Why Pineapple Insurance Is Winning (And What Leaders Can Learn From Their CEO, Marnus van Heerden)

Most CEOs talk about building culture. Marnus van Heerden is actually doing it. As Co-Founder and CEO of Pineapple, South Africa's fastest-growing InsurTech, Marnus has scaled from startup to 140+ employees and R400+ million in funding.

But here's what makes this conversation different: He did it by leading with love, demanding radical responsibility, and creating what he calls "superior discontent."

This isn't your typical founder success story. It's a raw, honest dive into the messy reality of scaling a company without losing your humanity, or breaking your people.

Marnus reveals:

• The mindset shift from motivating employees to creating owners
• The neuroscience behind why most leaders burn out (and how to avoid it)
• His counterintuitive approach to "superior discontent" that drives performance
• Why love isn't soft, it’s the hardest leadership skill to master
• The OKR framework that helped Pineapple consistently beat their goals
• How cold showers and radical honesty keep him grounded as a leader
  
  

If you're building a team and wondering how to push for excellence, this conversation will change how you lead.

-

Connect with Christiaan van den Berg on LinkedIn.

Build the People is proudly brought to you by JOBJACK, a smart hiring platform that eliminates manual recruitment tasks, helping businesses find, filter, and hire the best entry-level talent, fast.