John Hayes, age 48, a native of South Africa, graduated high school in 1981. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the Cape Town Technikon and completed a Diploma in Datametrics at the University of South Africa. In 1987 he joined the South African Defense Force, where he was selected for Officers training. He attained the rank of Lieutenant early in 1988, and was involved with the training and operational deployment of a Mechanized Infantry Platoon that same year. In 1989 he joined Eskom (then one of the ten largest electricity suppliers in the world) to work in their Special Projects Department at Kriel Power Station, a 3000 MW Power Sation built in the coal fields of the Mpumalanga Province. In 1990 he transferred to Cape Town to head the Mechanical Maintenance Department at Palmiet Power Station, a hydro power Pumped Storage Scheme. In 1992 he accepted a position as Head of Technical Services (Mechanical) at Eskom's Brackenfell Technical Center. In 1998 he started his own construction company, primarily focusing on residential real estate, which he ran until 2009 when he immigrated to the United States.