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Founder & Group Managing Director - Kobus van der Wath
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Kobus is the founder and group managing director of TBA. He is labelled by foreign communities as the 'China Expert'. In 2009 Kobus was included as one of 40 'foreign entrepreneurs' in China, to be profiled in the book China Entrepreneur by Professor Juan Fernandez from CEIBS Business School in Shanghai. The book provides a perspective on how 40 foreign entrepreneurs developed their China Ventures. Kobus, as the Founder of THE BEIJING AXIS, is the only South African entrepreneur profiled in the book and one of only two from Africa.
Kobus is the author of Doing Business in China – the System and the Strategies. This book is the first book by a person from Africa on Business in China and was commissioned by the China International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
His previous experience includes –
- Head of Investment Strategy and Global Market Research for the Asia Pacific Region for Standard Chartered Bank Plc
- Senior Strategy Consultant with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Asia
- An Emerging Market Investment Strategist in London; a Treasury Economist with Standard Merchant Bank in Johannesburg; and an Economist with the South African Reserve Bank in Pretoria
Kobus is a founding board member and is currently Vice President of the Asia Pacific South Africa Chamber of Commerce, a member of the China International Mining Group and of the Capital Club in Beijing.
He is also a Research Fellow at Wits University International Relations Department on their East Asia Project. In addition, he has lectured on International Business at Curtin Business School and Edith Cowan University in Perth.
His first degree is in Economics and Psychology and he holds post-graduate Honours-degrees in Economics (from Johannesburg University), and Finance & Investments (from the University of South Africa). He also holds an MBA from INSEAD in France and a Master of Information Technology, cum laude, from Curtin University of Technology's School of Information Systems. Furthermore, he has attended executive education programmes at London Business School (Strategic Management for Executives) and at INSEAD (International Management). He is currently doing Research for a PhD in International Relations, focusing on China's foreign business relations.
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Director, CE of China Capital Advisors - Matt Pieterse
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Matt is a co-founder of TBA and Head of the firm's Investment and Strategy divisions. He served as a Non-Executive Director of the Company since 2003 before joining TBA as an Executive Director in 2009. Matt joined TBA from CREATE Ventures, the UK Venture Capital Fund Manager, where he was a co-founder and Investment Director since 2000.
At CREATE, Matt was a member of the Investment Committee where his responsibilities included investment origination, transaction negotiation, structuring and completion; as well as ongoing investee company portfolio management. His sector experience includes manufacturing, green technologies, biotechnologies, special materials, TMT and telecoms security. He has completed investments from seed capital to MBOs and he served on the boards of these investments.
Previously Matt worked as an Investment Banker in the Corporate Finance divisions of Crédit Agricole (London and Paris) from 1998-2000 and UBS (Zurich and London) from 1993-1998.
At Crédit Agricole, Matt managed a team in Paris and London that worked on transactions in the Automotive, Financial Services and Logistics sectors.
Matt started his career with UBS in Zurich in 1993 as a graduate trainee before joining UBS's Investment Banking team in London. Whilst in Zurich, Matt worked on transactions in South Africa, Israel, Greece and Turkey. He was promoted to UBS London in 1995 where he was responsible for the implementation of a new Investment Banking strategy before joining the M&A execution team. He worked in the London Corporate Finance team as an Assistant Director until 1998 where he was in the Metals and Mining transactions team.
Matt holds a B.Com Hons degree in Investment Management from the University of Johannesburg, 1992.
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Director - Lilian Luca
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Lilian is a director with TBA, responsible for the development of Russia/CIS clients, for the coordination of TBA's global projects, for best-practice exchanges and for operational excellence. Since joining THE BEIJING AXIS in 2007, Lilian has lead numerous procurement and strategy consulting projects for Chinese, Russian, and multinational clients in the mining, steelmaking and heavy machinery industries.
His previous experience includes:
- Line management positions in Russian industry, as well as private equity and management consulting experience
- Commercial Director with Ratimir
- Sales Director with Wimm-Bill-Dann (NYSE: WBD), and Strategy Director with WBD in Moscow
- Associate with McKinsey & Company in Moscow and in New Jersey
- Private Equity Analyst with Europa Capital Management in Prague
Lilian holds a BA degree in Economics and International Relations from the American University in Bulgaria, and an MBA degree from INSEAD, France. He is fluent in English, Russian and Romanian.
He has a working knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, Bulgarian and French.
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Director – Cheryl Tang
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Ms. Cheryl Tang is a co-founder and director of TBA and is the General Manager of China for Bateman Beijing Axis (BBA). She has led the sourcing team since the company's inception and has successfully managed a significant number of projects assisting international companies to procure and invest in China, and in directing Chinese companies which are venturing and sourcing abroad.
Her previous experience includes:
- Account Manager for Beijing Yadi Media Company
- Senior Media Planner for J Walter Thomson Advertising Company
- A co-founder of a Beijing-based skin care boutique specialised in the distribution of European Products
- An advertising and Research Manager for Beijing Yanhuangxinxing Tech
Cheryl holds an MBA in International Business from The Birmingham Business School, UK. She also has a BA degree in Marketing Communications from the Communications University of China.
Cheryl is fluent in English, Mandarin and Shanghainese.
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Director - Nitesh Dullabh
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Nitesh joined as Director in February 2010 and is based in Johannesburg. His previous experience includes:
- Senior Risk Consultant at Marsh Risk Consultancy
- Senior Project Manager at the Gauteng Economic Development Agency (GEDA)
- South Africa's Trade and Investment Attaché in Beijing
Nitesh holds an MBA from Henley Management College in the UK, a BA Hons. in International Relations and a MA in International Relations from Rhodes University, and a BA in Public Management from the University of Durban-Westville. He also recently completed an African Leadership course at Said Business School in Oxford. Nitesh is a fellow of the African Leadership Institute based in London.
Nitesh is fluent in English, Afrikaans, Gujerati and speaks basic Mandarin Chinese.
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Director – Edward Wang
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Edward joined THE BEIJING AXIS in the capacity of Project Manager in 2005. He currently serves as the Director of China Capital Advisors.
Prior to joining THE BEIJING AXIS, Edward worked as a Senior Consultant with an international business research and strategy consulting company for more than five years, managing projects for foreign companies with a China agenda (including Alstom, Conde Nast, Nokia, Pfizer, Whirlpool and Credit Lyonnais). Prior to that he was in charge of business development at a trade and travel company. Edward started his career with the Chinese Air Force where he worked with an international relations research institute attached to the air force headquarters. Following that, he worked as a Business Manager with China Fujian Foreign Trade Center, a large state-owned company affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation.
Edward holds an MBA from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, UK. He also has a BA degree in International Relations from the China Air Force Engineering College.
Edward is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese.
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Senior Manager: Corporate Finance – Ben Zhang
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Ben joined TBA's CCA team in May 2010 and is the Senior Manager: Corporate Finance, based in Beijing. Ben has extensive international banking and corporate finance experience in the financing of cross-border acquisitions, in structured finance and in international trade.
His previous working experience includes:
- Associate Director of the Large Local Corporate Department of Standard Chartered Bank (China)
- Senior Credit Manager in the International Finance Department of China Development Bank
- Senior Finance Manager for China National Petroleum Corporation
Ben holds a Master's degree with honours in International Business from the University of International Business & Economics and a Bachelor's degree in International Finance from South-Western University of Finance & Economics.
Ben is fluent in Chinese and English.
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