Founders and Team

Our Founders and Team

The custodians of your business have decades of tangible experience that will be utilized to realize your aspirations as a shareholder or business partner. Corporate governance, ethical conduct and fair play have been words often used to describe this unique group of people. Passion and excellence will define the way opportunities are identified and deals are executed. A flat management structure and close relationships with non-executives means agility in decision making with an uncompromising attention to detail.

Our Founders

Our Founders

Deven Govender

CEO

Nkateko Khoza

Board Member

Dr Reuel Khoza

Co-Founder

Mpho Makwana

Non-Executive

Yvonne Mhinga

Non-Executive

Geoffery Rothschild

Non-Executive

Stanley Subramoney

Non-Executive Chairman

Deven Govender

CEO

Nkateko Khoza

Board Member

Dr Reuel Khoza

Co-Founder

Mpho Makwana

Non-Executive

Yvonne Mhinga

Non-Executive

Geoffery Rothschild

Non-Executive

Stanley Subramoney

Non-Executive Chairman

Our Team

Our Team

Deven Govender

Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder

Deven has international experience in M&A, Strategy Consulting and Private Equity. 

He has worked in North and South America, Austral-Asia and in Europe.


Prior to LionPride,
Deven was within the South Africa partnership of Deloitte where he was the Mining Leader in Corporate Finance; prior to that he spent 12 years with California based Global Mining, which consulted to the top tier natural resources company and in tandem the company was involved in a number of private equity investments building up a portfolio of $300m under the license of Hambrecht & Quist. 



Other experience includes Rio Tinto (M&A- London); McKinsey (Strategy Consulting - London);  Unilever (Commercial Management - Durban) and Deloitte as articled clerk.


Deven is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Masters degree in Business Leadership and FCIMA.

Brett Naidoo

Consumer & Allied Sector Executive

Brett is a member of the LionPride Investment Holdings team since early 2018. He has extensive experience in consumer goods, having forged a career with some of the world’s leading blue chip brands. This has covered several markets across Southern Africa, Horn of Africa and some of the Indian Ocean islands, including a stint based in Kenya.


Prior to joining LionPride Investment Holdings,
Brett held several executive leadership roles, firstly at The Coca-Cola Company in general management, strategy, finance and operations, including Managing Director, Strategy Director, Finance Director and Franchise Director. He subsequently served as the Finance Director for the confectionery and beverages business units of Tiger Brands Limited, the largest consumer goods company in South Africa. He was later invited to join a family owned and managed independent bottling business, eventually becoming CEO.  His early career commenced at EY (then Ernst & Whinney) before joining Kellogg Company.


Brett is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and holds a MBA from University of South Africa as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Accountancy and a Bachelor of Accountancy, both from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.


Brett Naidoo

Consumer & Allied Sector Executive

Brett is a member of the LionPride Investment Holdings team since early 2018. He has extensive experience in consumer goods, having forged a career with some of the world’s leading blue chip brands. This has covered several markets across Southern Africa, Horn of Africa and some of the Indian Ocean islands, including a stint based in Kenya.


Prior to joining LionPride Investment Holdings,
Brett held several executive leadership roles, firstly at The Coca-Cola Company in general management, strategy, finance and operations, including Managing Director, Strategy Director, Finance Director and Franchise Director. He subsequently served as the Finance Director for the confectionery and beverages business units of Tiger Brands Limited, the largest consumer goods company in South Africa. He was later invited to join a family owned and managed independent bottling business, eventually becoming CEO.  His early career commenced at EY (then Ernst & Whinney) before joining Kellogg Company.

Brett is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and holds a MBA from University of South Africa as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Accountancy and a Bachelor of Accountancy, both from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.


Mahen Naidoo

Food and Retail Executive

Mahen joined the LionPride Investment Holdings team in 2020.

He has developed his skills in consumer goods over 30 years of experiences with two of the leading businesses in South Africa. His market and category development capabilities have been honed by various roles across Retail and Foodservice markets in Southern Africa. Mahen has worked with leading brands across several food, beverage, home care and personal care categories.

