Paul Bacher – Founder ORT JET

Paul attained a Bachelor of Commerce in 1989, completing his accounting articles with Fisher Hoffman Sithole, and graduated with an MBA from Wits in 1996.

Paul was one of the founders and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of NetActive Limited, a leading ISP that listed in April 1999. He went on to lead Corporate & Business Development at Call Centre Nucleus Holdings Ltd. (CCN) While at CCN, he founded the first national Call Centre Industry Body (SACCCOM – the South African Contact Centre Community), in order to unite the local South African outsource contact centre industry players & re-position South Africa in the international arena). He was elected as its first CEO. He also held executive positions on the City of JHB Contact Centre Forum & the DTI’s BEE Working Group.

In 2008 he rejoined the NetFlorist division (of the holding company established by him and 3 partners in 1996), the largest online flower and gifting business in South Africa, to head up Business Development.

Paul is the Chief Executive of ORT JET and is currently very involved in the daily functions as well as steering the organization on a strategic level.

Paul has initiated and continues to participate in various community development initiatives in both the Jewish and broader South African communities.

Rowan Swartz

Rowan co-founded the Trillian Capital Partners group with his brother Ben in early 2009. Rowan established his first business in personal computers over 23 years ago at the same time as he completed his B.Sc in actuarial science. Subsequently he has been involved in a multitude of companies, both as operator / driver / founder, or alternatively as an Investor.

Rowan has a strong entrepreneurial flair which is complemented by his experience and depth in strategic management and negotiating skill. Some mentionable milestones in Rowan’s business career include the co-founding of the ATM Solutions Group in 1999 (ATM solutions was subsequently awarded unlisted business of the year in 2003) and the co-founding of the Symetrix Group of companies in 1997.

Rowan is an extremely astute equities trader and has successfully managed sizable volumes of assets in the South African equities markets over the past 15 years.

Maxine Jaffit

Maxine Jaffit consults to Individuals, teams and organisations in South Africa and the USA. These range from small privately owned companies to large multi nationals. Her areas of expertise are in Strategy and Process facilitation,Organisation culture and research, Leadership Alignment, Women in Leadership and Leading Change and Transformation.

Since 2004 she has been part of the Adjunct faculty at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, Johannesburg and teaches Organisation Behaviour on the MBA and PDBA programmes. She is an MBA research supervisor and offers an MBA elective entitled “Dealing with Change and Change Immunity”

Maxine is a Senior Associate at GothamCulture a New York based consulting firm that assists organisations in diagnosing and understanding their corporate culture in order to navigate change.

David Llyod, Managing Director Liberty Investments

David was born and raised in the UK and moved to SA four years ago. He has two sons aged 14 and 15. He is a maths graduate, qualified actuary and investment banker and creative and strategic thinker specialising in the retail investment space

Managing Director, Liberty Investments:
•Created a unique strategy for Liberty and the first product within this, Evolve, has been the most successful in the company’s history with sales in excess of R14billion within two years, 40% CAGR in profits since arrival 4 years ago
•Oct 2014 PwC CEO Survey rated Liberty Investments as Best Investment Provider

Previous roles include:
•Joint Managing Director of Structured Products at Nat West Markets UK, jointly created first ever structured product
•Vice President of Products at American Express Financial Services operation in the UK, Appointed Actuary and member of holding company board

Adrienne Hersch

Adrienne Hersch, founder and CEO of the recognised and locally celebrated Adrienne Hersch Property Group, is not only an icon in the property industry and a powerful, positive role model for women and young South African entrepreneurs, she is locally acknowledged as one of South Africa’s leading businesswomen.

Adrienne Hersch Properties was launched in the challenging year of 1991 with virtually no capital, no leads, no infrastructure and as a one woman show. Infused with Adrienne’s ethos, unerring talent for successfully matching buyers and sellers, graceful style, networking skills and passion for property, the Adrienne Hersch brand today remains associated with the highest levels of professionalism, client service, ethics, leadership and innovation.

Over the years she has been honoured for her leadership skills and personal achievements with an impressive array of awards – presented by her peers and the business sector.

Clive Butkow

Clive is the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Accenture South Africa, has 28 years management consulting experience. During his tenure at Accenture (formerly Arthur Anderson and Anderson Consulting), he played numerous leadership roles including Managing Director of Accenture South Africa’s Technology business as well as Managing Director of Accenture’s Resources and Utilities businesses. In addition to his COO role, during the last 6 years, he led sales for Accenture’s Technology business, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset which helped grow Accenture into one of the top emerging markets globally.

Clive is currently a non-executive director at Grovest (South Africa’s first Venture Capital Company incorporated under Section 12 J of income tax act).

During his Accenture and subsequent entrepreneurial career, he modeled and studied hundreds of successful businesses, both corporate and entrepreneurial, to understand and learn the skills and tools that differentiates successful people and businesses from the rest.

Clive leverages these experiences, tools and best practices to mentor and support many start-ups, small and medium size entrepreneurial businesses. He is currently applying these principles and learnings to many incubators, accelerators and educational institutions across South Africa.

Dave Wilson

Dave is Chief Operating Officer of the Deloitte Africa Clients & Industries function, having previously been COO of Deloitte Consulting. He joined Deloitte Consulting in 1983, after completing his Business Science (Hons) degree, a period at Siemens Limited, including a year post graduate training in Germany, and an MBA. Dave started Deloitte Consulting’s market leading SAP capability in South Africa in 1989 and led it until 2001. He has directed many major SAP implementations and organisational transformation projects across a number of industries. Dave is a proud father of four, his interests include travel, reading, sport, personal fitness and people, and he is passionate about South Africa.

Donna Rachelson

Donna Rachelson, specialist in branding and marketing, is the author of two best-selling books: Branding & Marketing YOU and Branding & Marketing YOU Through Teams. A guest lecturer at GIBS and Yale, she leverages her many years of experience with blue-chip corporates when consulting with and coaching clients on strategy, branding and marketing. As a successful businesswoman and investor in businesses, Donna is passionate about empowering entrepreneurs and women, uplifting them with her unique brand of inspiringly practical, strategically results-driven guidance.

Ran Neu-Ner

Joint CEO, The Creative Counsel

Ran Neu-Ner was a born entrepreneur. At the age of three-and-a-half, he learnt to use a pair of scissors, cut out some pictures from a calendar and went selling them door to door in his neighbourhood.

His appetite for business whetted by this early success, Neu-Ner continued with more sophisticated endeavours throughout his school career. He graduated from university with a B.Com and a CFA, and, having added qualification to entrepreneurial drive, was unleashed onto the world of real business.

Neu-Ner started The Creative Counsel, a below-the-line activations company, with school friend Gil Oved in 2001. The Creative Counsel is South Africa’s leading activations agency with an annual turnover of R500 million. Neu-Ner and Oved serve as joint CEOs.

Neu-Ner is a perfectionist whose brain never switches off. He can’t think of anything he’d rather be doing than his work and is constantly looking for new ways to grow the business or deliver new services.