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As CEO and founder of Discovery Health, Adrian Gore is creating a healthier South AfricaI can remember the first time I spoke with Discovery Health chief executive officer, Adrian Gore. At the time I was working for 567 CapeTalk radio, producing the 12h00 to 15h00 afternoon show. Being a talk radio station, we would often have concerned listeners calling in to raise issues or point us toward new and interesting stories.
During my first year at the station, a gentleman contacted us regarding an issue with his medical aid. The crux of the matter was that he was unable to get vital medical care for his daughter.
Apparently his health insurance partner, in this case Discovery, was unable or unwilling to assist him and the matter had been in limbo for a good few weeks at that point.
Desperate, he turned to the media.
My on-air host at the time – always game for a bit of controversy and putting the corporate ‘man’ to the sword – decided that the story was in the public’s interest.
Due diligence on our part, we checked the validity of our tipster’s story and took the decision to run with the story.
Bearing in mind the journalistic principle of right of reply, we needed the view of a representative from Discovery in order for the story to be fair. A colleague suggested I get in touch with Adrian Gore.
This being my first year in the business, I still had a good measure of inexperience to work past and was in the process of building a contact database for myself. I thought Adrian Gore was a PR man, much the same as any number of PR men I had contacted since starting the job.
Using the number provided by my colleague, I called Mr Gore. A fairly soft-spoken gentleman answered, identifying himself as Adrian Gore. I introduced myself, explained the situation and asked if he would be willing to appear live on air to speak on behalf of the company. He agreed.
“Can you please give me your official job title, Mr Gore, so that we can introduce you properly when we go live?” I asked.
“I’m the CEO.”
Given my, albeit brief, experience dealing with senior managers in large corporations, the very idea that a CEO would answer his own phone and then take the time to deal with what, in the larger scheme of his business empire, was a fairly minor matter, was unheard of in my mind.
Gore not only took the time to listen to an announced stranger essentially complain about the quality of his work, but he also took the time to address the issue.
He appeared on air later in the day and resolved the matter quickly and amicably, with little fuss, and apologised to the caller. He performed these actions without the smarmy arrogance one associates with CEOs in general and health insurance firms in particular.
There was a problem, it was brought to his attention, and he personally ensured it was resolved.
And in the process put the kibosh on any plans that my on-air host may have had to ‘stick it to the man’.
From that point onward, whenever there was a story that related to Discovery or indeed had a bearing on the healthcare industry, Gore was my first port of call and more often than not, he would handle it himself, rarely delegating the task to another member of his management team.
Although he did not answer the phone himself again on subsequent occasions – he assured me later that was an aberration, his PA was away from the desk at the time.
Looking at him today, Gore does not come across as a CEO. A senior businessman, certainly, and definitely a competent and able one, but not yet a CEO.
He has the bearing of a younger man, his salt and pepper close-cropped hair betraying the truth of his 45 years, quite young for a CEO. (It bears reminding that Adrian has held this title since the age of 28.)
His youthful appearance has much to do with his self-confessed obsession with fitness training, often taking the time to run up and down the stairs between meetings as opposed to using the elevator, when his diary does not allow for an actual training session.
You could even say that he is the exemplar of his Vitality wellness programme concept (a concept for which he has a acquired a worldwide patent), which rewards members for taking responsibilty for their health requirements.
In the 17 years since he founded Discovery, Gore has been very hands-on, taking an active part in the development of new products and not leaving anything to chance.
That hands-on nature is very likely the reason he was able to formulate and build Discovery into the behemoth it is today.
Looking back to 1992, the year in which Discovery was founded, it is clear that the firm has enjoyed incredibly rapid growth.
On the corporate timescale, the move from inception to international expansion is typically measured in multiple decades; even more so for a South African entity. Even the legendary Sir Donald Gordon (featured in Leadership April 2009) had some trouble making the move out of Africa with a hampered effort in the early 1960s.
Gore managed successfully to expand Discovery northwards at the first attempt in 2000, after first gaining a seemingly impervious foothold in South Africa; a position that remains in force until today.
The creation of Destiny Health in the United States and PruHealth (in a 50/50 partnership with Prudential Health) in the United Kingdom have truly made Discovery an international insurance titan.
It has not been without headaches, to be sure, but over the larger cycle, the international movement of Discovery has gone forward at the same breakneck speed as has happened locally.
That rapid growth is also atypical of the normal growth cycle one would expect from a corporate entity as large as Discovery Holding Ltd. There have been almost no acquisitions or mergers and the company’s growth is almost entirely the result of new members signing. A remarkable feat for a company of which the core product is not wholly unique.
In the last few years, Gore has taken to expanding Discovery in a different way: not solely as a healthcare entity, but looking at Discovery as a brand that can work over multiple industries.
Although working as tangents to healthcare, Discovery today also deals in life assurance and investments.
Not forgetting its foray into the credit market with the launch of the DiscoveryCard – a move that encountered a slight speed bump when the company was sued by Johannesburg lawyer Aaron Stanger, who claimed he had originated the idea and that Discovery had stolen it.
