Mark O’Donnell is the Chairman of Union Gold which owns Protea Hotels, Arcades Mall, and Spar Supermarkets. Before starting his own businesses, Mark was the CEO of Zambia Motor Spares. He started Chisamba Safari Lodge and later opened up Protea Hotels in Zambia. Union Gold is a family business with investments in the retail, manufacturing, construction, property and hospitality sectors employing over 1,500 people in Zambia.

Mark sits on the board of two Public Companies as a non-executive director and he’s also the current Chairman of the Zambia Tourist Board. In this month’s fireside chat, Mark will recount his story to us of how persistence and self-belief brought him great success.