On the 4th of August 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa, our beloved Mark ‘MJP’ Peters sadly passed away. His life was celebrated by his family and friends from South Africa, Ireland and beyond firstly at the St Therese Catholic Church and then at his unofficial HQ at the Royal Johannesburg Golf Club. The sheer volume of people in attendance came as no surprise as Mark touched so many lives during his all-too short yet illustrious life. He is survived by his wonderful family, Charmaine, Dominique, Paige and Ethan and his extended family in Ireland.
Mark was ever the softly-spoken gentleman who could effortlessly command a room full of people. From his thousands of students over the years to his signature speed-networking professional guests, Mark interlaced his brand of dry humour and concise advice to immediately put his audience at ease and created a truly collaborative environment.
He created a lasting legacy in the Irish business community in South Africa having arrived in 1985 with the Ford Foundation. Ever a modest yet relentless networker, with over 17,000 followers on LinkedIn, Mark always took the opportunity to meet and get to know people across communities, be they academic, social, religious, business, family, school, sports and any others he found himself part of.
As a famed educator in South Africa, Mark was one of the people who was instantly recognizable and memorable, for his Irish wit, disarming personality and deep vocational approach to learning. If someone mentioned that they knew an Irish person in Johannesburg, the chances are high that the person would be Mark. Among countless appearances at the podium, Mark notably delivered an outstanding presentation on ‘’Challenges in the African Emerging Market” during the visit to South Africa of students from the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business in Dublin. Another of his great skills was strategy development, such as when he facilitated BISA’s strategy review in 2016 to great success. The positive outcomes were to a large degree influenced by Mark’s ability to listen to and encourage participation by all the attendees, together with his excellent identification of the key issues and his strategic oversight skills.
In the 1990’s Mark played a prominent role in the launch of the South African Irish Trade Association (SAITA), assisting in the drafting the objectives of SAITA and the strategies to achieve them. His outstanding attributes in this area were immediately apparent as were his insightful contributions at committee meetings. SAITA was followed by the Irish South African Business Association (ISABA) in the 2000’s and finally by Business Ireland Southern Africa (BISA) in 2011, now growing stronger every day.
However, when Mark felt that momentum needed to be maintained in the Johannesburg region for the recently restructured BISA he stepped up to deliver. To achieve this he organised and supported many BISA activities of different flavours from networking events to master classes and bridged gaps between European business networks and Chambers of Commerce. Through all the iterations of the Irish business networks Mark remained a dedicated member and gave countless hours of his time to develop the cause, both formally and informally.
A highlight of Mark’s contribution to the Irish business community was when he co-hosted the first ever BISA Awards in Johannesburg. He led the proceedings, to award the very best of the Irish business community across South Africa, with a smile and drew many laughs, and a drop of cringing from the conservatives in the audience, in the process.
William Crosse, former Chairman of BISA, fondly recalls his regular fourballs where the standard of golf was a side issue, as confirmed by Dominique on the pulpit. William says that “the last time we held this wonderful social event was at Jackal Creek in March. Little did any of us realise that this would become the final edition and Mark would leave us only a short few months thereafter with so much still to offer. We have lost not only an exceptional intellect but a great friend and a wonderful person in every way.”
This was further reiterated by John Murphy as he recalls that “Mark was always very friendly and personable. He always enquired after your health and wellbeing and that of your close family. Mark made you feel that he truly cared about you and your loved ones, which of course he did…he went out of his way to make sure everyone felt included and involved. He will be greatly missed.”
Many of us have great memories of Mark, for me it will be his positivity and relentless energy in every interaction we had. Always a thumbs-up and can-do attitude, with well wishes for friends and family, and a “MJP” sign-off. Although seemingly on a perpetual journey to or from Bloemfontein or spinning his rolodex to help make a connection, I feel fortunate that we managed to squeeze in plenty of whiskies and pints to discuss the great and not-so-great aspects of life. I’ve learned a lot from Mark, and like a ship that has sailed over the horizon, I can’t see him any longer but to me he’s still there.
Go raibh suaimhneas síoraí air.
JPG
