Leadership Team
Dr Keith Chandler
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Keith Chandler joined the nascent Independent Vetcare as Mergers and Acquisitions Director in 2013, where he built and led one of the most successful M&A programmes of all time, growing the business from around 30 clinics to over a 1000 in the UK, in just under 10 years.
He was also responsible for starting a programme of M&A in the new jurisdiction of Ireland and was involved in the subsequent acquisition of Evidensia, to form IVC Evidensia in 2018.
The role included building and leading the team, sourcing transactions and managing the due diligence process (commercial, financial, tax and property), as well as initial integration planning.
At its peak, IVC Evidensia was acquiring a clinic every two business days under Mr Chandlers stewardship. Transactions were a mix of asset purchases or share deals ranging from £500k to £60m+, and the team managed a due-diligence pipeline of up to 45 deals at any one time.
Prior to joining IVC Evidensia, Keith was a successful veterinarian, including building and running a four-site veterinary clinic and separately leading the British Equine Veterinary Association, where he was President from 2012 to 2013.
Mr Chandler is bringing the same accumen to his appointment as Chairman of Pets4Africa, and will be a cornerstone to Pets4Africa becoming the largest veterinary care group on the continent.
Dr Russell Welsh
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Russell Welsh, a qualified veterinary surgeon from South Africa, has 23 years of industry experience across South Africa, Europe, and North America. He held various leadership, clinical, strategic, and operational roles in the veterinary industry. Previously, Russell co-owned Village Vet, a London and Cambridge based veterinary group, and facilitated its growth to a 33-site premium group before the acquisition by Linnaeus Veterinary Group in 2017. He later became Linnaeus' Managing Director of Primary Care and then interim COO, overseeing acquisitions and integrations as it grew to become the largest provider of referral care in the UK, with 180 clinics and 18 referral hospitals.
Currently, Russell is the COO and co-founder of Creature Comforts Pet Ltd, a tech-enabled veterinary group in the UK. Alongside the founder, he secured £7 Million seed funding to expand the group, with plans for 32 new sites and over 1000 employees in the next five years.
Russell is also an expert ambassador and investor in Queens Park Equity and has a certificate in Leadership Excellence from London School of Economics, A NED Certificate, and an Economics of Mutuality Certificate from Oxford-Saaid business School.
Dr Brendan Tindall
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Dr Brendan Tindall qualified from the University of Pretoria in 1999 having completed a BSc (hon) degree in zoology and botany and a veterinary BVSc degree.
Following a short stint employed in a mixed animal practice in the UK, he began working as a wildlife veterinarian for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Namibia, and continued to practice as a wildlife veterinarian upon his return to South Africa. He now runs a large four veterinarian mixed practice in which wildlife and conservation medicine continue to form an important part of his personal work.
Dr Tindall serves as the current South African Veterinary Association (SAVA) representative on the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC). He is involved in his second three-year term as a councillor and has been elected as the Vice President of the SAVC. He also serves on the SAVC executive as well as numerous committees within council.
Dimitri Nikolakakis
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Dimitri Nikolakakis is the Founding Director of Pets4Africa Group.
After a tenure in the military, Dimitri studied a double degree in Law and Commerce (Finance) at Monash University. While studying, Dimitri founded a marketing company which soon evolved into a multi-company ecommerce group. He left Monash University to pursue this endeavour, and over the subsequent four years, was responsible for driving over $250m in online sales.
Originally from Australia, Dimitri moved to South Africa 5 years ago and has settled down in Cape Town with his two Belgian Malinois, on a mission to create the greatest Vet group in Africa.
Willie Erasmus
Kishore Kooverjee
Johan Brink
Vincent Edwards
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After his tenure as an audit partner in Ernst & Young, Willie Erasmus entered the Construction Industry where he led the finance and risk functions of both private and public companies.
As an executive director on companies’ boards and part of the executive team he was responsible for treasury, financial reporting, setting company strategy and achieving performance targets.
Willie Erasmus played a leading role in a management buy-out of the building construction business of the then listed Stocks & Stocks Group, to create a privately held Building Construction business, owned by the management team, a private equity firm and a BEE partner. As part of an exit -strategy for its Private Equity investor, he played a leading role in preparing to list the business on the JSE in 2008. This listing was aborted in favour of a merger transaction with Stefanutti & Bressan. He played an instrumental role in the merger and acquisition transaction to create the Stefanutti Stocks Group.
Willie Erasmus exited the Stefanutti Stocks Group in 2012 to take up an opportunity to serve the Intercare Managed Healthcare Group as Chief Financial Officer and Director. During this period, he also played a leading role in the formation and financing of private day care and sub-acute hospitals, both as a director and shareholder, and was the cornerstone for both Intercare’s acquisitions of existing medical clinics, and development of new hospital sites.
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Kishore Kooverjee, a Chartered Accountant, is an experienced Business and Advisory leader with a successful record of developing and implementing business strategy, including driving growth for PwC KwaZulu-Natal business in both the Private and Public Sector, across different industry sectors and all levels of Government. Since merging with PwC in 2003, as PwC KZN Public Sector Leader and in 2009 as Partner in Charge of PwC KZN, Mr Kooverjee has successfully managed two offices with over 300 partners and staff, including developing PwC as a leading firm in the region and the firm being a leader in the Public Sector.
Mr Kooverjee's strengths include leadership, strategy, business development, finance, external and internal audit, and technical accounting. He has significant experience in dealing with Government Leaders, C-Suite and executive management of companies and government departments, including family-owned businesses. He has a passion for assisting with development of strategy and growing and coaching people.
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Johan Brink is a former Bowmans and Webber Wentzel Partner, and founding director of Brink Cohen Le Roux Inc. He is an expert in mergers and acquisitions and general corporate and commercial law, as well as company law, corporate governance, and restructuring.
With over 40+ years of experience, Mr Brink's extensive expertise has been recognised by various international rating agencies including Chambers Global, Legal 500, IFLR1000, Best Lawyers and more.
Notably, he served as an Extraordinary Professor of Mercantile Law at the University of South Africa for 20 years and as the chairperson of Interlaw, a referral network of over 7000 lawyers in 70 countries worldwide. With an extensive background in corporate law, Johan's expertise has been a cornerstone for resolving complex legal matters. His legacy stands as a testament to his unwavering commitment to the legal profession, marked by innovative thinking and a profound understanding of corporate intricacies, advising and acting for parties to transactions well into the billions.