Christo Wiese
"Christo Wiese has been a prominent figure in the South African business community for more than 40 years. Dr Wiese practised at the Cape Bar in the 1970s before joining Pepkor Holdings of which he has been the chairperson and controlling shareholder since 1981. Dr Wiese is also the chairman and controlling shareholder of Shoprite Holdings which was unbundled from Pepkor in 2000 and today has a market capitalisation of more than US$10 billion. The two companies are respectively Africa’s largest clothing and food retailers with an extensive footprint across sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Between them they operate some 6,000 stores in 19 countries employing more than 140,000 people.
"Dr Wiese is also the chairman and controlling shareholder of diverse companies listed on the JSE, including the investment holding company Brait SE, the international property group Tradehold and Invicta Holdings, which specialises in the supply of agricultural and industrial equipment. Dr Wiese is a former chairman of the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and has served on various boards, amongst others, the South African Reserve Bank, Sasol, Sanlam and PSG.
"Dr Wiese has been the recipient of many honours and distinctions during his years in business. In 1997 his alma mater, the Stellenbosch University, bestowed on him an honorary doctorate in commerce. His interests extend to wine and conservation and he owns Lourensford, the largest wine estate in the Cape Winelands, as well as a private game reserve on the fringes of the Kalahari desert." [1]
Affiliations
- Director, Pallinghurst
- Instore
