Leader: Dr. Mahomed Kadwa

268 days since Dr. Mahomed Kadwa passed.

A brilliant human being, a mentor, a role model. I believe anybody who worked with him will agree that Mo, as everyone was referring him, not only preached servant leadership, but he embraced it to its fullest. I remember once, as we just got off our last call for the day, it was late and started to get dark outside during Ramadan, I asked him about that landmark clinical study called PARADIGM-HF that was discussed during the call. Despite being late hour and not being critical to my work, he immediately retrieved the study and printed it. Needless to say that we spend more than an hour talking about it. Thank you Mo.

Mo, lived with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma for more than 2 years. He was a big fighter for life, a tank of inspiration and knowledge, a true hero. Words, however, cannot describe his bravery and incarnate his inspiration to others. Words that would have challenged with his very own way: “Don’t mind about me, tell me about you, your family”. In reality, he turned into practice the very definition of these words. During this sad, turbulent moments of his life, Mo got promoted. He received the top role in South Africa; a role he aspired and worked hard for it. I have no doubt that he would have reached all his aspirations and dreams. Build on his legacy and carry on his groundbreaking ambitions in quest of lifesaving treatments is the least we could do as his colleagues.

Mo would have been extremely happy for his successor. A person he never missed an opportunity to talk about on every encounter we had. Congratulations Nico Bosch.

Today, I am sad. I cannot share with him news that would make him happy. Instead, I decided to write this post and dedicate a success of mine to him. He played a big role in guiding and mentoring me.

Excerpts from our conversation over the last 2 years:

1. "Sorry I’m your big brother" when he was being brutally honest and wanted to protect me
2. "People like you, my family are the real heroes- you guys dragged a guy like me kicking and screaming back to health and I can never repay such kindness.", after his recovery in May 2019 from his 5th chemotherapy and the transplant
3. "Crazy with family visits etc but these are golden moments in life", talking about the importance of life

Key elements that make someone a leader (my perspective):

1. Transparency: Leaders should communicate with clarity the Hows and Whys behind their decision-making process and in what ways it will affect them
2. Learn from Failure: Leaders must be willing to take great risks and fail, or great reward could hardly be attained
3. Humility: Leaders possess an open mind and flexibility, and are able to adjust to new ways of thinking

Who are the people in your life that made a difference to you? Reach out to them today. Say to them a big thank you, they deserve it. Encourage them to do more.

There is a piece of article written for Mo back in 2018 that elaborates more on his professional life: https://ehealthnews.co.za/novartis-south-africa-appoints-new-ceo/