A journey of learning and leadership
Aziz Sallie reflects on the people, experiences and opportunities that shaped his career at John Crane
By Aziz Sallie, Senior Director, Commercial & Service, Global Accounts and Turbo, John Crane
When people ask me how I built my career, they often expect a carefully planned answer. The truth is, my career was never built from a fixed blueprint. It was shaped by opportunity, learning and the people who gave me the confidence to keep growing.
Where it all began
I grew up as a Black South African during apartheid, at a time when the opportunities available to people like me were severely restricted.
When I finished school, continuing my education wasn't simply a matter of choosing what I wanted to study. My family did not have the financial means for me simply to continue into further education, and the system itself placed significant restrictions on opportunities for non-white South Africans. I needed to find work.
My mother was determined that I should make something of the opportunities available to me and pushed me to find a job. That led to an interview with Flexibox, the company that would later become part of John Crane.
I joined as a storeman, and I was the first Black storeman at the company.
It wasn't glamorous, but I loved it.
I took enormous pride in my work. Even though I worked in a dusty workshop, I wore a shirt and tie every day because I believed that how you approached your work reflected how seriously you took it.
I picked components, assembled mechanical seals by hand, packed them and shipped them to customers. Every seal carried a sense of responsibility because I knew the customer was relying on us to get it right.
Those early years taught me lessons that have stayed with me throughout my career. They taught me the importance of quality, attention to detail and understanding the products we make. They also gave me something that many leaders never have the chance to experience: a deep appreciation of what happens on the workshop floor.
I also knew how differently life could have turned out. I think about the group of friends I went to school with and how many of them never had the opportunities I was fortunate enough to receive. Some struggled with drugs, some ended up on the streets and some are no longer here. I have never forgotten that, and it is one of the reasons gratitude is such an important part of how I look at my career.
Learning never stops
Working hard was only part of it. I also understood that practical experience alone wouldn't prepare me for every opportunity that might come my way. If I wanted to progress and move into management, I needed to invest in my education as well as my career.
Eventually, while working full-time, I enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand to study marketing. Under apartheid, access to education was not equal. I worked during the day and attended university in the evenings, travelling to Braamfontein for lectures five nights a week for four years.
It wasn't easy. I would work all day, go straight to university and then start again the following morning. But I knew education mattered. The practical experience I was gaining at work and what I was learning at university complemented each other and gave me a stronger foundation for the management roles that followed.
That commitment to learning has never changed.
No matter what role I've held, I've always believed there is something new to learn, whether it's about our customers, our technology, our people, our markets or simply a different way of looking at a problem.
Every opportunity led to another
My career progressed from the workshop into planning, internal sales and commercial management.
When John Crane acquired Flexibox, many people expected the existing commercial leadership to be replaced.
Instead, I was trusted to help lead the integration.
That experience taught me something important. Opportunity doesn't always arrive in comfortable circumstances. Sometimes it arrives during uncertainty, and those are often the moments that shape your career.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to lead businesses across Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, before building John Crane's Global Accounts organisation from the ground up. Today I have the privilege of leading our Commercial & Service organisation for Global Accounts and Turbo.
None of those roles were part of a master plan.
Each one began with somebody asking, "Would you be willing to take this on?"
My answer was always yes.
Sometimes saying yes meant taking on a role I hadn't done before. At other times, it meant leaving my comfort zone completely, relocating to another country, learning a different culture and asking my family to make that journey with me.
Those decisions weren't mine alone. A career that involves moving between countries and taking on increasingly demanding roles inevitably affects the people closest to you. My family has shared that journey with me, adapting to change and supporting me as my career developed.
Their support has been an important part of everything I have been able to achieve.
Great leaders create opportunities for others
When I reflect on my career, one thing stands out above everything else.
I have never succeeded alone.
Throughout my journey, leaders supported me. They trusted me with responsibilities I had never held before. They challenged me to think differently and encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone.
I'm incredibly grateful to those leaders, because they saw potential that perhaps I couldn't always see myself.
That has shaped the kind of leader I want to be today.
Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about creating opportunities for others to grow, supporting them when they take on new challenges and helping them realise what they are capable of.
Success is a partnership
People sometimes tell me I've been lucky.
Perhaps I have.
But I've also learned that opportunity is only one part of the equation.
An organisation can invest in you. A leader can believe in you. Your family can support you. But you also have to respond with commitment, hard work and a willingness to keep learning.
That partnership has been a constant throughout my career at John Crane. The business has invested in me and given me opportunities to grow, and in return I have tried to give everything I can back to the business, our customers and our people.
Never forget where you came from
As my career has progressed, I've become increasingly conscious of the importance of remembering where it began.
I started as a storeman. I remember the workshop and assembling seals with my own hands. I remember working all day and then heading to university in the evening. I remember taking on roles I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for, moving countries and starting again in unfamiliar environments.
I remember, too, the friends I grew up with whose lives followed very different paths, the people who believed in me and the family who made this journey alongside me.
Those experiences keep me grounded.
They also remind me that success shouldn't only be measured by how far we progress ourselves. It should also be measured by what we make possible for other people.
If someone has supported you, trusted you or helped you grow, one of the best ways to show your gratitude is to do the same for somebody else.
So, my message to anyone building their career is simple: take pride in where you started. Work hard, but invest in your education and development too. Stay curious. Keep learning. Don't be afraid to take on something unfamiliar or to leave your comfort zone when the right opportunity comes along.
And as you progress, don't forget the people who helped you get there.
Create opportunities for others. Give people a chance. Support their development and help them realise their potential.
I've been fortunate to have a company that invested in me, leaders who believed in me and a family who supported me throughout the journey. I don't take any of that for granted.
For me, one of the greatest responsibilities that comes with leadership is making sure that, wherever possible, we give others the opportunity to build their own story.
Key takeaways
Be open, say yes to opportunities that stretch you.
Keep learning, build knowledge through experience.
Find mentors, learn from people who support your growth.
Lead well , use your experience to help others.
Give back, create opportunities for the next generation.
Creating opportunities for the next generation
Aziz’s story shows that career growth is rarely a straight line. It is shaped by people, learning and the willingness to take on new challenges — then help others do the same.