In today’s digital-savvy world, new businesses are emerging day in and day out. To distinguish themselves amid this increasing competition, companies have to inculcate innovative strategies and position themselves to cater to the changing market requirements. To ensure this, the role of a CEO has become paramount in today’s time. Being at the core of a company, the CEO is primarily responsible for setting and achieving the company’s vision and mission.
A modern CEO has to have several traits that not only distinguish him from his peers but also contribute immensely to the overall growth of the company. Riaan Fourie (CEO of Tusanang & Adson Group) is a prime example of a 21st century CEO with acute business acumen and a prudent vision. Enunciating his views on the role of a CEO in today’s world, Riaan states, “I believe that excellence is one of the most critical roles of a CEO to ensure the company performs, and a commitment to driving and achieving excellence is thus a core competency of all CEOs.”
A Diligent Problem-solver
Riaan likes solving problems. His intellectual curiosity has driven him to find answers to the most pressing questions throughout his career. Whether it is finding a product or service using modern technology to satisfy the clients’ needs, he quickly uncovers a client’s pain point and identifies a strategic solution.
Riaan creates, scales, and optimizes business portfolios that matter. To accomplish this, he focuses on delivering key outcomes, building great teams, and quickly adapting to new learning. With his refined skills set, he brings customer-centric mindfulness that enables companies and businesses to innovate and thrive.
Throughout his eminent career, Riaan has been entrusted with several management and executive positions in operations management, product development, marketing, and sales divisions. Leveraging his personal and professional experiences, he has successfully helped numerous businesses scale up services and products business in revenue.
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We at TAG generate measurable outcomes by winning choices for organizations to solve important problems so that our clients can make significant strategic decisions.
Delivering Valuable Outcomes
Riaan started his journey with Tusanang & Adson Group (TAG) in 2017 and continues to be excited to come to work each day, helping his colleagues reach their full potential and grow the company. Before being appointed as the CEO of TAG, he was the Managing Director of the company for two years and eight months.
During his tenure as the Director, he was responsible for all the company’s sales and operations including end-to-end management of sales activities, service, and support all markets. He played a crucial role in developing strategic upselling and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.
Presently, he serves as the CEO of TAG and leads a team of experts that collaborates to provide the best solutions. Services and solutions provided by TAG include Training and Education Solutions, HR/IR Solutions, Accounting Solutions, Project Management, Company Compliance Solutions, and other consulting services. “We seek to help our clients solve their most complex problems and make an impact that matters for our clients and the community,” asserts Riaan.
Supporting Employees and Clients
Riaan believes that being a CEO is to be a servant. His primary role is to support the company’s employees and its clients. In supporting the employees, he mentions that the most important thing these days is making peoples’ work and lives more straightforward. Along with his team, Riaan focuses a lot on the impact of automation technology on the employees’ work.
“Its also very much about making them ready in a world that is rapidly changing, so we have to create career paths and we have to support the training of our people so that they are ready for change,” states Riaan. He adds that this is quite an endeavor as it means shifting the organization from a very traditional model, which is very top-down, to one where the team learns how to be collaborative.
Commitment to Servant Leadership and Inclusive Culture
As the CEO, Riaan continues to deepen TAG’s commitment to servant leadership and the “Great Place to Work” culture that plays a key role in sustaining an environment where employees are valued, respected, and appreciated. His focus has always been on keeping people employed, even during the worst times.
“We have learned through every down cycle of the economy of the need to react quickly and look far enough ahead to be sure we have the revenue needed to keep people employed,” mentions Riaan. Since culture matters more than anything at TAG, leaders at every level ensure that their core values are lived out daily.
Rising above Uncertainties
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented disruptions and uncertainty to the training industry. It forced the higher education sector in SA to make long-overdue changes by magnifying challenges to students’ ability to engage with their learning, The pandemic has also forced universities to recognize the future is now, however, many colleges have been slow to respond to this call. COVID-19 has forced colleges to either adapt quickly to an online delivery system or stall and risk obsolescence.
As part of TAG’s strategy regarding education, it started to implement online education and blended education even before the pandemic. Regarding its other service, the strategy was the same and the company started implementing a more efficient online approach. Riaan believes that with the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) becoming a reality, it is important to consider the ever-growing need for technological advancements from part of current and future business structures.
Helming the Disruptions
Riaan has put in place new short-term revenue plans to address the changing market dynamics. He used agility and rapid reprioritization to determine where to focus resources and where to deprioritize efforts. TAG drives strong GTM (Go To Market) execution through change management, communication, and alignment at the commercial leadership level.
Heeding this disruption, Riaan believes that CEOs need to think of themselves as chief growth officers, partnering with commercial leaders to prioritize the most critical bets and ensuring tight coordination between Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success.
TAG is investing a lot in IT and engineering regarding app development, animal tracking, and herd management systems. The company is also planning and strategizing to go into agriculture, food, and training as an added service and products. “TAG’s innovative education and company compliance products will never stop as long as the human race exists,” concludes Riaan.
