Editor-in-Chief, CEO, and Director of Independent Newspapers Adri Senekal de Wet.
Dear Doc, the Survé family, and the broader Sekunjalo family,
I write this letter from the heart. Nine years ago, I wrote a deeply personal letter to you. At the time, I reflected on my experiences as a journalist who had come to know not only a businessman and entrepreneur but also a leader who believed passionately in transformation, opportunity, and the power of ordinary South Africans to achieve extraordinary things.
Today, almost a decade later, I find myself compelled to write again. Much has changed since that first letter. Not only in my own life but also at the media company I joined many years ago as Executive Editor of Business Report, where I now serve as Editor-in-Chief, CEO, and Director of Independent Newspapers. Over the years, I have had a front-row seat to one of the most significant transformation journeys in South African media.
When Independent Newspapers was acquired from the Irish owners in August 2013, the organisation looked very different from the one we know today. Many of the senior editorial positions were occupied by white males. Opportunities for black journalists, women journalists and aspiring young newsroom leaders were far more limited than they are today. Today, Independent Newspapers stands as one of the most transformed media organisations on the African continent. Our editors, reporters, photographers, content managers and newsroom leaders reflect the diversity of South Africa. Women occupy leadership positions across our organisation.
