In Pursuit of a Dream: Bill Venter and the Altron Story by Bill Venter

ISBN: 9780620435857

Shinglewood Press, 2009

Hardcover, 404 Pages

Description:

William Peter Venter's grandmother was interned in a Boer War concentration camp and his grandfather died after drought devastated their farm. His father and siblings were placed in an orphanage which left Eben Venter with life long concerns about stability. And so, when Bill was just 16, his father took him out of school and enrolled him in a "safe" career - an apprenticeship as a Post Office engineering technician. 

But, Bill Venter wanted more. He had bigger dreams. He wanted to create the largest technology corporation in South Africa. In 2009, the Altron Group turned over R25 billion. Along the way, Bill Venter defied everything from conventional business wisdom to apartheid law. He desegrated his group's facilities and promoted black staff to management positions before it was legal. In fact, he was even once officially cautioned for it. His instincts for opportunity, hard work and fine negotiating skills saw him rapidly build his group. He is passionate about the importance of family business and the courage needed for entrepreneurship. 

Bill inherited a virtue as a result of his family's legacy - he is carful about money. Once he was already a millionaire, he travelled economy class to the united states and stayed in the YMCA ahead of negotiating the biggest deal of his life. Even today, he is meticulous about expenditure and ensures that Altron and its companies give exceptional customer service and excellence in design and manufacture. They are precisely the attributes the world needs more business to implement to defeat the present global economic crisis. 

In this frank and engaging book, Bill Venter gives insight into what makes a great entrepreneur. It contains riveting details of the deals behind the deals, costly corporate mistakes and has important management advice for entrepreneurs and executives weathering the storms of a dangerous global economy. It's a book to inspire tomorrow's ultra-successful men and women.