He’s got one of the biggest banking jobs on the continent, but Nedbank’s group managing exec for retail and business banking, Ciko Thomas, is more than just his work. This son of the Eastern Cape has also been an honorary (and proud) Joburger for decades and is known for his love and support of art, philanthropy, and an excellent conversation or two.
What’s the best book you’ve read in the past year? And why?
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China by Ezra Vogel. Deng Xiaoping, like all the great Chinese Communist Party leaders, is a proper “Big Man”, but what shines through in this stellar book is the absolute power and hold that Mao Zedong had over the People’s Republic of China. He was a proper boss of an individual.
How do you keep fit?
I walk. I spend long hours of free time in my head with bare music tones – mostly Keith Jarrett. I also feign discernment in things I eat … and drink.
Weekday, low-key restaurant go-to? What do you order?
There are two: Bellagio and Tortellino d’Oro.
Bellagio has divine fish and chips – an absolute nod to my New Brighton sensibilities. Complete with vinegar for the chips.
Tortellino d’Oro makes the best osso buco on the highveld, simply put. And it keeps delectable Barolo. Very sensible.
What is the one artwork you’ll always love, and why?
Gerard Sekoto’s Song of the Pick. It’s one artwork that says so much about South Africa’s historical social condition: the power of the small-time white supervisor, the toil of the Black body for South Africa, the act of digging itself and its vital contribution to the South African economy. There’s an implicit rhythm in the act of digging that has shaped the relationship between labour and South African music historically. There is so much in one picture.
What is your biggest regret?
In late 2016, I was in the US and bought tickets to watch the great jazz pianist Keith Jarrett’s solo concert at Carnegie Hall in February 2017.
But then I got assigned a new role at work, and that weekend I couldn’t travel – so I gave up the tickets. Turns out, that was his last live performance. He suffered a stroke afterward and can’t play with his left hand anymore. I’ll probably never see him perform live again.
The one unusual item you can’t live without?
Mastertons coffee beans at home.
They’ve been roasters since 1924, largely from a beautifully rickety building on Russell Road in Gqeberha. My grandmother worked in the tearoom at Garlicks in Gqeberha for most of her life, just around the corner from the store. That’s how she got onto their blends and roasts. Every morning, very early during school holidays, she’d brew some coffee, make two cups for the two of us, and regale me with tales of the ladies who “did” high tea at the store – their husbands, their ways of life. A wonder to a small Black kid from New Brighton! I was hooked for life.
Who was your high school celeb crush?
Easy. The beautiful, late, great Kuli Roberts! She even took me as her date to her matric dance.
Three songs that you’d take to a desert island?
Flamenco Sketches, Miles Davis; Redemption Song, Bob Marley; Vuli Ndlela, Brenda Fassie. I’ll sneak in a Stevie Wonder tune illegally – probably As.
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