Thabo Kgogo, a former SacOil CEO and interim Group Five head, has died at the age of 45 from Covid-19 related complications.
A petroleum engineer by training, Kgogo obtained a BSc in chemical engineering from the University of Cape Town, and his masters and doctorate in petroleum engineering from Imperial College, University of London.
He worked at PetroSA as a reservoir engineer and principal engineer, before his appointment in 2010 as a vice-president of its operations division.
In 2014 he was named CEO of SacOil, the oil and gas company, where he spent four years.
After his departure from SacOil, since renamed Efora Energy, Kgogo spent a stint as a non-executive board member of construction company Group Five, and subsequently served the as interim CEO.
At the time of his death he was the CEO of Caldera Energy Holdings and Gemcorp Refineries. The two companies are involved in energy project development in Africa operations in Liberia and Angola, constructing refineries.
Kgogo contracted Covid-19 two weeks ago, which led to him being hospitalised.
“He sadly lost his brave fight against Covid-19 on the evening of Friday, July 30, 2021,” his family said in a statement.
Godwin Sweto, a former vice-president of corporate strategy and planning at PetroSA said Kgogo’s death was a wound that might never heal.
“One cannot help but feel that this cannot be fair. The guy was still young; a bright engineering executive with the whole wide world and a successful future ahead of him,” Sweto, a founder and MD of Encorex, a wholesaler of petroleum products and biofuels.
Dan Marokane, a former executive at PetroSA, Eskom, and a current executive director with Tongaat Hulett, said: “Thabo was a good friend, a competent and passionate executive, and a committed father and husband. Our continent in particular and the world at large has been left poorer without his skills.”
Kgogo's funeral is scheduled Aug. 7 at Mahikeng, his hometown. He is survived by his wife, Gladys, and three children.
A virtual memorial service will be held on Aug. 5.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.