Graduation is usually a time to look forward. However, this season at the University of the Free State (UFS), the Chancellor, Prof Bonang Mohale, urged the Class of 2025 to look back. Launching his autobiography, Coming in from the Cold, on the Bloemfontein Campus, he urged that you cannot build a sustainable future if you do not know where you come from.

"If you do not tell your children your stories, their stories will be Santa Claus and Valentine's," Prof Mohale warned the gathered graduates, academics, and business leaders.

Promising an intimate exploration of his journey – from his roots to the highest echelons of corporate leadership – the book captures a profound transition from exclusion to belonging. The title of his book, rooted in an African proverb, is a deliberate pushback against colonial narratives. Reclaiming our history, he explained, is the preservation of our very essence. "History teaches us that the stories are always written by the victors, not the vanquished. If you do not write your story, clearly somebody else will."

This philosophy of shared humanity is what makes the leadership of the Chancellor so resonant. During her welcoming address, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Hester C. Klopper, framed his life as a living blueprint for the vision of the university: creating responsible societal futures.

"Every one of his accolades speaks to a single, consistent truth," Prof Klopper remarked. "This is a man who leads not for recognition, but for impact. He creates conditions for others to rise."

As a highly respected corporate titan, Prof Mohale refuses to separate business success from social justice. Instead, he builds a compelling business case for change, insisting that a thriving economy requires radical inclusion. Other nations, he observed, are putting their best foot forward by bringing all their people along – an approach that is crucial for our own long-term sustainability.

True productivity stems from human dignity. He proved this decades ago as the Managing Director of Otis Elevators, successfully lobbying his international leadership to use corporate funds to help local employees purchase their own homes. The result was a dramatic spike in both morale and global profitability.

Empowerment means providing the actual resources necessary for success, rather than offering empty encouragement. "You cannot say to people, 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps'," Prof Mohale concluded. "Give them the bloody boots and the bloody straps, then they pull themselves up with those."