In an Fin24 obituary three years ago, Belinda Anderson wrote: “[Piet] Den Boer was undoubtedly a colourful character, well known on the business horizon during the pre-boom and bust period of the South African IT sector.”

That doesn’t even scratch the surface. He was a chain-smoker, a heavy drinker and a man prone to using a certain three-letter Afrikaans word. Indeed, few who knew him in business would have disputed the moniker conferred on him by Noseweek. But, as is usually the case, Piet den Boer had unplumbed depths. For example, in his younger years he was a gifted trumpeter and he sang tenor in an a cappella choir.