Corporate Governance

Chairperson
Mr Pather completed his B Bus Sci at UCT in 1973 and his MBA at UCT in 1977 and a B Com (Hons) in Business Data Processing at UCT in 1982. He has attended various portfolio/asset management courses and programs locally and in London and Geneva. Semi-retired in 2003 for health reasons, his career has included being an Investment analyst for Norwich Union Life Assurance (1973-1975) and AGM (Investments), Colonial Mutual Life (1975-1987). He was an Executive Director (Investments) of Southern Life Assoc.(1987-1996), and Executive Director of Real Africa Holdings and CEO of Real Africa Asset Management (1996-2003). Aside from his current role as the Chairperson of the CPGR's board, Mr Pather is a non-executive director on the boards of Coronation Fund Managers Limited, Oceana Group Limited and Lungisa Holdings (Pty) Ltd. He is a Trustee for the UCT Foundation, Ukukhula Trust (UCT), Imvula Trust (Coronation) and Bonus Pool Trust (Coronation). Mr Pather is the Governor of the Imam Abdullah Haron Education Trust and a member of the Joint Investment Council - UCT.

Managing Director
Reinhard has a long track record in converting scientific ideas into successful products and innovative businesses in the exciting field of modern biotechnology. He was born, raised and educated in Austria where he completed a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Vienna investigating the properties of autocatalytic ribozymes. After graduating in 2000, he joined a team of scientists in a biotech start-up that aimed at developing novel microarray-based solutions that addressed unmet needs in the molecular diagnostic sector. Venturing into unchartered technological territory he and his team devised a protein microarray platform suitable for the miniaturization of antibody-profiling immunoassays. In 2003, Reinhard turned the patented technological solution into the first CE-certified microarray-based test for allergic diseases in Europe. A successful launch was followed by rapid market growth and the company was later acquired by the global market leader in allergy diagnostics. In 2005, Reinhard moved to Cape Town to create the Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research (CPGR). Set up with government funding as a core technology platform to drive biotech innovation, the CPGR today is the leading provider of solutions in the area of Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics in South Africa. More recently, Reinhard and his team have advanced the organisation into an internationally recognised contract research organisation that creates value in drug discovery and drug development, vaccine development and disease biomarkers discovery, amongst others. Under his leadership as Managing Director, the CPGR has gone through a period of rapid growth and increasing international recognition as a specialist player in the dynamic genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics arenas. In addition to his PhD, Reinhard owns a NLP Master Practitioner degree, and he is a Member of the South African Charter of the IoD (Institute of Directors). His spare time is dedicated to his family, in particular his twin kids Isak Themba and Sara Thandiwe.

Indepenent Financial Director
The 40 years since Mr Kingwill matriculated from Muir College in Uitenhage have been filled with enormous opportunities;its been a privilege for him to have been a South African and an Old Muirite. He attended Rhodes University to complete his B.Com and finally qualified as a CA having started his articles in Johannesburg with Coopers & Lybrand who were kind enough to sponsor a year of International training in London. After qualifying and spending some time in the profession Mr Kingwill realised that he needed less structure and so joined the Dion Group before moving on to spending 12 years in ESKOM and 8 years in Portnet. This experience helped to build up an understanding of major projects that require sound financial control, extensive communication and interface with multi disciplined organisations. This was the ideal background for him to become part of Cape Town’s 2004 Olympic Bid Initiative. During more recent experiences in the Fresh Produce Terminal environment as Managing Director, a successful business strategy was implemented, driven by strategic goals and value systems informed by the Balanced Scorecard and supported by meaningful service level agreements. Currently as an Accredited Associate of the Institute for Independent he engages in his own business advisory business registered as On Demand Investments. Recent engagements have been in several sectors where completed proposals include the following initiatives: After many years of keeping abreast of developments in the logistics sector with a strong financial focus, there is a passion to contribute to the growth of these future business leaders and build the SMME sector as a platform for job creation.

Indepenent Non Exceutive Director
After his undergraduate studies at Stellenbosch University, Johan obtained a PhD in Microbiology (Molecular Plant Virology) from the University of Cape Town in 1991. Since then, he has been managing research as principle investigator at the Agricultural Research Council, the CSIR and Stellenbosch University. His current research is focussed on various aspects of grapevine virology, with the ultimate aim of introducing virus resistance in grapevine cultivars. To this end, his team is investigating the virus complexes responsible for the numerous virus diseases in grapevine, the role of small RNAs in biotic stresses caused by different grapevine pathogens, and the development of virus-based resistance constructs for the ultimate expression in grapevine cultivars. Johan teaches Molecular Genetics at Stellenbosch University and supervises three post-doctoral fellows and about 10 post-graduate students. He receives research funding from a diverse group of donors and has several national and international collaborations. He is the current Chair of Department of Genetics at Stellenbosch University and also serves on the management committees of a number of local and international professional associations. He serves on the boards of two companies and is the commanding officer of 3 Field Engineer Regiment, a Reserve Force army regiment, based in Cape Town.