brainpurr

Johann Rupert is a South African entrepreneur who grew up in Stellenbosch and began his banking career in New York. He returned to South Africa in 1979 and established the Rand Merchant Bank, which he headed until 1984. Next, he left and going on to lead the Rembrandt Group In 1988, he formed Compagnie Financière Richemont, a Swiss luxury company, of which he is currently the chairman. He also holds executive positions in a number of other companies.

During his career, Mr. Rupert has received multiple honors and achievements. Three times the Most Influential Leader in South Africa, he has also been called Business Leader of the Year on a number of occasions and was recognized as one of its Global Leaders of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 1992.

He holds honorary degrees from the University of Stellenbosch, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and St. Andrews University. In 2009 he received the Management Excellence Award from the University of Witwatersrand and was named Chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch. In the same year, he was appointed by the President of France as an officer of the French National Order of the Legion of Honor.

“We are living on the cusp of tremendous systemic change, and while many things may be in flux, one thing is clear: it’s time to give back and to put the human being back in the center of our systems,” he said.

Among his many leadership and business achievements Mr. Rupert has successfully worked to encourage a healthy society and a better world and has been instrumental in creating a number of organizations that embody this dedication. In addition, he is a founding member of the Small Business Development Corporation, now known as Business Partners Ltd, which has generated over half a million jobs in South Africa since its inception. He has also been a member of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund’s Advisory Board and, since 2006, has been Chairman of the Peace Parks Foundation.

Mr. Rupert has also done a great deal to promote the ideals and broader potential of sport in society. He has played a pivotal role in the founding of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which leverages the power of sports to change the lives of underprivileged young people around the world, and has co-founded the Sports Science Institute at the University of Cape Town.