Barbara Bezer, described by friend and colleague Chris Hart as one of the ‘gems’ of the industry, has died in Cape Town after a long illness. She joined Micor Shipping from school in the 60s and over the next 20 years became a key member of Cecil Kaplan’s team. “In the mid 80s she joined our team at Profreight and made a huge contribution to managing our administrative growth from the 10 people we had on board at the time, to the 150 people we employed when we were acquired by AEI in 1996,” said Hart. “At AEI she played a key role in integrating the very different accounting and administrative systems that were an inevitable part of the merger.” After successfully working with the integration team, Barbara and her husband Dave relocated to Cape Town to join their son and daughter and their young families. She was forced to retire early due to deteriorating health. “When I saw her recently she spoke fondly of her old colleagues and of the many memories the industry had left her with,” said Hart. “She has had very significant influence on my life and will be sorely missed by all who have had the pleasure of working with her business acumen, wit and absolute commitment to colleagues and friends.”
