Mark Campbell

Mark Campbell always had an interest in the design and application of equipment, devices, and systems. After completing a Higher National Diploma in Electrical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, he joined telecoms company STC in 1988 as an assistant engineer involved in the pioneering rollout of the country’s first digital networks.

He left the company a year later to travel overseas. On his return, he went back to STC, which had formed an alliance with Alcatel Cable. Employed as a design engineer, he was involved in developing hardware and software for the telecoms industry over a period of three years.

Mark then moved into the marketing division of the business, providing technical oversight for sales. At the time, STC was working with Cisco to lay down internal data network infrastructure for South Africa.

He joined what is now known as Tarsus Technology Group in 1999, as the GM of common products, which included Cisco and peripherals. After five years he was promoted to MD of group company Storgate, a position he held for three years. It was to be one of the most arduous and ultimately most rewarding learning phases of his career as he found himself having to defend the company from a hostile takeover.

Following that, he returned to Tarsus as GM for several leading international brands. Over time, his role evolved into what it is today, becoming much broader. As a member of senior management his focus is on people and team leadership, brand and product strategy, product viability, return on investment, and financial management. He calls it looking after the goods on the wagon.

A team player at heart, he is proud of the number of awards that Tarsus continues to win annually, which he puts down to the dedication and commitment of everyone in the business to give their best.

Over the last three years, Mark has learnt to expect everything and realised that nothing is impossible. From the sale of Tarsus to Alviva in 2020, to the impact of the pandemic on the world, the company has successfully demonstrated its resilience, agility and adaptability to change. It’s no wonder that his favourite business book is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, which focuses on the importance of agility.

A dedicated adventure sports enthusiast, Mark spends his leisure time on hard enduro, the world's toughest motorsport, and completed the Roof of Africa in 2016. He loves water sports and listening to music with a glass of red wine in hand. Technology remains his passion. When he has the time, he likes to tinker with contemporary furniture design.

A TED Talks fan, he believes everyone should watch Angela Duckworth’s Grit: the power of passion and perseverance, where she defines grit as having the stamina to pursue your goals.

He’d love to have dinner with jazz pianist Diana Krall who has broken some rules to become a massive success. Elon Musk is also on his list, and Mark would like to understand what really makes him tick. He has enormous admiration for Dietrich Mateschitz, co-founder and co-owner of Red Bull, a brand that has been enormously influential in developing and promoting non-mainstream, high-adrenaline sports.

Mark’s motto? “Get busy living or get busy dying”, from The Shawshank Redemption.