Someone said “What will matter is not what you bought but what you built. What will matter is not your success but your significance. What will matter is every act of integrity and compassion that enriched and empowered others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence but your character.”

And you’re doing it Jules - thank you for enriching, empowering and setting the example.

It has been 2 months since you left, and I have not been able to get to the point where I can respond to your loving farewell message. You know how really bad I am at goodbyes…almost as if I don’t need to admit it’s real if I don’t actually say goodbye.

But it would be terribly remiss of me to not acknowledge the incredible contribution you have made to this little company on the hill over the years.

You have been involved in every part of the life of Avo since the day you walked in the door. Every single thing you took on in your life in this space you took on with courage and grace. You put together a really hectic project and mobilised 110 trainers to train 28 000 people in 20 days! An incredible achievement, and probably one of the biggest training projects every delivered in our country! You led your team through a really tough time with such calm and humility, coupled with a spine of steel!

And then you stepped into the Avo space, and began to meticulously build all the processes and people we needed to grow ourselves on to a new level. You became the person we all looked to for leadership because of your thorough approach, considered thinking, and warm leadership style. You were always strong but compassionate, warm and clear. And you worked your backside off on everything you touched.

You engendered a sense of trust in every one of us who worked with you: clients colleagues and suppliers alike. Your moral compass is unshakeable, and your commitment to developing the people around you commendable.

I am so grateful for the ear you always lent me when I needed perspective, and the compassion you showed me when I felt that the burdens were too heavy, really gave me the courage to carry on.

I felt the loss of your daily presence so much when you moved to Cape Town. It was testimony to your incredible contribution that you left such a hole when you moved. I felt the very fabric of our company tremor when you went. Getting used to not having you here every day took so long.

And now you are taking this big brave step into making your own way and starting your own business. I am so relived it means we can still work side-by-side together - I would hate for it to have been over completely!

And I am relieved I can still walk with my friend on the beach every time I am down in the Republic of Hout Bay! This is the end of a chapter, but certainly not the road!

Love you mate!