After one night in Cairo, population 14 million, David Redshaw`s wife Marjorie announced that she just couldn`t live there. Redshaw was sympathetic. "You can`t go for a run in the morning in Cairo, the pavements are so full of people," he says.
Next day, the British-born-and-bred couple hopped on a plane back to SA, home for the previous 15 years, and by Monday morning, Redshaw was explaining to his apoplectic American boss why he wouldn`t be working in Egypt.
"He gave me a mouthful," says Redshaw, wincing at the memory. "I told him my wife comes first in this." He offered to resign from the multinational but his boss said no, summoning him to the UK instead.
Back in the UK, the couple weren`t convinced they`d made the right move. "Two things happened," he says. "I didn`t think the job prospects were there and Marjorie said, `I want to go back to SA. I thought, `Why not?` and resigned."
Within three months, they were back in Johannesburg - jobless. Before a week was out, though, Redshaw had had five offers, opting to join the Altron Group, where he started as finance director at Powertech.
[VIDEO]That was 15 years ago, and the Redshaws are here to stay. "I`ve enjoyed every minute of it," he says. "For me, it`s turned out fine. You can always make things turn out well, with the right kind of luck."
A regular jogger and still a tough opponent on the squash court at the age of 60, Redshaw is also staying put professionally. "I have no intention of retiring just yet. I love work, I always have. It`s a challenge, isn`t it?"
Running Bytes has had its moments. Formed in 2000 when Altron`s IT group Fintech merged with the ailing Usko, the merged company was greeted with scepticism. "We were half written off two years ago; people saw this as the dead cat bounce - you know, you move up an inch and then sink back. It was pleasant to prove them wrong."
[VIDEO]Bytes is now profitable, achieves annual turnover of R3 billion and employs 3 000 people. "Morale is high," says Redshaw. "It`s important that staff feel proud of where they work and to be honest, I think some were ashamed to say they worked for Usko."
This turnaround, in an industry where many have a tale of woe to tell, is probably what prompted someone on his staff to nominate Redshaw for IT Personality of the Year. "They didn`t tell me, the so-and-so`s. The first I heard about it was when someone said, `Hey, you`ve reached the final 10`. I said, `Final 10 of what?`"
And he isn`t even a dyed-in-the-wool IT type, having spent 25 years of his 37-year career in manufacturing. "IT is a different business, but it`s still a business," he points out. "It`s still subject to all the rules that stood you in good stead when you were in another business - controlling your expenses, making sure you make cash, paying dividends. I can`t imagine running a business without a pretty solid financial background - one would never want to be totally reliant on someone else giving you their interpretation of financial information."
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