‘Bananas’ about sub-tropical fruit

Were fruit company strategist David Farrell able to turn back the calendar 20 odd years, chances are he would be happily ensconced as a farmer in the lush Lowveld. Not a cattle or grain farmer mind you, for he cut his teeth on sub-tropical fruit, which might well explain a penchant for bananas, straight as they come out of the skin. Farrell, 44, is group director for sustainable business at Colors Fruit Holdings in Paarl. The story of Colors is remarkable. Today South Africa’s third biggest fruit exporter after only 11 years in existence, and Farrell is part of a leadership team committed to transforming it into an even more resilient business. “We can’t say ‘been there, done that’, but there is a great passion and desire to grow this into a great company.” Ever since his student days Farrell has been deeply interested in what makes successful organisations work, hence his mission at Colors. “That is to determine how we structure and operate the company today so as to ensure our long-term success. If you want to build a great business it had better be a “sustainable business” – which means consciously and actively building the human, environmental and economic capital of the business”. Colors commands between 7% and 8% (around 150 000 tons a year) of South Africa’s total fruit export basket, representing about 300 growers, or some 10% of the country’s farming sector. “We expect to sell around 16 million cartons of fruit this year and I have no doubt we will sell it all.” While one accepts a new car, designer outfit or plasma TV is not a musthave in these depressed economic times, fact remains people have to eat to survive so fruit will always play an important role. Colors is also backed by a solid network of service providers, among them Safmarine, which carries more than 80% of the company’s fruit to destinations around the globe. After qualifying with a B.Sc in Agriculture at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, and obtaining a post-graduate diploma in marketing from Unisa, Farrell worked in the sub-tropical fruit sector for the Hans Merensky Group, an area he grew to love, thereafter obtaining his MBA from Lancaster University in England. He joined Colors about eight years ago after the company bought his Johannesburg-based fruit marketing company. Farrell lives in Stellenbosch with his wife Sarah, twins Nicholas and Emily, 12, and younger daughter, Georgia, eight. Even though raised in Johannesburg, he spent his formative years in Natal, hence his support for the Sharks rugby team, which he concedes have not fared too well of late.