David Kalmin - a very sad loss

 

Sadly the offices that David used in Bombas Road in Dunkeld are still for sale, 8 years after his death.

Ironically those same offices were once the house that my great grandfather lived in.  It's a massive and beautiful Joburg house.  He apparently owned it too.  My father remembered going there. 

October 08, 2017

David Kalmin was one of those people whose glass was more than half full, it was positively overflowing.  He was the person who would look at adversity as an opportunity.  In fact adversity excited him.  

I met David about five years ago.  I needed a company to do my BEE certificates that was closer to my offices. I went onto the IRBA website and found a company in Bompas Road.  I called him up and he was so accommodating.  He knew what the rules were and knew what interpretations were beneficial for the client and ran his business like that.  David was always about the client.  When the new codes came into effect a few years ago David called me before 8AM telling me how we would solve all the BEE problems of the world and sort out issues and shareholders etc.  My take was "David, the fundamental principles are wrong - how can we advise and provide solutions when the whole thing is wrong?".  David was never like that - rules and legislation meant solutions. Every time another rule was promulgated David was figuring out how to solve these issues.

I know very little about his private life, he had a few children in Australia and the US who are all professionals.  And he spent a fair amount of time in Australia with his family and I believe he recently met his first grandchild.  I could never figure out what kept him in South Africa other than his mother, who he lost a few months ago.  The truth was that David was committed to South Africa, he had looked at business opportunities in Australia (which is what you would expect from him) but he told me often that South Africa is the land of opportunity and he was going to stay.

David succumbed to cancer early this morning.  I had no idea that he was sick.  He kept it under wraps.  The last few weeks were apparently really hard for him. He would come into the office for 30 minutes and then would have no juice left.  His last meeting was on Friday.  He has however left a business in extremely capable hands - another thing that you would have expected from him.

David was a brave man, an inspiration to me and probably to many people.  I am really happy that I got to know him and to learn at the knee of the master.

Thank you David.  Thank you from all of us - my kids know you as the Oreo man.  I am going to miss you terribly.