Astral Foods welcomes Johan Geel as CFO

Narissa Delport 17 December 2025

Johan is an accomplished finance executive who most recently served as CFO at diversified agriculture group, Afgri.

Astral Foods has appointed Johan Geel as its chief financial officer. Johan will take over from Johan Andries Ignatius (Dries) Ferreira from 1 March 2026.

Johan is a qualified chartered accountant who most recently served as CFO and COO at Afgri.

His extensive knowledge and expertise across the agricultural value and processing chain includes fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, manufacturing, agro-processing, grain management, trading, financing, logistics/distribution and agricultural production.

Prior to joining Afgri, Johan worked as the group financial director at GWK.

Johan was also an audit manager for Pricewaterhouse Meyernel. He holds a BCom honours in accounting and was nominated for the CFO Awards in 2016 for his work as group financial director of Afgri.

Narissa Delport

Narissa Delport is a seasoned journalist with experience across platforms. She cut her teeth in 24-hour newsrooms like eNCA and EWN, covering a wide range of stories, some of which included gritty investigative work. She's also worked as the deputy digital news editor at The Citizen Online. She is currently a second language English instructor, and is pursuing studies in cybersecurity.

2026 Executive Day: Cell C CFO El Kope clarifies how trust is critical to navigating change fatigue

Cell C CFO El Kope says leaders must break transformation into practical steps, communicate consistently and remain close to their people to build trust and keep teams moving through change.

03 September 2026

Dawid Swart joins Afriwise as CFO

Dawid Swart has joined legal tech company Afriwise as CFO, bringing experience from senior finance roles across technology and professional services businesses.

01 September 2026

Polmed CFO Marinus Pretorius secures nomination for the 2026 CFO Awards

Polmed CFO Marinus Pretorius has secured a nomination for the 2026 CFO Awards, recognising his leadership and contribution to the finance function.

27 August 2026

Groot Constantia CFO Amanda February is protecting a 341-year-old legacy

Amanda February reflects on her journey from joining Groot Constantia, South Africa’s oldest wine-producing estate, in 2007 to becoming CFO, and the importance of financial sustainability, responsible stewardship and people-centred leadership.

25 August 2026

ExCo Women’s Dinner: Women urged to ‘use their power’

Seasoned business lead Nonkululeko Gobodo has called on women leaders to embrace their authentic selves, recognise their strengths and use their collective power to create opportunities for the next generation of women in business.

14 August 2026

How Old Mutual CFO Casper Troskie finds balance beyond the balance sheet

Away from billion-rand balance sheets and boardroom strategy, Old Mutual CFO Casper Troskie finds perspective at his home on a farm in Paarl, in the kitchen and on mountain bike trails. Those moments of calm, he says, have become essential to leading through an increasingly unpredictable world.

10 August 2026