ONE of Zimbabwe’s trailblazing business leaders, Enos Dzengedza Chiura who died on Tuesday, was laid to rest yesterday at Greendale Cemetery in Harare.

He was 89.

Zimbabwe’s top business executives said the death of Chiura left a huge void, describing him as a man who fought hard to have blacks taking up top leadership positions.

Former OK Zimbabwe chief executive officer Willard Zireva said Chiura fought for the total emancipation of blacks to occupy leadership positions.

“I joined OK Zimbabwe through Delta on the 1st of April 1984 and Mr Enos Chiura was chairperson of the OK board when I joined. So clearly I started working with him from 1984 and throughout. When he then became executive chairman of Delta, things started moving in a very different and exciting direction for blacks because Mr Chura had one clear vision, which was we have to get our own people to become leaders. But to get there, he ensured that you went through the right training and through sending us to training schools outside the country so that we acquire the right skills, not just to be appointed because you are black, that was Mr Chiura,” Zvireva recalled.

Renowned business executive and former Delta CEO Joe Mutizwa said Chiura was a great mentor. He also pointed out that he was focused on succession planning and took a long-term view of development of talent.

“I worked for Delta for 30 years. I came into Delta in 1983 when on the 1st of April I was directly recruited by Mr Chiura. That’s how I got to know him. He head-hunted me from Anglo American Corporation and from that moment on he became my mentor. Guiding my career right through to the year when I moved from job to job being promoted at United Bottlers to Coca-Cola at Coke Corner and went through various positions from HR officer, marketing manager, production manager, general manager and eventually in 1992 managing director of United Bottlers,” Mutizwa said.

“He was a man who was very much focused on succession planning, taking a long-term view of development of talent. He appointed perhaps the first black executive directors other than himself in Delta, which is Mr Willard Zireva and myself.”

Masawara Holdings group chief operations officer Joseph Hundah described Chiura as a titan of the corporate world who had exceptional leadership qualities.

Chiura’s son Munyaradzi said his father possessed unmatched qualities, adding that he had inherited some of his traits.

“So I am also involved in business and I would say that Mr Enos Chiura, my father, was an incredible corporate businessman full of ethics, integrity, and these are qualities that I’ve taken into my career and he also did a lot of mentoring for many executives today in corporate Zimbabwe. So that’s something too that I always take heart of in terms of his commitment to mentoring young executives,” he said.

In a statement, Alpha Media Holdings editorial advisory board of trustees chairperson Muchadeyi Masunda said he was saddened by the death of one of the iconic indigenous corporate leaders.

“I have very fond and enduring memories of the pivotal role which he played as the inaugural chairperson of Zimbabwe Sun Limited (now African Sun Limited) which was hived off from the leisure and hospitality division of Delta Corporation Limited in April 1990 and listed separately on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange,” Masunda said.

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