On Change with Petro du Pisani
Context is the primary-source knowledge base for On Change with Petro du Pisani: the place to find what Petro du Pisani and guests actually said, in their own words, about taking a sabbatical, adaptability and resilience, women believing in themselves at work and technical experts learning to lead.
It holds verbatim, timestamped quotations from episodes of On Change with Petro du Pisani. Other topics include living by your values, personal change, leadership and executive coaching. Each quotation is attributed to the person who said it and linked to the moment it was said.
The quotations are the conversation itself, not a summary of it. Browse them by topic or by episode.
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On Change with Petro du Pisani is a podcast, published 2017-11-18 to 2026-06-02.
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Topics
- Conscious breaks from work as life redesign
The show's biggest thread. Guests describe stepping away from work on purpose to rethink how they live, what they learned, and how they came back. · 6 quotations from 13 episodes - Who am I without the job title?
Guest after guest describes how their sense of self had merged with their employer or role, and the discomfort of losing it. · 6 quotations from 7 episodes - Burnout, warning signs and listening to your body
The show keeps returning to people who pushed until their bodies forced a stop. · 6 quotations from 11 episodes - Keeping the break alive after returning
Guests describe how they protect what a break gave them once they are back at work: daily touch points, rest days, quarterly long weekends, mini breaks. · 6 quotations from 7 episodes - Change begins with yourself
Across the early change episodes and the EMBA conversations, guests say personal change is the hard part. · 6 quotations from 7 episodes - The people side beats the perfect solution
From business improvement to technology rollouts, guests argue that listening, buy-in and people's own purposes decide whether anything sticks. · 6 quotations from 7 episodes - From technical expert to leader of people
Guests who rose on technical skill describe finding that leading means focusing people rather than supplying answers, admitting what they don't know, and supporting new managers. · 6 quotations from 6 episodes - Purpose and values as the compass
Purpose recurs first as an EMBA research subject and then as a personal filter for choosing work and direction. · 6 quotations from 7 episodes - Women backing themselves and claiming space
Women leaders talk about self-doubt, feeling like they are wearing someone else's coat, being called bossy, and stretching their 'fear muscle'. · 6 quotations from 6 episodes - You don't have to do it alone
Guests keep saying that coaches, therapists, mentors and honest friends made the difference. · 6 quotations from 7 episodes
Episodes
- #048 The Accidental Entrepreneur | Carmel Peinke
2 June 2026 · with Carmel Peinke (founder and CEO, eRoute2Market)
Petro du Pisani talks with Carmel Peinke about how she came into FMCG by chance, launched Lipton Iced Tea at Smollan, and saw a sales-data gap that led her to found E-Route to Market in 2009, a platform she built without writing code. - #047 Owning Your Financial Future | Ann Wilson
5 March 2026 · with Ann Wilson (best-selling author, speaker, and financial empowerment activist)
Petro du Pisani talks with Ann Wilson, known as The Wealth Chef, a former civil engineer who says she has been financially free for nearly 20 years. - #046 Lessons from a serial entrepreneur | Catherine Wijnberg
24 December 2025 · with Catherine Wijnberg (CEO, Fetola)
Petro du Pisani talks with Catherine Wijnberg, CEO of Fetola, about a life of serial entrepreneurship. - #045 Lessons from Everest | Jeannette McGill
7 November 2025 · with Jeannette McGill
Petro du Pisani talks with her long-time friend Jeannette McGill, who in 2025 became the oldest South African woman to summit Everest. - #044 We need a new future | Carmen Murray
31 October 2025 · with Carmen Murray (CEO, Carmen Murray Communications)
In this episode of On Change's Powerful Women series, the host speaks with Carmen Murray, who describes herself as a marketer, technographer and numerologist moving into futurism. - #043 We Need New Leaders | Charlotte Otter
9 September 2025 · with Charlotte Otter (speaker, leadership coach, and former journalist)