Today, Discovery Holding Ltd is considered a modern South African success story. The meteoric growth of the group, and indeed, its CEO is looked upon as a prime example of South Africa’s quality intellectual and economic currency.
When asked about future prospects, Gore simply shrugs, noting that the right skills and expertise matched with the right opportunities can take you anywhere.
In the eyes of the public, Discovery Health was not there and then suddenly it was. Was the establishment of the company as effortless as it appears to have been?
Discovery’s growth has certainly been rapid, but there have been no shortcuts. It takes years and intense hard work to build the products, infrastructure and distribution required to achieve a leadership position.
Discovery is also somewhat unique in that the company has been built organically – there have been no mergers or acquisitions. We have tackled the building of our businesses with a real sense of urgency and an unrelenting drive, and with an understanding that there is no place for complacency. It is a task that never ends.
When you approached Rand Merchant Bank for the initial funding for Discovery, how confident were you that RMB would back you?
Looking back, I am surprised by the level of conviction we felt – but more so, I am impressed and thankful that the founding team recognised the potential and had the confidence to back the vision.
You have always been very amenable to do media interviews – is that simply an aspect of your personality or is it a case of your seeing the value in interacting with the press and the public?
Discovery has been built on the values of intellectual and product leadership. Core to this approach is the need to debate policies and products openly and transparently, so we have always tried to be accessible and responsive to the media.
We also understand that the media has a critical role to play in providing consumers with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their personal finances, their health and so on.
Our business model has always focused on consumer engagement, and so we seek actively to make information available to empower consumers with credible information.
The launch of the Discovery Health Journalism Awards earlier this year flows precisely from this philosophy.
With your educational background, you could have entered any industry. Why healthcare? It is not the sexiest industry, so to speak.
At first glance, healthcare may not seem like a sexy industry. Yet, it is so fundamental to people’s lives – so there is real potential to make a positive difference – and the dynamics are endlessly complex and fascinating.
The demand for healthcare is insatiable, and the resources to fund it will always be limited, so it is a challenging industry.
But it is also one of astounding promise and technological advances, and the progressive trend to a more wellness-focused, holistic way of seeing health that we are currently experiencing is tremendously exciting.
My vision was always that we would eventually broaden our focus beyond healthcare, but I knew that it was the right place to start.
You were named South Africa’s Best Entrepreneur in 1998 by Ernst & Young. Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur?
I believe that everyone is an entrepreneur in so far as they have the ability and desire to achieve great things and leave a legacy.
In this sense, I am passionate about entrepreneurship and do not see myself as an administrator or professional corporate manager at all. I am very hands-on, and have a tremendous sense of ownership and personal involvement in Discovery – and so do the people who work with me.
The management team sometimes jokes about our ‘owner-manager’ culture, but it is true.
My view of an entrepreneur is someone who has a dream or vision, and the earnest desire and drive to bring that dream to realisation – and I certainly see that in myself.
You have been compared to Sir Donald Gordon of Liberty. Do you think that is a fair comparison?
To be mentioned in the same sentence as Sir Donald Gordon is an honour. I have been a great admirer of him since my days at Liberty, when I saw first-hand the incredible atmosphere he instilled and created.
I remember how inspired I was when first invited in my Liberty days to innovate, to be creative and approach things differently – it was liberating. In many respects, this sense of excitement is what inspired me to start my own business.
But it must be said that Sir Donald is in a league of his own, and his personal leadership style is very different from my own. So, while it is certainly flattering, I do not think the comparison is entirely accurate.
Today, Discovery IS health cover in South Africa and there have been moves on your part to extend the Discovery brand beyond healthcare. Where can it go from here?
While we may still be associated mainly with healthcare, Discovery is today a fully integrated financial services institution spanning healthcare, life assurance, investments and even the credit card market.
Discovery Life, for example, is South Africa’s leading life assurer in the risk protection market – so to associate us purely with healthcare is no longer a fair reflection of what we do.
We see opportunities for further diversification and we are very excited about the opportunities presented internationally. In the UK, we are in the private medical insurance and risk protection markets, and our Vitality wellness programme is represented in the US.
But, I must say that we are at heart a conservative, even risk-averse bunch. So we will not enter markets unless we feel that we have the right skills and expertise, and we feel the opportunities presented make good sense strategically and align with our vision and core purpose.
Apparently you are a fan of the Black Eyed Peas and Evanescence. Is it really appropriate for a CEO to be listening to rock and rap music?
I am a great fan of music. I listen to everything from Fleetwood Mac to classical music, and am influenced by my young children. So yes, I listen to bands such as the Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay and Radiohead. I am not a big fan of R&B or rap music, though.
As to whether it is appropriate, I do not see why not. Discovery is about innovation, and I do not think one can think innovatively and stay relevant as an organisation if you are not in touch with the trends or are afraid of change.
Similarly, as a leader and individual, it is important for me to stay in touch and keep an open mind. I believe it helps me grow and enriches my life, and hopefully, means that I am able to relate to a variety of different people and have more to offer the people I encounter.
