ABOUT US

David is a Chartered Accountant, a CFA Charterholder, and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Organisational Leadership from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He completed his articles at Grant Thornton, where after he was appointed a consultant in their Corporate Finance Division. In 1998, David co-founded i capital – a corporate finance advisory and private equity fund management business, where he was an Executive Director for 10 years. In 2008 he was appointed as CEO of Smollan and through his leadership he has driven the growth of Smollan internationally and cemented a company culture that promotes innovation and the development of its people. 

Jeanette joined Smollan as Global CFO in March 2015.  She is a qualified Chartered Accountant – CA(SA) and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Jeanette’s has played a key role in in the geographic expansion of the Group, managing the successful integration of acquired businesses, as Smollan’s footprint grew from 22 to 59 countries across the world.

Prior to joining Smollan, Jeanette was a partner at Grant Thornton for 26 years, becoming the youngest partner and second female partner. Promoted to Deputy CEO during her tenure, her position allowed her to successfully champion transformation. She has brought this passion for collaboration and diversity to her role as Global CFO.

Listening and engaging across all levels of the organisation are key on her agenda with her travel around the globe allowing her to connect with local teams to share their insights.

Jeanette and her husband Miles, have three sons and love cycling and travel. The Hern family believe in the importance of uplifting those around them, involving themselves in initiatives to support previously disadvantaged communities in Johannesburg, South Africa.

George is responsible for developing and executing the Human Capital Strategy in support of the overall business strategic direction, specifically in the areas of Succession Planning, Talent Management, Change Management, Organisation and Performance Management, Training & Development and Compensation. George joined Smollan in 2007 where he has led the establishment of the Smollan HR capability, redeveloped the performance and succession management systems for the business as well as the standardizing these practices throughout the organisation’s international footprint. 

Michael has been in field sales and execution for over 14 years. From 2012 – 2016 he relocated to China to complete his Executive MBA whilst heading up the Smollan & Always joint venture, which serviced China nationally for multiple clients in field sales and retail execution. Upon his return to South Africa, Michael has taken on the responsibility of global business development for the group as well as developing the Smollan advisory services model. 

Michael has over 20 years’ experience in the FMCG industry, having held various senior positions within the South African retail context. His early career at Smollan included various international management roles. He has since shifted focus to Operations where he has assumed the responsibility for the South African & Sub-Saharan businesses. Michael has been instrumental in the development of market-facing technology capabilities, including category management, mobility platform.

Sean’s tenure with Smollan began in 2002, where he brought with him experience gained in FMCG, e-commerce and financial services. Sean has a deep-seated interest in people and their development, and is passionate about delivering growth through operational delivery and developing services solutions. 

Sean is further responsible for managing and representing Smollan in two key strategic Joint ventures; with WPP in Australia and China, and DKSH in North and South-East Asia. 

17 years ago, upon the completion of his Marketing Qualification Ridwaan joined Smollan as a trainee as part of our Development programme in Johannesburg. As part of his development Ridwaan was immersed into various roles throughout South Africa before leading the establishment of the national dedicated structure for Parmalat in 2006. The evolution of this partnership later lead to the establishment of Smollan Botswana and Zambia. He then went on to lead the Unilever account in South Africa for four years and has recently been appointed to lead the North Africa Middle East region for Smollan based in Dubai.