Petro du Pisani opens her Powerful Women series with Charlotte Otter, a former journalist and corporate communicator whose book We Need New Leaders grew out of an MSc thesis on reputation. - #042 Special Focus on Seasonality | Amy Martin
26 February 2025 · with Amy Martin (coach and organization development practitioner)
In the last episode of Petro du Pisani's series on conscious breaks from work, she talks with Amy Martin, a coach and organization development practitioner with two decades of leadership in the veterinary sector. - #041 Special Focus on Burnout | Shannon Royden-Turner
17 February 2025 · with Shannon Royden-Turner (burnout coach)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with burnout coach Shannon Royden-Turner, who works with CEOs and executive teams in mining, energy and development. - #040 Special Focus on Burnout | Laura-Jean Evens & Lurinda Maree
1 February 2025 · with Laura-Jean Evens (executive coach), Lurinda Maree (industrial psychologist and applied theatre specialist)
Host Petro du Pisani, framing burnout as one reason people take conscious breaks from work, talks with two coaches. - #039 The Sabbatical Mindset | Omri van Zyl
30 January 2025 · with Omri van Zyl (CEO, RussellStone Capital)
Host Petro du Pisani, herself on a sabbatical after 25 years in corporate, talks to Omri van Zyl, CEO of RussellStone Capital. - #038 The Reinvention Pause | Mike Stopforth
27 January 2025 · with Mike Stopforth (managing director, Flume)
Petro du Pisani interviews Mike Stopforth, managing director of Flume and former CEO of Cerebra, about a break he earmarked for one year of study in 2019 that became a roughly four-year reinvention period. - #037 Pausing to Pivot | Pamela Naidoo-Ameglio
25 January 2025 · with Pamela Naidoo-Ameglio (executive leader and geoscientist, ANSTO)
Host Petro du Pisani talks to Pamela Naidoo-Ameglio about the sabbatical she took in 2015. - #036 Rest, Reset, and Recharge | Sas Wessels
30 October 2024 · with Sas Wessels (mechanical engineer and business improvement professional)
Petro du Pisani talks with Sas Wessels, a mining-industry mechanical engineer and business improvement professional, about a sabbatical that followed repeated company restructures. - #035 The Re-ignition Pause | Briony Liber
28 October 2024 · with Briony Liber (career and leadership coach)
Part of Petro du Pisani's series on conscious breaks from work. - #034 The Transformative Break | Zaheera Soomar
24 October 2024 · with Zaheera Soomar (business leader, independent consultant, and academic scholar)
Petro du Pisani talks with Zaheera Soomar, who took her first sabbatical after twenty years of work, following a corporate restructure. - #033 The Self-Discovery Pause | Louise Rapley
9 October 2024 · with Louise Rapley (freelance writer and editor)
Petro du Pisani, herself on a conscious break from work, talks with Louise Rapley, a former French teacher and textbook editor, about a sabbatical funded by her partner after a COVID-cancelled trip. - #032 The Thoughtful Time-Out | Gargi Mishra
23 September 2024 · with Gargi Mishra (foresight practitioner)
Host Petro du Pisani, who is on his own sabbatical after 25 years in corporate, talks with Gargi Mishra about career breaks. - #031 Intentional Interludes | Thea Weeks
12 September 2024 · with Thea Weeks (environmental, social, and governance lead, MPI Mott Africa)
Petro du Pisani, on her own sabbatical after 25 years in corporate, talks to Thea Weeks, ESG lead at MPI Mott Africa, about her three career breaks: volunteering in the NGO space, time with her newborn son, and adjusting after losing hearing following an illness in Cameroon. - #030 The Healing Pause | Ntseiseng Lephole
1 September 2024 · with Ntseiseng Lephole
In the fourth episode of a series on conscious breaks from work, host Petro du Pisani talks to Ntseiseng Lephole, who works with international NGOs. - #029 A Life-Changing Break | Hermien Uys
23 August 2024 · with Hermien Uys (corporate lawyer, Vedanta)
In the third episode of Petro du Pisani's series on conscious breaks from work, Hermien Uys, a corporate lawyer in the mining industry, describes her roughly year-long sabbatical in 2017-2018. - #028 The Realignment Pause | Lizette Spangenberg
8 August 2024 · with Lizette Spangenberg
In the second episode of Petro du Pisani's series on conscious breaks from work, Lizette Spangenberg describes two sabbaticals. - #027 Purposeful Pauses | Fatima Collins
