About

Koos Bekker (South African and Dutch) is the non-executive chair of the board. He led the founding team of the M-Net/MultiChoice pay-television business in 1985. He was also a founder of MTN Group Limited, a South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company. He headed the group in its international and internet expansion until 1997, when he became chief executive officer of Naspers. He retired as the chief executive officer of Naspers on 31 March 2014. On 17 April 2015, he succeeded Ton Vosloo as chair of the Naspers board. He holds a BAHons and honorary doctorate in commerce from Stellenbosch University, an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MBA from Columbia University.

Hendrik du Toit (South African and British) is an independent non-executive director. He was appointed lead independent director of Naspers on 1 April 2020. Hendrik is chief executive officer of Ninety One (previously Investec Asset Management). Hendrik entered the asset management industry in 1988. He joined Investec in 1991 as founding member of Investec Asset Management and remained chief executive officer until he assumed the role of joint chief executive officer of the Investec Group on 1 October 2018 up to the demerger and listing of Ninety One on 16 March 2020. In 2019, Hendrik joined the Advisory Boards of the UN Business and Human Security Initiative and the Impact Investing Institute. Previously, Hendrik served as a non-executive director of the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa. He has also served on the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the Expert Board of HM Treasury’s Belt and Road Initiative, and as Commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, which authored the report Better Business Better World in 2017. Hendrik holds an MPhil in economics and politics of development from Cambridge University, as well as an MCom in economics from Stellenbosch University.

Emilie Choi (American) is an independent non-executive director. She serves as chief operating officer at Coinbase, Inc. (Coinbase), the world’s largest regulated cryptocurrency exchange. She oversees operations in seven countries, across three continents. Since joining Coinbase in early 2018, she has overseen more than 10 acquisitions and 50 venture investments. Prior to Coinbase, she spent more than eight years at LinkedIn Corporation as the vice president of corporate development, and led all M&A deals in the company’s history, including its biggest deal to date, Lynda, as well as leading a number of joint ventures in China. She has also worked in corporate development and strategy roles at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Yahoo, Inc. She is also on the board of directors of ZipRecruiter, Inc., a marketplace for jobseekers and employers. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as well as a BA in economics from the Johns Hopkins University.

Craig Enenstein (American) is an independent non-executive director. He is also the chief executive officer of Corridor Capital, LLC, an operationally intensive private equity firm focused on the lower middle market. Corridor Capital, LLC is based in Los Angeles and was founded by him in 2005. He holds an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in international studies from the Lauder Institute: University of Pennsylvania and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Don Eriksson (South African) is an independent non-executive director. He is the chair of Oakleaf Insurance Company Limited and Renasa Insurance Company Limited. On 11 June 2020, he retired from the board of MultiChoice Group and other MultiChoice companies. He served on the council of the Institute of Directors of South Africa (IoDSA) for a number of years, of which he is an honorary life member, and as a trustee to the Discovery Health Medical Scheme. He was a partner at Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.) and an executive director of the Commercial Union group of companies (CGU Insurance Company (SA) Limited, Commercial Union Life Insurance Company Limited and Sentrasure Limited). He is a qualified South African chartered accountant and holds a certificate in the Theory of Accountancy from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Manisha Girotra (Indian) is an independent non-executive director. She is the chief executive officer of Moelis India. She has more than 25 years of investment banking experience, with crossborder mergers and acquisitions expertise across a broad range of industries. Prior to joining Moelis & Company, she was the chief executive officer and country head of UBS AG in India, managing its investment bank, commercial bank, markets, equity research and wealth management divisions. Previously, she was head of North India of Barclays Bank PLC. She began her investment banking career at ANZ Grindlays in London. She serves on the boards of directors of Ashok Leyland Limited and Jio Payments Bank Limited. She holds a BAHons in economics from St. Stephen’s College, India and a masters in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, India.

Rachel Jafta (South African) is an independent non-executive director. She is a professor in economics at Stellenbosch University. She joined Naspers as a director in 2003 and was appointed a director of Media24 in 2007. She is a member of the South African Economic Society, chair of the Cape Town Carnival Trust, a member of the Management Committee of the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University and a member of the International Advisory Board of Fondação Dom Cabral Business School, Brazil. She was appointed as chair of the Media24 board of directors in April 2013. She is the chair of the Media24 nomination committee. She is also a director of Naspers Beleggings (RF) Limited. She holds an MEcon and a PhD from the University of Stellenbosch.

Nolo Letele (South African) is a non-executive director. He joined M-Net in 1990 and pioneered MultiChoice’s expansion outside South Africa. In 1995, he moved to the Republic of Ghana, where he served as MultiChoice’s West African regional general manager. In 1999, he was appointed chief executive officer of MultiChoice South Africa Holdings Proprietary Limited (MultiChoice SA), and later served as the MultiChoice group chief executive officer until 2010, when he was appointed executive chair of MultiChoice SA; currently non-executive chair. He has won several awards including Media Man of the Year in 2001 (Saturday Star—Business Report); Media Owner of the Year in 2003 (Financial Mail Adfocus); and the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize for media development in Africa (Millennium Excellence Foundation). He holds a BScHons in electronic engineering from the University of Southampton.

Debra Meyer (South African) is an independent non-executive director. She is a professor of biochemistry and executive dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg. She has completed modules in media strategy and academic leadership at Harvard University and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria and makes regular contributions to several newspapers and magazines. She serves as a trustee or board member for several organisations. She is also a director of Naspers Beleggings (RF) Limited. She holds a BSc in biological sciences, a BScHons and an MSc in biochemistry from the University of Johannesburg (then, the Rand Afrikaans University) and a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California, Davis (which she attended as a Fulbright Scholar).

