The bright star that turned BCL�s wine into water

From his first day in office, Mahupela stepped into big shoes. From 2003 to 2010, his predecessor, Montwedi ‘Monty’ Mphathi had heroically steered the ship away from the rocks, keeping BCL afloat through turbulent periods that included the global financial recession.

Mphathi’s strategy of saving cash reserves during boom years, and cutting costs while raising production during bust years, had left a healthy treasure chest of approximately P3.6 billion in BCL mine’s bank books when Mahupela arrived on the scene.