy of black and white within South Africa and when you live in one environment, whether that be of privilege or poverty, you automatically hide the one and focus more on the other. My lived experiences have given me an understanding of both sides of the coin. I’m very passionate about uplifting people. I’m driven by a need to be a great example to kids that feel that their obstacles to success may be too great to conquer,’ he said.
Mzozoyana was recently nominated for Ten Outstanding Young Professionals (TOYP) Awards. He is also a founding member of the Young Professionals Association which is an organisation that combines the access and resources of young South Africans to make a meaningful impact in education and employment within South Africa. Mzozoyana has a great love for outdoor and digital media, which was part of the attraction to Relativ. He is also investing a lot of his earnings into township programmes – in particular towards empowering and uplifting women.
He said that Relativ’s ethos of putting people first was another major drawcard for him. ‘I was very fortunate to get a taste of who the team is and I really connected with them. The environment is unbelievable and the people are highly skilled and extremely motivated. This business has extreme potential. I see my initial role at Relativ as one where I will do three things. I will help optimise the business’s balance sheet; I will refine the strategic focus of the businesses within the group and finally, I will look to provide an enabling an environment for our people to perform at their absolute best. I’m excited about the opportunity that lies ahead.’
