As a student of Norkem Park High School in Kempton Park Johannesburg, the introspective Craig Miller could not think of anything worse than a career that would require expressive writing and public speaking. It chased him into the numerical arms of accounting, a career he believed would afford him and his calculator serenity and solitude.
But life is what happens to you as you are busy making other plans.
Craig matriculated in 1991 and pursued a Bachelor of Accounting Science degree through the University of South Africa. He undertook vacation work at Deloitte Johannesburg during his studies and joined the accounting firm after graduating in 1995. On completion of his training contract in 1998, Craig was enlisted into Deloitte’s Global Development Programme and this led to a move to the London office a year later.
While in the United Kingdom, Craig was introduced to the world of mining and to the Anglo-American conglomerate when he was deployed to the audit of the company. The assignment altered his long-held ambition of becoming an audit partner. He found the work environment very appealing; the culture was very professional, the people had an admirable work ethic and the systems were first class.
His opportunity to join the company came in 2001 when he was offered the position of financial manager responsible for financial reporting. He accepted the role without a moment’s hesitation.
In 2007, the Group’s Human Resources department approached Craig with an offer to head the office of the new Anglo American Plc Group CEO in London. At the time this position was filled by Cynthia Carroll, the first non-South African and first woman to head the group. Her business acumen led to a ranking among Fortune magazine’s Power 50 index in 2008 and Forbes magazine ranked her the fifth most powerful woman in the world in 2009.
In July 2009, Craig decided to return to South Africa to take up a CFO role in the ferrous and industries division.
In 2015, Craig was appointed Group Financial Controller of Anglo-American Plc and returned once again to London. The Miller family finally returned home to South Africa in 2019, when Craig took up his current position, which he describes as the highlight of his career so far. It requires that he uses all the skills he has acquired along the way, including effective communication and technical financial expertise.
This article is an extract from the Masters of Money book by KC Rottok Chesaina (JONATHAN BALL PUBLISHERS)
