South Africa lost one of its key business leaders with the death of Eric Molobi. He was known as a man who did not abuse his political connections and who passionately strived towards black empowerment and job creation. Kagiso Trust Investments (KTI) became a highly influential empowerment company under the direction of Molobi, its founder. Kagiso Media owns controlling interests in radio stations Jacaranda, East Coast Radio and P4 (Cape Town and Durban). Molobi’s views have influenced the style and philosophy that KTI employs, which in turn affected investment strategy and staffing considerations. Charl Kocks, a top analyst at CA-Rating, the agency that evaluates companies’ ability to service debt, has warned that only a small team at KTI was responsible for a number of time-consuming investments as well as for the management of the group as a whole. He adds that more capacity is needed at the company. Kocks says: “There is little doubt that KTI is an attractive employer”. Time will tell whether the course set by Molobi is followed. The fact that Remgro owns 37% of KTI is comforting for KTI’s business associates. Remgro also bought Liberty Group and Nedbank’s shares for R450 million last October. In all of this, there is a warning about why companies should undertake transparent succession planning.