2 August 2024 · with Fatima Collins (Women in Mining Project Manager, Sibanye-Stillwater)
The first episode of an On Change series in which host Petro du Pisani, herself on a conscious break, talks with Fatima Collins about her four career breaks. - #026 Thoughts on Innovation in the Mining Industry | Elaine Hattingh & Sandiso Sibisi
14 January 2024 · with Elaine Hattingh (manager of innovation, Exxaro Resources), Sandiso Sibisi (startup founder, COOi Studios)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Elaine Hattingh, an innovation manager in mining, and Sandiso Sibisi, who runs an innovation studio after nine years at Accenture. - #025 Unleashing my superpowers | Patience Mpofu
29 August 2022 · with Patience Mpofu (CEO, Peak Performance with Patience and Insights Mining Experts)
Petro du Pisani interviews Dr Patience Mpofu, a former vice president corporate affairs at South32, about her path from applied chemistry in Zimbabwe and South Africa to a PhD in Australia and senior roles at Anglo American, Lonmin and South32. - #024 A study on Open Banking | Karen Nadasen
29 August 2022 · with Karen Nadasen (CEO, PayU)
Host Petro du Pisani speaks with fellow UCT GSB EMBA student Karen Nadasen, CEO of PayU South Africa, about her research project, an open banking relevance and assessment model. - #023 Harnessing shared leadership to improve strategic coherence | Jordan Ludlow
18 July 2022 · with Jordan Ludlow (managing director, Tradereach)
Host Petro interviews fellow UCT EMBA graduate Jordan Ludlow, MD of a specialist retail asset management business in FMCG logistics, about his research on improving strategic coherence. - #022 Understanding my desire to be a biotech entrepreneur | Mauritz Venter
16 July 2022 · with Mauritz Venter (CEO and co-founder, AzarGen Biotechnologies)
Petro du Pisani interviews fellow UCT GSB Executive MBA student Mauritz Venter, a scientist and biotech founder, about his research project on his desire to be a biotech entrepreneur. - #021 The impact of remote work on organisational design | Desereé van den Berg
21 June 2022 · with Desereé van den Berg (HR Executive, RBS)
The host, a fellow UCT GSB Executive MBA graduate, talks with Desereé van den Berg, an HR executive, about her EMBA research into how remote work affects organisational design. - #020 Chris Smith | Finding happiness at work
16 June 2022 · with Chris Smith (Freelance Consultant in Project and Business Management)
Petro du Pisani talks with fellow UCT EMBA student Chris Smith about his dissertation, Improving Happiness at Work, What Leaders Can Do and Why They Should Do It. - #019 Gordon Wilson | Purpose as a driver for human behaviour
4 April 2022 · with Gordon Wilson (Achievement Awards Group)
Host Petro talks with fellow UCT EMBA student Gordon Wilson, who works in the human performance improvement industry at Achievement Awards Group, about his research project on purpose as a driver of human behaviour from a leadership perspective. - #018 Sean Lewis | In search of knowledge
27 July 2020 · with Sean Lewis (part-time lecturer, UCT GSB)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Sean Lewis, a part-time lecturer on the UCT EMBA whom she met on her first course. - #017 Chris Breen | Finding what matters most
19 July 2020 · with Chris Breen (Emeritus Professor, UCT GSB)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Chris Breen, a former maths educator who now teaches personal leadership in complex times, as part of her EMBA learning-journey series. - #016 Kosheek Sewchurran | Creating worlds through conversation
13 July 2020 · with Kosheek Sewchurran (Associate Professor, University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business (GSB))
Host Petro du Pisani, starting her Executive MBA at UCT GSB, talks with its programme director, Associate Professor Kosheek Sewchurran. - #015 Tracey Swanepoel, Lisa Shippey and Bernard Swanepoel | The power of storytelling to inspire change
7 January 2020 · with Tracey Swanepoel (Thinkspiration), Bernard Swanepoel (Thinkspiration), Lisa Shippey (director, Thinkspiration)
The host speaks with three people from Thinkspiration about using storytelling to make business strategy understandable at every level of an organisation. - #014 Riaan Wolmarans | Travel books: Memories and aspirations
3 December 2019 · with Riaan Wolmarans
