1882 - 1947
Banker and Gold Fields Pioneer, South Africa
Joined African Banking Corporation 1902. Chief Executive, Gold Fields Group, 1920s President, Chamber of Mines, Johannesburg 1935
William Alexander Mackenzie was the second son of William and Catherine Mackenzie of Fochabers. The 'wanderlust' spirit of a small army of Mackenzies of that time resulted in many finding their fortune overseas. After spending many happy boyhood days with his grandfather in Fochabers, William was eventually forced due to ill health, caused mainly by his native climate, to carry on his career in banking with relatives in South Africa His arrival at the Cape in 1902 at the tender age of 20 was to lead William to much better health and to eminence in the country of his adoption. William did not lose contact with his roots, marrying at the age of 33, a Fochabers girl, Jane Duncan. He returned whenever possible to re-visit his native north east.
William successfully followed his career in banking until 1922 when he was invited to join the Gold Fields Group in try to bring this financial and mining group out of its depression. Mackenzie's value to the Group was in his well-trained and experienced brain and wide experience, soon becoming the company's financial master-mind. He succeeded in leading the development of a great new, immensely rich extension of the mining industry in South Africa. Mines that are household names in investment markets thoughout the world today were sought out and developed during this era.