 

Mahen has held leadership roles at Unilever in sales, operations and strategy, including Account Director and Customer Operations Director. He joined Tiger Brands as the Customer Executive responsible for the confectionery and beverages portfolio, and was later appointed as the group Customer Director for Strategy & Capability. He has vast experiences in leadership of large scale business impacts, together with working in global project teams responsible for strategy development and market execution. He has served on group committees focused on business policy and process development aimed at strengthening governance.

 

Mahen holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting and Economics from the University of South Africa.


Dimitri Anagnostopoulos

Mentor, LionPride Agility Fund

Dimitri is a partner at True North Partners (a boutique consulting firm specializing in financial services across the pillars of Risk, Finance and Strategy) with over 16 years of experience in consulting in Financial Services.


His experience includes clients in Europe, South Africa, several Africa countries and the Middle East. He has worked extensively with Corporate Financial Institutions and Development Financial Institutions across the topics of credit process optimisation, finance process efficiencies, cost management and portfolio deep dives, cost allocation methodologies, planning and forecasting modelling, and pricing processes.


Additional activities include mentoring FinTech and InsurTech start-ups through various global accelerators (Startupbootcamp, Techstars, beFinovative). He has also assisted startups with raising seed capital and further scaling their business.


Dimitri is an Economist with a Bachelors degree from the University of Piraeus and a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science with distinction.


Dimitri Anagnostopoulos

Mentor, LionPride Agility Fund

Dimitri is a partner at True North Partners (a boutique consulting firm specializing in financial services across the pillars of Risk, Finance and Strategy) with over 16 years of experience in consulting in Financial Services.


His experience includes clients in Europe, South Africa, several Africa countries and the Middle East.

He has worked extensively with Corporate Financial Institutions and Development Financial Institutions across the topics of credit process optimisation, finance process efficiencies, cost management and portfolio deep dives, cost allocation methodologies, planning and forecasting modelling, and pricing processes.


Additional activities include mentoring FinTech and InsurTech start-ups through various global accelerators (Startupbootcamp, Techstars, beFinovative). He has also assisted startups with raising seed capital and further scaling their business.


Dimitri is an Economist with a Bachelors degree from the University of Piraeus and a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science with distinction.


Terence Singh

Mentor, LionPride Agility Fund

Terence is a member of the LionPride Investment Holdings team since early 2018.

He has had multiple careers, spending a decade as a scientist in mining, FMCG and academia before moving on to Monitor Company, a global strategy consulting firm. He then spent the next 12 years at Nedbank Capital, the investment banking arm of Nedbank in several roles in M&A, Deal origination, Research, Human Resources and Marketing, culminating in an executive position as Head of Strategy.


For the past 7 years, Terence has been focused on technology consulting with a particular focus on fintech and mobility tech while establishing an independent capital raising and research consultancy. His latest venture is CEO of a renewable energy division of an engineering company, focusing initially on solar.


Terence holds and MSc in Chemistry from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, as well as an MBA from Wits Business School.


Graeme Leslie Korner

Managing Director, LionPride Capital

Graeme has wide experience in financial services spanning almost three decades in banks, private banks and stock brokers as well as asset managers. His is highly experienced in financial planning, money market and stock broking, employee benefits and schemes consulting, running over the counter (unlisted) markets, equity and multi asset portfolio management and private equity (directly in his personal capacity and as an advisor to clients).

Graeme also has considerable fiduciary experience, including trusts and company structures, tax planning, estate planning and estate administration. He  serves on the boards, advisory committees or investment committees of a number of NPOs and faith based institutions.


Graeme is the founder and MD of Korner Perspective (Pty) Ltd (KP), a Category II Financial service Provider (FSP) and the Co-founder and majority shareholder of KP Fiduciary Solutions (Pty) Ltd (KPFS), a high touch fiduciary solutions business. KP is a boutique asset manager, focused on high net worth and ultra-high net worth families. While KPFS too is a high touch firm, it has a slightly wider client focus than very high net worth families.