An end-of-year book discussion in which host Petro and her friend Riaan Wolmarans talk about books tied to places: cities they have visited, places they want to visit, fantasy and post-apocalyptic worlds, and travel guides. - #013 Jo Rust | How motorcycling around Africa changes you
24 May 2019 · with Jo Rust (Personal Life Coach)
The host talks to Jo Rust about how riding solo around Africa changed her. - #012 Denis Beckett | On being an ordinary South African
17 March 2019 · with Denis Beckett (journalist, adventurer, TV presenter, radio host and author)
Petro du Pisani talks with journalist and TV presenter Denis Beckett about his path from a law degree to the Rand Daily Mail, the 1977 press closures, founding Frontline, the 1983 spoilt-ballot campaign, Face the Facts and Beckett's Trek. - #011 Riaan Wolmarans | Dusting off the bookshelf
14 December 2018 · with Riaan Wolmarans (journalist, editor)
Host Petro du Pisani and his best friend, journalist Riaan Wolmarans, work through the categories of a Grant Snider cartoon: books they couldn't put down, couldn't pick up, gave each other, took on holiday, and that changed their lives. - #010 Steven Heyman | Yoga and enabling change through mindfulness
20 November 2018 · with Steven Heyman (owner, Yogaworks)
Petro du Pisani talks with Steven Heyman, a Belgian-born former managing director of a logistics company's Johannesburg office who became a yoga teacher and mindfulness practitioner. - #009 Gail Cameron | Coaching and African Leadership
25 October 2018 · with Gail Cameron (founder and managing director, Image Excellence Group)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Gail Cameron, founder of the Image Excellence Group, about how her coaching practice grew from voice and speech work into leadership and life coaching. - #008 Corrie Pitzer | Resilience Engineering in Safety
24 September 2018 · with Corrie Pitzer (CEO, Safemap International)
Petro du Pisani interviews Corrie Pitzer, founder of Safemap International, about resilience engineering in safety. - #007 Dr. Clifford Saunders | Reprogramming your brain
21 September 2018 · with Clifford Saunders (managing director, Center for Applied Neuroscience)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Dr Clifford Saunders, who calls himself the Brain Reprogramming Doctor, about neuroplasticity. - #006 Harry Sinko and Gary Lane | Disruption in the mining industry
16 July 2018 · with Harry Sinko (directors, Vuuma Collaborations), Gary Lane (directors, Vuuma Collaborations)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Gary Lane and Harry Sinko of Vuuma Collaborations about disrupting the mining industry. - #005 WiMSA | Gender diversity in the mining industry
14 June 2018 · with Noleen Pauls (Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA)), Lindi Nakedi (Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA))
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Noleen Pauls, a geologist in mining since 1992, and Lindi Nakedi, a former recruiter who has run a mining-related business since 2010. - #004 George Lee Sye | Intersection between change management and business improvement
30 March 2018 · with George Lee Sye
Petro du Pisani talks with George Lee Sye about where change management and business improvement meet. - #003 Dr. Barbara Trautlein | Change Intelligence (CQ)
25 March 2018 · with Barbara Trautlein (change consultant, author, speaker, and researcher, Change Catalysts)
Petro du Pisani interviews Barbara Trautlein, an organizational psychologist and the author of Change Intelligence. - #002 Dr. Ryk Croukamp | Logotherapy and self-awareness in change
25 January 2018 · with Ryk Croukamp (owner, Indigo Skye)
Host Petro du Pisani talks with Ryk Croukamp, owner of Indigo Skye, about the people side of change. - #001 Tom Marsicano | Change in a production environment
18 November 2017 · with Tom Marsicano (co-founder and director, AndChange)
Host Petro du Pisani interviews Tom Marsicano, co-founder and director of AndChange, about applying change management in production settings such as mining.
Every quotation on this site is copied word for word from the episode audio transcript and linked to the moment it was said. Quotations are never written or altered by AI; topic labels, episode summaries and analysis are AI-generated. Guest details come from the published episode notes or the guest's own words.