It Takes a Tsunami: Knocked down, but not gone. Lessons in catastrophe and tenacity

When Rael Levitt stepped onto the podium at Quoin Rock Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in December 2011, he was CEO of the industry-pioneering Auction Alliance and at the pinnacle of a glittering 20-year career.

But then disaster struck.

After being accused by a powerful billionaire of using a ghost bidder to inflate the bid price, Levitt's reputation was obliterated. In an echo of the Boxing Day tsunami that he survived in 2004, the self-made entrepreneur was overwhelmed by a medi...