HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS
VAL DE VIE I HOA TRUSTEES
CLIFFORD VAN DER VENTER
Clifford and his family have been living at Val de Vie since May 2012. He was co-opted as a homeowner Trustee in 2018 and also chairs the estate’s Development sub-committee. Clifford is a seasoned HR professional with more than 30 years’ experience in the corporate world.
He completed a B.Com degree (1987) as well as an MBA (UCT 1993). He worked in the Financial Services industry (Old Mutual) during the first 7 years of his career, doing mainly actuarial work on employee benefits and investments. He joined Caltex (now Chevron) in 1990 and held numerous HR positions culminating in his appointment as HR Director for Sub-Saharan Africa in 1999. Clifford subsequently held HR Director positions at Unilever, Anglo American (seconded to Kumba Iron Ore) and British American Tobacco until June 2014 when he decided to take a career break. These roles have honed his skills as an HR professional but have also developed his experience as an Executive Board member of these major multi-nationals. Clifford recently started working as an Independent Strategy and HR Consultant.
Apart from an obvious passion for people, Clifford’s key strengths are in the areas of leading Organizational Change and large-scale Restructuring, as well as Strategic Process Facilitation.
John Wilkinson
Chartered Accountant (S.A.) and Certified Information Systems Auditor. He has worked in IT Risk Assurance and Consulting for more than 30 years, 22.5 years of which as a Partner / Director in the Risk Assurance practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Cape Town. During his time at PwC, John was responsible for the information systems components of the statutory audits of a number of PwC’s JSE listed clients in the Retail and Financial Services industries.
John retired from PwC at the end of June 2020 to spend more time with his family, to travel and to fully live out his passion for photography. John joined the Val de Vie HOA Board of Trustees at the beginning of 2021 and is also a member of the Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) sub-committee.
John has been married to his wife Catherine for thirty years and they have two children, a daughter and a son. They have lived in Val de Vie for 9 years.
Sven Tietz
After a stint in the television industry, Sven obtained a B Com Law from Stellenbosch. In the end he didn’t become a lawyer, instead joining the team involved in establishing the berry industry in South Africa in the late 90s.
After more than two decades as CEO of the local business (managing 89,000% growth in 20 years) and an important contributor to the exponential growth of the South African berry industry, Sven sold his shares back to his partners in 2019 to focus on what he loves most: the hustle, bustle & adrenaline of high growth, high uncertainty environments.
He is currently involved as a founder, shareholder or director in several early-stage businesses covering a diverse & challenging variety of sectors: agriculture, health beverages, minibus taxi’s, restaurant software, and global derivatives trading.
Sven and his wife Jessica have been together for more than 20 years and have lived on the greater estate (both Pearl Valley & Val de Vie sides) with their family since 2014. He joined the Val de Vie Board of Trustees at the beginning of 2021, and is the Chair of the Finance sub-committee
VAL DE VIE II HOA TRUSTEES
Jonathan Bloom
Dr Jonathan Bloom holds a PhD in Corporate Finance from Stellenbosch University and until 2013, was Professor of Corporate Finance specializing in Real Estate Investment and Financing at the same institution. Various national and international articles have been published in fields such as Business, economics and strategy; Corporate financial management and business assessment; Artificial intelligence and knowledge mining for business and finance.
He has been involved in the private sector for 22 years and has consulted as a business advisor to various JSE-listed companies and for various clients and real estate developers in Southern Africa, Middle East and the Asia-Pacific. Dr Bloom is part of the GTAC team at National Treasury and has assisted various provincial departments with real estate projects, as well as district and local municipalities with the establishment of public-private partnerships and preparation of real estate development and spatial planning strategies.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) used his services in Namibia for development projects. Jonathan has undertaken various assignments in diverse sectors and industries such as Transport, Infrastructure, Tourism and Hospitality, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Retail and Entertainment. Jonathan is also a non-executive director of companies.
Stephen Whitehead
Stephen Whitehead is a qualified architect and retired from one of the largest commercial practices in South Africa, where he had been a director, after twenty-four years of service. He continues to act as a consultant to the practice as well as managing other ongoing property and development responsibilities in his personal capacity.
