Print icon
Print
Downloads icon
Downloads

BRIMSTONE consortium

Brimstone Investment Corporation Limited

Introduction
Mission Statement
Corporate Profile and Empowerment Credentials
Investments
 Corporate Social Involvement
Key Management

Introduction

BRIMSTONE was incorporated in South Africa on 2 October 1995 as an investment vehicle for black South Africans and listed on the JSE in 1998. BRIMSTONE’s shares are listed in the “Investment Companies” sector of the JSE list and the company has a total market capitalisation of approximately R240m.

Mission Statement

BRIMSTONE seeks to be profitable, empowering and to have a positive social impact on the businesses and individuals with whom it is involved, including shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers and the community.

Corporate Profile and Empowerment Credentials

BRIMSTONE is a black controlled and managed investment holding company domiciled in the Republic of South Africa. The company seeks to achieve above average returns for its shareholders by investing in businesses and entering into alliances to which BRIMSTONE contributes capital, ideas, management, impeccable empowerment credentials and a value driven corporate identity. BRIMSTONE remains a focused investment holding company with primary investments in the industrial, financial services and healthcare sectors.

The company prides itself on its impressive empowerment profile, with more than 52% of it's economic value being in the hands of black South Africans. BRIMSTONE has approximately 3,700 shareholders, majority of whom are individual black South Africans. The company's board of directors consists exclusively of black South Africans and operational management of the company is in black hands.

BRIMSTONE employs approximately 1,100 employees in its subsidiaries and more than 19,300 in its associate companies. The company has sought to empower its people through extensive employee participation in the equity of BRIMSTONE with the result that many of these employees are shareholders in BRIMSTONE. Employee participation in the equity of the company has resulted in economically empowered individuals and has seen an alignment of employee's interests with those of shareholders.

Most recently, BRIMSTONE has won three of the Financial Mail’s Top Empowerment Company Awards 2005, as Financial Services sector winner, Management sector winner and was placed fifth overall in the Top Empowerment Company Awards 2005.

Investments

BRIMSTONE is a black investment holding company with strategic investments in the following sectors of the South African economy:

The overriding theme running through all facets of BRIMSTONE’s business is an active engagement with well-established players in the industries in which BRIMSTONE operates. BRIMSTONE's management has sound technical expertise and, coupled with their extensive industry experience, make them an invaluable asset to BRIMSTONE 's investee companies.

Corporate Social Involvement

BRIMSTONE's Corporate Social Involvement ("CSI") activities are aimed towards its responsibility in uplifting the communities its serves. Focus areas of BRIMSTONE's CSI activities include education, health care, enterprise development, job creation and community empowerment.

In line with this, Brimstone has participated or supported the following projects to facilitate its CSI programme:

Key Management

Professor Gert Johannes (Jakes) Gerwel (58)
Non-executive chairman

Professor Gerwel is the former Director-General in the office of President Nelson Mandela and was Secretary of the Cabinet in the Government of National Unity from 1994 to June 1999. He is Chancellor of Rhodes University, Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at the University of the Western Cape, Honorary Professor in the Humanities at the University of Pretoria and Chairman of the Human Sciences Research Council.

Professor Gerwel chairs the Boards of Trustees of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes. He is the chairman of South African Airways and serves on the boards of Goldfields, Naspers and OM.

Mustaq Ahmed Brey (51)
Chief Executive Officer

Mustaq was admitted as a partner to Friedberg, Miller Gruft & Company, a firm of chartered accountants, in 1980. Mustaq went on to start his own auditing practice in 1985 that evolved into the country's largest black auditing practice in 1997, namely KMMT Brey Inc.

A founder member of BRIMSTONE, it was under Mustaq’s guidance and vision that the company successfully listed on the JSE in 1998. Mustaq currently serves on the boards of Sea Harvest Corporation, Oceana, The Scientific Group and Lion of Africa Insurance Company. Mustaq also serves on the audit committee of the South African Revenue Services.

Frederick (Fred) John Robertson (50)
Executive Deputy Chairman

A former teacher and ex-employee of OM, Fred started his own insurance brokerage, Commlife Holdings in 1990 after 10 years with OM. Commlife Holdings currently has interests in private equity, short-term insurance, life assurance, employee benefits, fund management, insurance broking as well as property administration and development.

Fred is co-founder of BRIMSTONE and together with Mustaq has managed the company since inception. Fred has gained extensive business experience through his directorships of Remgro and Sea Harvest Corporation, as well as chairmanships of Lion of Africa Life Assurance Company, Lion of Africa Insurance Company, House of Monatic and Lobedu Leo Burnett Holdings. He is also a founding trustee of the Business Trust.

Lawrie Zev Brozin (49)
Investment manager

After serving articles with Arthur Andersen in Johannesburg and qualifying as a CA, Lawrie became involved in managing his family’s business interests. He was involved in the acquisition of the Spareco Group in 1990 and was instrumental in turning the company around. In 1993 the Spareco Group listed on the JSE as Varex and went on to win the Financial Mail Top Industrial Company award in 1994.

Lawrie joined the management team at BRIMSTONE in October 1996, where he played a valuable role in growing the company to the stage of its listing in July 1998. He was intimately involved in BrimEquity, BRIMSTONE’s joint venture private equity fund with Coronation Capital Limited and was responsible for monitoring BRIMSTONE's investments in the fund. Lawrie was responsible for the successful completion of the Afrox Health transaction.

Lawrie is a non-executive director of Nando’s Group Holdings Limited.

Nicole Martin (28)
Company Assistant Accountant

Nicole served her articles in Cape Town and is currently studying for her post-graduate degree in accounting, with the intention of qualifying as a CA in the near future.

Nicole joined BRIMSTONE in April 2003 as an assistant accountant and has been a significant contributor to the operational success of the company over the last few years.

Tiloshani Naidoo (30)
 Legal and Compliance Officer

Tiloshani completed her LLB at the University of the Western Cape and after attending the School of Legal Practice at the University of Cape Town, joined BRIMSTONE in 2001 as the professional assistant to the CEO. Her dedication and commitment to the group resulted in her becoming BRIMSTONE's Compliance Officer in 2004.

Tiloshani has been instrumental in furthering BRIMSTONE’s culture of change and the transformation initiatives in its investee companies.

Back to Top icon
Back to Top