Lelo Rantloane has taken over from former SAVCA chairman, Craig Dreyer, as of 26 October.
The board of directors of the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) appointed Lelo Rantloane as chairman on 26 October.
Lelo, who has served on the SAVCA board for five years, replaces Craig Dreyer, the former chief financial officer at Ethos Private Equity, who stepped down in September.
Lelo is the founding CEO of Ata Capital and brings significant investment banking and private equity experience.
The former head of debt capital markets at Deutsche Bank AG’s Johannesburg Branch, Rantloane has held various positions with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) including a transactor in debt capital markets, and transactor in acquisition and leveraged finance. The positions afforded him the opportunity to focus on private equity firms, providing debt and quasi-equity structuring and financing solutions for their acquisitions.
Lelo holds an honours degree in civil engineering from the University of Cape Town and the designation of financial risk manager from the Global Association of Risk Professionals.
Tanya van Lill, CEO of SAVCA, said Lelo is a seasoned practitioner in the industry and SAVCA would benefit from his leadership skills and investment experience.
“It is an honour to serve the southern African private equity community through a strong, established platform such as SAVCA,” said Lelo. “As an industry body, SAVCA has been successful in promoting the asset class and investment opportunities in the southern African region among local and foreign investors and the business community. There is, however, still substantial work to do, particularly during the post-Covid-19 era and I look forward to the challenge.”
