Sheldon, who was recognised during the 2021 CFO Awards, will join SA Taxi in 2022.
Sheldon Friedericksen has been with Fedgroup for seven years, starting as a group financial manager in 2014 and becoming CFO in 2016 – all before the age of 37. “I have been on this journey, operating within the financial services industry and bringing our entrepreneurial energy to challenge the status quo, while focused on achieving the tremendous results required by the group,” he explains.
And it is for exactly this reason that Sheldon won the Young CFO of the Year Award at the 2021 CFO Awards, which he describes as a “surreal moment”. “There is such great talent in South Africa, and just to be nominated was a significant achievement,” he says. “However, winning the Award and being recognised by CFO South Africa and the judges as the Young CFO of the Year is a great feeling.”
He explains that he is still “riding the euphoric wave” of the recognition of the impact he has made in Fedgroup, his teams and the industry they operate in. “This award is truly a team award, in that everything we do at Fedgroup is a collaborative team effort, with many people bringing their particular skills sets and enabling us to achieve some amazing goals.”
Reflecting on his journey over the past seven years, and looking forward to his continued development, Sheldon has decided that a new opportunity will create an environment that would enable him to accelerate his development. “I love to be challenged, love to learn, and love to work with collaborative teams trying to make a difference through entrepreneurial thinking,” he says.
Sheldon has tendered his resignation with Fedgroup and, starting January 2022, he will join Transaction Capital Group in the SA Taxi subsidiary as a finance executive in the insurance segment.
He adds that one of the highlights of his time at Fedgroup has been the tremendous growth that the group has experienced. “This growth is not just in asset under management, revenue, etc, but in the growth in the capacity and capabilities of the employees, brand awareness and digitisation of engagement channels.”
Sheldon explains that being involved in the successful launch of a world-first impact farming peer-to-peer portal, enabling sustainable investments, reaching renewable energy and agricultural farmers, making a difference in the energy sector, and contributing to the achievement of food security in line with the United Nations’ key sustainability goals has been an incredibly rewarding experience.
Parallel to this, he adds that he is proud of the successful institutional investment into a renewable energy securitisation vehicle, which is still subject to financial close, from Standard Bank and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), with Fedgroup being the first transaction through DBSA’s Global Climate Finance Fund Facility.
