Board of Directors

Brand de Villiers

Chairman

A qualified Chartered Accountant CA (SA), De Villiers joined Vodacom in 1995 as Head of Expenditure before helping to establish Vodacom Sport and Entertainment (Pty) Ltd in 1998. After initially joining Vodacom Sport and Entertainment Pty (Ltd) as Financial Director, Brand was appointed as MD of the company in 2001 following SAIL Group's acquisition of the company.

In 2003, Brand was appointed as MD of SAIL Group and played a key role in the formation of the SAIL Group strategy and the subsequent delisting of the company in 2005. Now known as MARC Group, the holding company manages various investments within the marketing, sport and entertainment industry across the African continent.

Vinesh Dhanraj

Financial Director

As a qualified Chartered Accountant, Dhanraj brings with him 15 years experience to the role of custodian of MARC Group's finances. He is instrumental in overseeing the Group's financial, legal and risk management; investments and business development, including acquisitions, rights, and event creation. Dhanraj's passion is seeking ways to provide value throughout the Group's value chain and maximizing the potential of the entire Group.

JACO BEUKES

Chief Executive Officer

Armed with a wealth of experience, qualified Chartered Accountant Jaco Beukes joined SAIL in 2004. Jaco previously worked as a brand manager for Glasfit and spent 5 years working in England for various multinational financial institutions. 

He returned to South Africa in 2004 and joined SAIL as an investment manager. In 2008 he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO) of CIRCA and in 2009 he became COO of both CIRCA and Navitute. In 2013 he was promoted to CEO to the now called SAIL Rights Commercialisation (Pty) Ltd company.

He possesses a unique combination of formal qualifications in both finance and HR, giving him a keen insight into the balance of both. He has served on the boards of eight major sports brands and has invaluable experience in understanding client expectations.

MICHELLE VAN EYDEN

Executive Director

After qualifying Cum Laude with a BCOMM(HONS) in Marketing and Financial Management, Michelle began her working career in Vodacom's finance department in 1993. It was during her time at Vodacom that she was awarded the prestigious Vodacom CEO Award.

Michelle then moved on to become a founding member and shareholder of Vodacom Sport and Entertainment which later became SAIL. Her career highlights include working on the Laureus World Sports Awards, managing the Alfred Dunhill Championship as well as playing a major role in creating the Vodacom Durban July after 28 years of the event being known as the Rothmans July.

At SAIL, Michelle, with her passionate team, is responsible for creating, managing and commercialising a variety of different events owned by SAIL and on behalf of their clients such as Vodacom, Dunhill Ltd, L'Ormarins, BMW, Richemont, Investec and a host of others. In addition to this, there is a big focus on ensuring that SAIL retains its position as biggest promoter of golf tournaments in South Africa.