Seasoned business and legal executive and strategist Kurt Pakendorf believes in making things happen.
He graduated from Nelson Mandela University with a B Proc (1991) and is the chief strategy officer and general counsel for Face IT Limited in London and California.
“Making things happen – I actually do believe in that and that it also plays to what my role is right now,” Pakendorf said.
“I'm 20 years older than the founders that I work with – so I work with millennials.
“My role here is that I'm the general counsellor of the company and also the chief strategy officer. If you see how the chief strategy officer role plays out in companies, particularly in a tech company, they are looking strategically where your technology should be – where their platform should be growing and what they should be delivering on.
“The other kind of chief strategist, which is more of what I am, is understanding where there is a strategic mission that needs to be delivered on. If we fail to deliver on this the company might fail.”
Since leaving Nelson Mandela University nearly 20 years ago, Pakendorf has worn many hats in his career – follower, naval officer, attorney, general counsel (chief legal officer) United Nations official, manager, founder, consultant, COO, CEO and in business development.
“My advice to students is that you will never have this time again. Don’t waste it.
“There will be more than enough time later to focus on getting your career launched,” he said.
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