Leading one of the country’s fastest-growing banks has its own challenges. But for TymeBank CEO Coenraad (Coen) Jonker, the journey has been invigorating.
TymeBank, launched in South Africa in 2019 has since grown to 5 million customers, making it one of the fastest-growing banks worldwide.
He began his career with Edward Nathan Corporate Law Advisers (now ENS) in 1996, and became its CEO in 2000.
In 2005, he left legal practice to join Standard Bank as director of community banking. In 2011, he moved to Deloitte as a partner in the strategy and innovation practice. In June 2012, Tyme was spun out of Deloitte as a new venture.
At the end of 2018 Jonker partnered with African Rainbow Capital (ARC) to buy the Tyme business from CBA.
In July 2022, he took over the role of CEO of TymeBank, where he is spearheading the digital bank’s next growth phase. He took time to answer some of our questions.
What is your leadership style/how do you manage to get the best out of people?
For me the most important question in work and life is “why?” Why do we get up in the morning? Why do we work hard, go the extra mile? I believe we don’t work for ourselves. Working to help other people brings joy and meaning into our lives. So, a big part of my job is reminding myself and my team why we are in business. In the case of TymeBank, it is to help our customers reach their full potential. We still have a long way to go to do that job really well, but every day we get a bit better.
Who do you regard as the most influential South African of all time?
I would say Nkosi Albert Luthuli. He is the first South African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – and for good reason. He saw South Africa as it could be in a time when it looked impossible and crazy to aspire to live in a free and equal society.
Which book has had the most impact on you and why?
A tough question. As we grow and leave behind our old selves, new things shape us. Recently, reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, gave me a completely fresh perspective on human nature and society. It opened my mind to the role of creativity and storytelling in shaping our shared reality.
I now look around me at things I would have thought of as part of the natural world before and realise- it’s all made up. Most of our world (money, companies, churches, countries, tribes, race, cities, even nature conservation areas) consists of stories that have come alive. They don’t exist in the natural world, but they are real to us and they shape our lives.
What do you do to unwind?
Boxing. I’m not great at it, but I love the focus, intensity and challenge. It puts you in the moment. Three minutes of sparring is like a reset for the system.
And second, watching Modern Family on a Friday evening with my wife and daughters. Those guys are so embarrassing, just like the rest of us.
Which music is currently on your playlist?
Don’t judge. Kanye West, Donda. The guy is real. We all lose our way sometimes and have to find it back.
What is your most valuable possession in life?
To me, possessions aren’t valuable in themselves. But the stories they tell can be cool. Years back I bought a paper mache sculpture of a Nguni cow from an artist on a street corner in Melville. I love that cow. We took it along when we moved to Hong Kong and then to Singapore. It’s a piece of home. It is also a story of working with what we have to make the world more beautiful.
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