The Royal Society of South Africa and the Academy of Science of South Africa invite you to a public lecture by Professor Kobus Visser, Emeritus Professor, School of Business and Finance, University of the Western Cape on Managing Complex Situations: Lessons from the World’s First Heart Transplant.

Abstract: Professor Kobus Visser was just 14 at the time, when his father-in-law to be, Professor Christiaan Barnard, made history by performing the world’s first human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. Kobus later married Barnard’s daughter Deidre, and went on to head the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Western Cape. He thus brings a narrative of the inside story behind the preliminaries and preparation to perform the transplant … with unique insights into the appropriate planning and management of complex situations.

About the Speaker:  Kobus was Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences until recently and is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of the Western Cape.  He is the recipient of the Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Scholarship in North Carolina, USA where he researched challenges and opportunities of social entrepreneurship as a change phenomenon – application and replication for developing countries. His interests span Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development, Ethics and Leadership. Kobus has held visiting professorships  at a range of universities including  Jönköping  and Uppsala in  Sweden and Hsuiping University of Technology in China.

Date:     Wednesday 19 September  

Time:    17h00 (Tea will be served from 16h30)

Place:    South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) Auditorium, Observatory Road, Observatory*

*Directions to SAAO Auditorium : From the N2, turn off to the M57 – Liesbeek Parkway; turning in the direction of Cape Town and continue until the traffic lights with Hartleyvale (hockey and football) on your left. Turn right at traffic lights into Observatory Road, pass the River Club; the S A Astronomical Observatory is next on the left. Once through the security gates bear left following the SALT signs to the auditorium i.e. last building on the left (white with stoep & ramp).                                                             

PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF DRIVEWAYS