Trustees
The following dedicated individuals oversee the governance of our organisation and serve on the SEED Board of Trustees.
Herman van der Merwe, chairperson, has been in accounting practice since 1981. He articled with PWC in Stellenbosch and has been professor in Auditing and head of the Department of Accounting at the University of the Western Cape. He started his own practice in 1991 later renamed Logista. He left their management end of 2007 to start HVM accountants. He specializes in Corporate structuring, taxation, ethics and training to accountants. He has a Masters in Accounting from the University of Stellenbosch and plans to graduate in a M Phil Business Ethics end 2011. He currently serves on companies’ Boards as advisor
Hannes van Zyl was the chief executive of NB, leading South African book publishers. He served on the board of various companies, also the South African Post Office. He is a social entrepreneur and a trustee and board member of various community organisations. He studied at the Universities of Potchefstroom, Cape Town and Johannesburg and lectured at the University of South Africa.
Corinna Kirsten (née Schwarze) (CA(SA), M.Acc), is a senior lecturer at the Department of Accounting at Stellenbosch University, where she lecturers Management Accounting at Honours level. She completed her articles at Moores Rowland (now Mazars) and worked in London as group financial accountant for the Media Audits Group before joining the Department of Accounting in 2004. Her research focuses on the development of financial management skills of small business owners and in establishing sustainable initiatives to involve the accounting profession in this process.
Adolph Neethling is currently a lecturer at Stellenbosch University in the department of Business Management, focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation management. He spent close to 20 years in the SMME environment, both as manager and entrepreneur, gaining experience in the Building, Liquor and Transport industry, before embarking on his academic journey in 1997. Adolph Neethling holds an IAC Management diploma, a BCom(Hons) degree from the university of the Western Cape, as well as an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch. He conducts workshops on creativity and entrepreneurship and serves on the advisory board of a university based NGO that focuses on youth entrepreneurial development.
Rudolf Oelofse is currently a portfolio and relationship manager at BJM Private Client Services in Tygervalley where he manages investment assets, mainly share portfolios, locally and offshore for high net worth individuals. Rudolf holds a M.Com and MBA from the University of Stellenbosch and has been in the investment industry for 15 years.