In addition to a stint lecturing design at university level he served as the Building and Development advisor to the Newlands Residents Association in Cape Town for more than twenty years, liaising and negotiating with applicants, residents and the Local Authority in this role. Stephen’s involvement with Val de Vie stretches back to original land use applications and infrastructure development and he has been involved in the built infrastructure of the Estate over an extended period.
He is a registered with SACAP, a member of SAIA and CiFA and previous winner of an Institute of Architects merit award for design work as well as an Institute of Timber Construction award for residential work.
Stephen has been married to his wife Beverley for 30 years and they have two children.
Ayi Kyriacou
Ayi Kyriacou and his family have been residents in Val de Vie for the past 4 years now. They have two children aged 8 and 5 attending Bridge house. They moved from Pretoria for a better and safer lifestyle which they have found in Val de Vie estate. They enjoy the outdoor activities that the estate has to offer.
Ayi grew up in the small farming town Delmas and completed high School at Pretoria Boys High, whereafter he received a B.com Statistics Degree at University of Pretoria.
He has been a Spar retailer for 16 Years with all his business interests currently in Pretoria. He also currently serves as a Director on the Spar Guild.
DEVELOPER TRUSTEES
SAREL ROSSOUW
Sarel Rossouw is the Financial Director of the Val de Vie Group of Companies. He has a wide-ranging background in auditing, finance, financial management, corporate governance, tax and reporting. He worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers until December 2007 where after he joined Val de Vie. Sarel is a qualified CA (SA). He is Chief Financial Officer of all the companies in the group and able to take care of the full financial cycle, from feasibility, finance and cash flow management to reporting.
MARTIN VENTER
Martin Venter is founder and CEO of the Val de Vie Group of Companies. He has sufficient experience and knowledge to lead the development and professional team for the conceptualization and the implementation of any size of property development. His qualifications include BLC (Law), LLB (UP), Hons., MBA (US) and R.E.E.S, Private Equity and Venture Capital (Harvard Business School). Martin gained extensive experience in property development and property investment as one of the founding directors in Atterbury Property Cape (Pty) Ltd. As developer he has completed many successful residential and commercial property developments. He was awarded the ABSA entrepreneur of the year in 1994. He focusses on deal making, business development and strategic planning.
RYK NEETHLING
Ryk Neethling / Marketing Director and Shareholder of the Val de Vie Group of Companies
Ryk Neethling has played an instrumental role since his appointment in 2009 as the Marketing Director & Shareholder of the Val de Vie Group of Companies. Ryk’s business career started while he spent time in the real estate industry in the USA, assisting in the development, management and sales of various commercial properties in Arizona and California. This experience equipped him in establishing Cape Winelands Properties, the official on-site property agency for Val de Vie Estate, with his business partners. His strategic approach to implementing brand and marketing plans is evident in the numerous successfully sold-out developments of the Val de Vie Group of Companies. Under Ryk’s leadership, theVal de Vie brand has internationally been positioned as pioneering in the world of luxury property development. Ryk holds a BA degree in Psychology and Business from the University of Arizona. He is a Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Ambassador, founder of Learn to Swim Academies, three-time World Champion and an Olympic Gold Medalist.
RENIER SWART
Renier Swart is the Sales Director of the Val de Vie Group of Companies, as well as the Managing Director of Val de Vie Construction, Chairman and a shareholder of the MyRide Group and also the Chairman of Security and Infrastructure subcommittees of the Val de Vie Estate. His qualifications include BCom Accounting Honours and CTA (University of Pretoria), BProc (UNISA), CA (SA), PPRE and MPRE. Renier joined Nissan SA in 1996 after completing his articles with PwC. He successfully started a number of Nissan, Ford, Mazda, UD, Fiat and Alfa Romeo dealerships and is a multiple franchise dealer of the year award winner. He also served and chaired a number of vehicle franchise dealer councils. His entrepreneurial skills were acknowledged in 2001 with the Pretoria Business Chamber Business of the Year award. Star Motor Group holds the current Nissan Dealer-Group-of-the-Year-Award. Renier also joined Paarl Boys High’s Raad van Beskermhere in 2018. Before joining Val de Vie Estate, Renier also successfully completed several large commercial property developments. His Valentia Manor house won the prestigious Best Residential Property in Africa award for 2016/17. His ability to implement a sales strategy was successfully honed in the motor industry and he oversees all property sales.