Graeme also has a passion for entrepreneur development and has formalised these interests into an entity that seeks to make quality entrepreneur material accessible to as wide an audience as possible as he believes this not only equips individuals to become entrepreneurs but is the only way to make a real dent on the unemployment crisis in South Africa.


He has a number of financial qualifications and memberships, including a B Com (Hons.) in Investment Management from the University of Johannesburg and a diploma in Estate Administration from UNISA. Graeme is also a Certified Financial Planner (i.e. a member of the FPI) and has successfully completed the membership exams for the Institute of Stockbrokers in SA, the FPI and the Institute of Bankers (SA).

Graeme Leslie Korner

Managing Director, LionPride Capital

Graeme has wide experience in financial services spanning almost three decades in banks, private banks and stock brokers as well as asset managers. His is highly experienced in financial planning, money market and stock broking, employee benefits and schemes consulting, running over the counter (unlisted) markets, equity and multi asset portfolio management and private equity (directly in his personal capacity and as an advisor to clients).

Graeme also has considerable fiduciary experience, including trusts and company structures, tax planning, estate planning and estate administration.

He  serves on the boards, advisory committees or investment committees of a number of NPOs and faith based institutions.


Graeme is the founder and MD of Korner Perspective (Pty) Ltd (KP), a Category II Financial service Provider (FSP) and the Co-founder and majority shareholder of KP Fiduciary Solutions (Pty) Ltd (KPFS), a high touch fiduciary solutions business.

KP is a boutique asset manager, focused on high net worth and ultra-high net worth families. While KPFS too is a high touch firm, it has a slightly wider client focus than very high net worth families.


Graeme also has a passion for entrepreneur development and has formalised these interests into an entity that seeks to make quality entrepreneur material accessible to as wide an audience as possible as he believes this not only equips individuals to become entrepreneurs but is the only way to make a real dent on the unemployment crisis in South Africa.


He has a number of financial qualifications and memberships, including a B Com (Hons.) in Investment Management from the University of Johannesburg and a diploma in Estate Administration from UNISA. Graeme is also a Certified Financial Planner (i.e. a member of the FPI) and has successfully completed the membership exams for the Institute of Stockbrokers in SA, the FPI and the Institute of Bankers (SA).

Fatima Essa

Healthcare Project Manager

Fatima has been a member of the LionPride Investment Holdings Healthcare team since 2020. She is a professional nurse, who also has extensive experience in management consulting and has worked for global firms Deloitte and Accenture. 


As an entrepreneur, Fatima founded and managed Temo consulting, with a personal focus on change leadership, public finance and project management. She ran Temo for 10 years. Her consulting work has given her exposure to a wide range of industries. In particular, her work has focused on the property industry, where she has served as Business Development and CRM Director for Excellerate Services. She remains active in the property industry through her roles on the Boards of the Hope Social Housing company, SVA Architects and Gibb Holdings Pty Ltd. 


Fatima is an alumni of Wits University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Nursing degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration.


Thandeka Sithole

Executive Assistant

Thandeka is an Executive Assistant at Lion Pride Investment Holdings.

She is a valuable member of  the team and performs a variety of administrative tasks related to the

daily office management. She also provides vital support to company’s senior level managers.


Thandeka holds a National Diploma in Public Relations from University of South Africa.

Fatima Essa

Healthcare Project Manager

Fatima has been a member of the LionPride Investment Holdings Healthcare team since 2020. She is a professional nurse, who also has extensive experience in management consulting and has worked for global firms Deloitte and Accenture. 


As an entrepreneur, Fatima founded and managed Temo consulting, with a personal focus on change leadership, public finance and project management. She ran Temo for 10 years. Her consulting work has given her exposure to a wide range of industries. In particular, her work has focused on the property industry, where she has served as Business Development and CRM Director for Excellerate Services. She remains active in the property industry through her roles on the Boards of the Hope Social Housing company, SVA Architects and Gibb Holdings Pty Ltd. 


Fatima is an alumni of Wits University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Nursing degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration.


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