Captains of industry fly in for CEO SleepOut

Johannesburg - Bernard Fehon and Warren Bingham have flown into the country to support tonight’s Sun International CEO SleepOut.

Read also: MAP: Newtown road closures for CEO SleepOut

The two Australian business leaders will join 200 captains of industry for the second annual SleepOut taking place on the Nelson Mandela Bridge.

Local dignitaries including Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Joburg mayor Parks Tau will be joining the likes of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka and all the chief executives and their nominated teams to brave the cold temperatures, which are predicted to fall below zero.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will give a special address in the early hours of tomorrow.

Bingham, executive chairman of Med Tech International, is involved in numerous philanthropic projects, while Fehon is founder of the CEO SleepOut concept and patron of the South African event.

He described it as a simple idea that was given new life in South Africa by Ali Gregg, the initiative’s local chief executive and founder.

Both hope to take the fund-raising event to more countries around the world.

“We’d like to see a global alliance that encourages co-operation between the existing countries and help spread the fund-raiser to other countries,” said Fehon.

The CEO SleepOut is an annual event in New Zealand, Canada, US, UK and Thailand.

“Homelessness is a much bigger problem in South Africa than in many other parts of the world. There are similar but different reasons,” said Bingham, who has travelled the world.

He believes being a privileged and healthy individual allows him to help influence other people’s lives positively.

“Bernie and I are hoping to learn from all the regions and consolidate the knowledge we get, with a view to possibly creating an international perspective,” he said.

Spending the night out on the streets has left a deep impression on them and generated a drive to create further change around the world, especially for their beneficiaries.

“The fact that we get chief executives into a raw environment and in a space where you are forced to think about homelessness can create a significant change in their mindset.

“It affects everything we do afterwards,” said Bingham, who has attended six SleepOuts in Australia.

Fehon described Bingham as “passionate about the cause and one of the chief executives greatly affected and who ends up learning and caring for everyone”.

“It is in that moment of understanding that we can really turn the world upside down. The South African CEO SleepOut is similar to the Australian one in that there has been an evolution of growth, with many new ideas,” Fehon said.

samantha.hartshorne@inl.co.za

THE STAR