Trueman Goba is the chairman of Hatch Africa (Pty) Ltd, part of Hatch Ltd, the global group of multidisciplinary professionals in the fields of consulting engineering and construction management. Trueman was born in Durban, lived in townships at Chesterville, Clermont and Inanda where he attended schools before completing high school at Pholela near Bulwer, in Kwazulu Natal midlands. He obtained a survey technician’s diploma in Seshego, Pietersburg and became the first black person to complete studies in civil engineering in 1979 at the then University of Natal in Durban. Subsequently he completed a Master of Engineering degree at Cornell University, worked for consulting engineers Whitman Requardt and Associates in Baltimore, MD in USA and founded his company in 1993 after his return to SA. He led GOBA Pty Ltd from 2002, the latter becoming part of the Hatch group through a merger with Hatch Africa in 2013.
Trueman became President of the SA Institution of Civil Engineers (SAICE) in 2002, then President of the Engineering Council (ECSA) from 2007 to 2009 and later was elected President of the SA Academy of Engineering (SAAE) in 2016, until 2019. He has received several awards, has served on various boards as Director and was a was appointed by the President as member of the National Planning Commission between 2010 and 2015. Trueman is a Fellow of SAICE and received a Gold Medal. Also he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Engineering from the South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA). He received Honorary Doctorates in Engineering from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and from Stellenbosch University in Western Cape, and the University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. Most recently he became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.