INTRODUCING MEMBERS OF OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our other Board members will be introduced in the next publication of this bimonthly periodical.
Advocate Des Mahoney is a chartered accountant with over 25 years’ experience across the financial, tourism and pharmaceutical industries. After his completing articles, Des spent time working in the UK, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, before joining Brait’s African business, which was bought out by management and grew into a corporate advisory, with asset management, stockbroking and micro‑finance services across 14 African countries. Des served on various boards and audit committees, before he took a sabbatical to complete his legal studies. He was admitted as an advocate and returned to the financial sector. Des was part of the team tasked with setting up South Africa’s second stock exchange, 4 Africa Exchange. After its first listing, Des and a friend launched a private equity business. Des serves on the Investigations Committee of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors. He is the current Treasurer and a director of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) NPC.
Francois Spies is an electrical engineer and professional construction project manager with over 20 years’ experience in the mining, minerals processing, renewable energy and general infrastructure sectors. He is a commercial/claims consultant and dispute resolution practitioner serving the construction industry, who regularly provides training on construction contracting and claim-related topics. He’s a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (the CIArb) in the UK, and currently serves as an executive at the Master Builders Association North. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Construction Adjudication Association of South Africa (CAASA), and an accredited mediator, adjudicator and arbitrator, whose experience in both the construction and dispute resolution fields finds him well-placed to provide a bridge between the two industries. Francois is a Fellow and a current director of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) NPC, and serves on the Accreditation, Management and Newsletter Committees.