10X Investments on Thursday announced the appointment of industry veteran Sonja De Bruyn as its new chairman, effective October 1, as the asset manager bulked up its board in support of a new management team.
The South African index-investing pioneer said De Bruyn is joined on the board by fellow financial services professional with deep industry knowledge Yvonne Maitin. The company also confirmed that Europe-based Kelly Ford, previously Chief Marketing Officer at German fintech N26, joined the board as a non-executive director earlier this year.
De Bruyn said that these combined additions to the board of 10X were “well timed as the company entered a new chapter of its incredible pioneering growth story”.
The announcement follows soon after Tobie van Heerden took up the position of Chief Executive Officer at 10X. Van Heerden, who joined 10X from Ninety One (formerly Investec Asset Management), where he ran the Middle East and SE Asia regions and, previously, their institutional business in South Africa, said: “These high calibre appointments add specialised skills and diversity to our board, which will support the new management team in the exciting next chapter of 10X.”
De Bruyn replaces Henk Beets as chairman. Beets was also acting CEO between the departure of 10X founder Steven Nathan and Van Heerden’s appointment.
Van Heerden added: “I am more than confident that the new chairman and board members will support our new executive team as we consolidate our strong existing platform and build new relationships as 10X continues its strong trajectory of expansion, both in terms of product suite and its target client base.”
He added: “10X has various new products in the pipeline and is very well-positioned to take even greater advantage of the global shift towards index-tracking investments.”
The incoming chairman, De Bruyn, has worked in the finance and investment industry in South Africa and internationally for 24 years and has more than 15 years’ experience as a Director of Companies, including at major listed corporations. As co-founder at Identity Partners and previously a partner at Ethos Private Equity, she has wide sector experience, including bringing more women and black professionals into the investment and private equity space.
Yvonne Maitin is founder and Chief Executive Officer at One Africa Capital, a black female-owned and managed private equity investment company, and Vice President at the Black Business Council.
“As 10X enters into a new growth phase,” Van Heerden added, “clients can rest assured that the company will continue to provide simple, transparent services and products that deliver industry-beating performance at a low cost.”
ENDS
10X Investments is an authorised FSP (number 28250)
