Raymond David Ackerman was born on March 10, 1931.  He entered Bishops in January 1944 as a boarder in School House. In his Matric Year, he was a school prefect and a member of the prestigious Ten Club. He matriculated in 1948 with a First-Class pass and went on to UCT where he graduated with a B. Com degree in 1951.  He joined the Ackermans’ department store chain that year as a trainee manager and, after the group was bought by Greatermans in 1955 was responsible for establishing the first true self-service supermarkets in South Africa, Checkers.  Having built up the Checkers business to 85 stores, he was dismissed in 1966 over a disagreement about the future of the company.  Using his two weeks’ severance pay, a bank loan, a modest inheritance and shares purchased by friends, Ackerman bought four small stores in Cape Town trading under the name Pick n Pay.  Since then, Pick n Pay has grown into one of the largest grocery retailers in South Africa with over 1900 supermarkets throughout South and Southern Africa.  Mr Ackerman has always put the customer first and organised the company around that unbreakable principle while investing heavily in staff training, relentless promotion from within – and on merit – and the very first broad-based employee ownership scheme which encourages all employees to think like owners.  The company today employs 85 000 people in seven countries.

Mr Ackerman’s contribution to South Africa, other than pioneering and developing supermarkets in this country to a world class-standard, has been to encourage and involve communities in the commercial and philanthropic objectives of the company.  In addition to commercial operations, he established the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development for youth who have had limited access to tertiary education. He is also the benefactor of the Raymond Ackerman Golf Academy which assists the education of disadvantaged youth through the medium of golf.  Among the many awards conferred on him are several Honorary Doctorate Degrees, one more recent, from Rutgers University in the USA.  In her citation, the Chancellor, Phoebe Camden, said:

“As a business leader during South Africa’s apartheid period, you defied the South African government to protect the most impoverished and vulnerable of your fellow citizens. Despite crippling government fines, you subsidised bread prices to make certain that basic food items would remain accessible to the majority of South Africans. Your life’s work has grown economic opportunity and expanded opportunities for equality in your home nation of South Africa. Your business philosophy inspires entrepreneurs worldwide to strive toward a future where doing well and doing good are twin prerequisites for economic and social success.” 

The 2011 CNBC All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) noted in the citation: “Through incisive leadership, Pick n Pay has achieved remarkable status in the Southern African retail landscape … it introduced black ownership through its very successful franchise division, introduced the concept of sustainability nearly a decade before other retailers and invested in growing small farmers and BEE suppliers in order to help address and avoid national food security and safety issues. Apart from that, the group and its leadership have chosen to take principled positions on issues that they believed directly affected the future of South Africans. Ackerman's stand on apartheid, monopolies, cartels and regulated consumer prices has been widely publicised. South Africans have come to expect a 'voice' from the group and its leaders on social issues, which could have a material effect on their future safety and prosperity.”

Mr Ackerman was awarded the Presidential Award of the Order of the Baobab – Silver – in 2014.

- Dr Paul Murray

Doing good is good business: Reflections on my 90th birthday - click here to read Mr Ackerman's article on Daily Maverick. 

Personal anecdotes:

Mr Ackerman and his wife Wendy, have four children, 12 grandchildren and one great-grand-daughter, with two more on the way. His two sons Gareth and Jonathan attended Bishops as well as grandsons Nicholas and Benjamin.

His father, Gus, founded the Clovelly golf club as a means to bypass the antisemitic prejudice of other Cape clubs which barred Jews from membership and playing. It was no surprise then, that in the face of apartheid, Raymond insisted that Clovelly open to all races, and was the first club to do so.

Mr Ackerman is also an avid snooker player, although sometimes invoking “rule 42” if the game does not go entirely his way.

Finding solace in mentoring people is something he values highly. Mr Ackerman has mentored thousands of people over the years and has always remained positive about people and life, always looking for the good in people and the world at large. 

No amount of thanks will be enough for what Mr Raymond Ackerman has contributed to the Bishops community. There could be no better patron for the OD Union, and we wish Raymond a very happy birthday today, on this milestone occasion in his life, spent with Wendy and his family, and good health going forward.