Roberto Oliveira de Lima (Brazilian) is an independent non-executive director. He developed his career at companies like Accor S.A., Rhone Poulenc S.A. (now part of Sanofi S.A.) and Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. in the information technology and finance areas. He was chair and chief executive officer of Credicard Group, chief executive officer of Vivo S.A., the largest mobile telecommunications company in Brazil, chair of Publicis Brazil and president of Natura S.A. (Natura). He was previously a board member of Edenred S.A. in France, Pão de Açúcar S.A. (Casino) and Natura in Brazil. He is a member of the board of directors of RNI Negócios Imobiliários S.A. In April 2019, he left the board of directors of Telefônica Brasil S.A. after 14 years with that company, having served six of those years as president and chief executive officer and eight years as a board member as well as quality and services committee member. He holds a BA and MA in business management from Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Brazil and an MA from Institut Superieur des Affaires at Jouy en Josas—France.

Steve Pacak ( South African) is a non-executive director. He began his career with Naspers at M-Net in 1988 and has held various executive positions in the Naspers group. He is a director of MultiChoice Group Limited as well as companies in the Naspers group. He was appointed as an executive director of Naspers in 1998 and a non-executive director on the Naspers board on 15 January 2015. He retired as Naspers’s financial director on 30 June 2014 and remained on the Naspers board as a non-executive director. He is a qualified South African chartered accountant and holds a BAcc from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Mark Sorour (Mark Sorour) is a non-executive director. He joined the Naspers group in 1994, leading business development and corporate finance, globally. Following assignments in Hong Kong and Amsterdam, he returned to Cape Town in 2002 as the Naspers group’s chief investment officer, being responsible for all global investment activities. On 31 March 2018, he retired after more than 20 years with the Naspers group. He remained on the Naspers board as a non-executive director. He is a qualified South African chartered accountant and holds a BCom and DipAcc from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Cobus Stofberg (South African and Dutch) is a non-executive director. He was a member of the founding team of the M-Net/ MultiChoice pay-television business in 1985. He served as chief executive officer of the group from 1997 to 2011, and has been instrumental in the expansion of the Naspers group. Prior to joining M-Net, he was a partner of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.). He is a qualified South African chartered accountant and holds a BComLaw and LLB from Stellenbosch University and a BComptHons from the University of South Africa.

Ben van der Ross (South African) is an independent non-executive director. He was chair of Strategic Real Estate Management Proprietary Limited, the managers of the Emira Property Fund. He served on the boards of directors of, among others, Distell Limited, FirstRand Limited, Lewis Group Limited, Pick n Pay Holdings Limited and MMI Holdings Limited. He is also a director of Naspers Beleggings. He is an attorney of the High Court of South Africa and holds a DipLaw from the University of Cape Town.

Engaged in the retail business since 2004, Ms Xu has been leading Wumei’s major acquisitions including that of Metro China and B&Q China, and the digital transformation of the traditional retail stores into online and offline omni-channels. Prior to joining Wumei Technology Group, Ms Xu was vice president of LG (a joint venture) at Tianjin International Trust & Investment. Ms Xu holds a BA degree in English from Tianjin University, China, and an M.B.A. from Meinders School of Business, Oklahoma City University, United States.

Martin is responsible for Classifieds operations at Naspers, managing the OLX Group portfolio which includes dubizzle, Avito and letgo. He holds an MSc in Engineering from Delft University and an MBA from INSEAD. In seven years prior to Naspers, he held a variety of senior roles in internet companies, first at eBay and then at Schibsted. During this tenure, he accumulated extensive experience in all relevant business functions such as strategy, finance, product management, operations and M&A. Martin has worked in all life-cycle phases, from starting a greenfield operation to managing a mature, multi-national internet company. He has also written about business problem solving in his book, Thinking Backwards, which was published in five languages. Prior to starting his career in technology, he worked for seven years in business consulting at McKinsey.

Laurent was appointed CEO PayU in January 2016. He is responsible for global operations and brings extensive knowledge of digital payments and high-growth markets to PayU. He concluded an 11-year career at PayPal as Vice-President and General Manager for Continental Europe, where he successfully led the launch of PayPal in Africa, Israel, the Middle-East, and Russia. Laurent started his career as a business analyst at McKinsey, before founding TalentManager in 1999. TalentManager is a leading recruitment software provider and he spent three years growing the business, successfully selling the Italian operation. Laurent holds an MBA from the London Business School and is a graduate of Bocconi University in Italy (CEMS Master, International management).

Larry is CEO for Ventures and also responsible for group ecommerce strategy. His team identifies emerging trends, acquiring and operating disruptive platforms for the group. He has more than 20 years of professional experience and more than a decade with leading, global internet companies. Before joining Naspers Larry was VP and General Manager New Ventures at Trulia, a leading US online real estate marketplace. Previously, he spent eight years as senior executive at eBay, responsible for strategy and general management of many of its global marketplaces and classifieds assets. Prior to eBay, he spent several years as strategy advisor for leading global consumer goods companies. Larry started his career at the US Federal Reserve Board and holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Charles is responsible for the group's listed internet assets, including Tencent Holdings Limited; a leading Chinese Internet company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Mail.ru; a leading Russian Internet company listed on the London Stock Exchange. He joined the Naspers group in 1998 in Hong Kong where he held the position of chief investment officer for the group’s internet division. Prior to joining Naspers, Charles held senior corporate finance and M&A positions at Cable & Wireless, Hong Kong Telecom and Deloitte. Charles is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

Ishmet Davidson joined Media24 in 2012 as head of community newspapers. He became the head of its news division in 2014, after which media distribution company On the Dot and Media24’s magazine division were added to his responsibilities. He has 16 years’ experience in the media industry and among other qualifications, holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School at Scotland’s Heriot Watt University. He became CEO of Media24 on October 1, 2018.