At 30 years old, Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar’s achievements in the corporate, legal, financial and political worlds are pretty eye-stretching.
He is a Mandela Washington Fellow, a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, a St Gallen Symposium Leader of Tomorrow and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. Yet speak to him and what is clear is his passion for his country.
His words burn with a desire to help shape solutions and promote change. He gave up a promising position in a law firm to serve as the chief operating officer of Agang, a political party, hoping to become a catalyst for change. His goal is to empower people to take more accountability for systems that don’t work, from government to business. To help influence this change, Gasnolar also writes columns for the Daily Maverick website.
Yet his proudest achievement remains his Boundless Heart Foundation, which has fed more than 15 000 people, established a library and distributed 10 000 books by harnessing hundreds of volunteers who want to improve individual and community lives.
He works towards this vision at other levels too, as an attorney of the high court and a management consultant focusing on emerging markets.
His ambition is to complete a master’s degree in public policy focusing on solutions to take South Africa forward. People, and often those in leadership, will disappoint you, but you have to learn to take the conversation and not the disappointment forward.
Find Andrew on Twitter: @gasnolar
