THE Yiddish proverb says that money doesn’t grow on trees. Business veteran Harold Pupkewitz is living proof of that.
Celebrating his 95th birthday, he granted the local media an interview this week – in the Pupkewitz Holdings building in downtown Windhoek, where reporters had to climb two flights of stairs to his office just like he still does every morning.’I don’t plan to retire,’ the self-made tycoon said. Rather, like all soldiers, he just plans to fade away, the chairman of the Pupkewitz Group of Companies explained.Pupkewitz, who turned 95 on Wednesday, has been making some changes to his work schedule, though.Three years ago he stopped taking work home, and this year he decided to stop working on Saturdays. ‘Maybe just one Saturday a month, if it is really necessary,’ he added.His working career, which spans more than 70 years, has been characterised by 12- to 14-hour days. And it shows.When he took over the family business at the age of 22 in 1937, it was only one business which employed about 12 people. Today, the Pupkewitz Group consists of about 30 individual businesses, which employed around 1 250 people prior to the recently concluded merger between Pupkewitz Megabuild and Massmart.He needs a few more years, God willing, Pupkewitz said – ‘to round off my responsibilities as the head of the Pupkewitz Group’.He intends to ‘gradually’ change his style of business, to help his executives strategise, ‘to come into the office maybe at 10h00 and have a cup of coffee or tea with my people’.’My door will always be open,’ he said.Although Harold Pupkewitz and business success are synonymous, Pupkewitz doesn’t want to be remembered for the imprint he has left on the Namibian private sector. He wants to be remembered for the virtues he has lived by: honesty, integrity, loyalty, responsibility and professionalism.These virtues are the foundations of life, and are virtues he would also like to see in business and in the young Namibians training to be executives at the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business (HP-GSB) at the Polytechnic of Namibia.’For every executive extra in Namibia, we create 18 more jobs,’ he said.By training more talented, passionate and hard-working managers, more wealth will be created in Namibia. And by creating more wealth, there will be more money ‘to do the things we have to do’, Pupkewitz said.’Creating money is the bull’s eye we should be shooting at,’ he said.Putting his money where his mouth is, Pupkewitz donated N$10 million to the Polytechnic to build the HP-GSB. And when he unveiled a commemorative plaque at the school to mark his birthday on Wednesday, Pupkewitz pledged another N$3 million for maintenance this year and next year.Pupkewitz, his mother and two brothers, Morris and Julius, joined his father in Namibia from Lithuania (old Poland) in 1925.In the 85 years he has lived in Namibia, the country where he learnt what true freedom was, Pupkewitz has lived a full life.He played rugby for Windhoek High School, ran the 100 yards in under ten seconds and was an extremely successful horseman.He has been to Buckingham Palace and met Queen Elizabeth II twice, once as a member of Commonwealth Jewish Council. He has had breakfast with former US president Bill Clinton as part of a business delegation lead by Founding President Sam Nujoma. Pupkewitz also joined Nujoma on a tour of Scandinavia, and experienced his first visit to an oil rig.He has lived through the era of the ox wagon, witnessed the introduction of the first cars, commercial airplanes, telephones and, in later years, cellphones and computers.’Today, what have you not got?’ he pondered.For the remainder of his days, Pupkewitz wants to stay in Namibia, ‘my beloved home’.’Here is where I want to end my life, please God.’’HaShem [Hebrew for God] has been good to me,’ Pupkewitz said.
