Paul Meanwell was born in the UK and embarked upon a career in electrical engineering with the then National Coal Board. He emigrated to South Africa with Gencor in 1984 and now works with the Komatsu Mining Corporation as the Manager of Engineering Governance. Since starting work in South Africa Paul has been involved in Explosive Atmospheres right up to the present day. Paul became the Chair and President of the South African Flameproof Association (SAFA) a position held for many years, and has served on many SABS working groups on the Explosive Atmospheres standards. He currently holds the Chair of SABS TC065 (Explosion Prevention) a position on SANC (South African National Committee for IEC), is the Technical Liaison for SAFA, the Chair of the South African mirror committee for the IEC TC31 (Explosive Atmospheres) and is the Chair of the IECEx System (the International Electrotechnical Commission System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres) and a member of the IEC CAB (Conformity Assessment Board). He further holds a position on the AFSEC Conformity Assessment Committee looking at harmonising conformity assessment activities across the African Continent.