BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
ORIGIN FINANCIAL HOLDINGS (PTY) LTD
Origin is continually striving to be a leading provider of financial services and advice. Our clients are our first priority – we develop unique solutions suited to each individual. To continue giving the best service we need the best team.
Pieter Esterhuizen
Chairman: Board of Directors
Pieter Esterhuizen
Chairman: Board of Directors
Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer
Pieter is a founder of the Group and the Group CEO.
He is a chartered accountant with SAICA, an auditor with IRBA, a full member of the UK society, STEP,
the US-based Family Firm Institute, SAIT, Key Individual with the FSCA, former president of SAICA Southern Cape and member of SAICA’s Regional Council. His expertise is mainly in the tax, advisory, fiduciary and accounting fields, both onshore in SA and offshore internationally. Pieter has been a CA since 1990 and has been and still am involved in several auditing and accounting firms and financial services businesses.
Leon Swart
CEO
Leon Swart
CEO
Years in the industry: 1999 to …
Leon’s working knowledge of the financial services industry and his exceptional business
acumen continues to guide the development and growth of the Origin Group of Companies
and positions us as one of the leading niche financial service providers in southern Africa.
Certified Financial Planner
B.Econ (Stellenbosch University)
Leon has assisted clients in all areas of financial advice, including life, investment, retirement
and estate planning. He also has extensive experience in short-term insurance, particularly in
the commercial short-term insurance space.
He is a member of the Financial Planner Institute (FPI) and the
Financial Intermediary Association (FIA),
where he serves in a representative capacity on a regional and national level.
Braaibroodjie lover, Lions rugby fan, sci-fi geek, wannabe farmer, coffee snob.
Riaan Geldenhuys
Executive Director
Riaan Geldenhuys
Executive Director
Short-Term
Responsibilities at Origin include , performance management,
relationship management of insurers, suppliers and business partners,
strategic planning and process management.
National Certificate in Short-Term insurance (NQF level 5)
National Certificate in Architectural Drafting
Riaan started his career in financial services at Santam in 1986
and served in various roles during his time at the company,
including Domestic Underwriter, Senior Claims Handler,
Head of Claims and Assistant Manager, before opening his
own brokerage in 1995.
The brokerage started as a one-man business and grew into
one of the three largest independent brokerages in the Helderberg basin.
In 2012, he joined forces with three other independent brokers to merge the
four and create an independent company.
Proud Western Province rugby supporter, perfectionist, 4x4 fundi, aspirant golfer
Cobus Coetzee
Executive Director
Cobus Coetzee
Executive Director
Executive Director
As a founder of the DLR Group, Cobus is the director responsible
for Marketing and Sales. Cobus has 23 years’ experience in the insurance
and financial planning industry and is overseeing the Wealth Division.
He started his career at Sanlam and is a registered Key Individual with the FSCA.
His expertise is mainly in specialist niche products.
Armand Huisamen
Non-Executive Director
Armand Huisamen
Non-Executive Director
Years in the industry: 1992 to …
Key role: Executive Advisor
B Comm (University of Stellenbosch)
Armand started his career in the financial industry in the life insurance
sector, where after he became involved in developing administrative
processes and systems in life insurance operations.
He qualified as a financial adviser in 1997, and eventually advanced to
become a partner at a short-term insurance firm in 2001.
While managing this firm, he qualified as a Key Individual and
Representative, as per regulatory requirements.
He is also a member of the Financial Intermediaries Association of
South Africa. Good fun, overthinker, karate kid, prankster.
Dryden Doughty
Non-Executive Director
Dryden Doughty
Non-Executive Director
Years in the industry: 2002 to …
Key role: Executive, Short-Term
Executive Advisor and Dryden forms part of the leadership team
for the Cape Town branch of Origin Financial and Chair of the Cultural Team.
National Certificate in Plastics Technology
Higher Certificate in Insurance
B.Tech Business Administration
With a degree in Plastics Engineering and experience as a factory manager,
Dryden provides unique insights into the risks commercial clients face each day.
He started his career in the financial services industry in 2002, heading up the short-term
insurance division of an independent brokerage. Three years later he started his own
successful short-term insurance brokerage specialising in commercial risk. In 2015,
his company merged with Origin Financial.
Self-proclaimed foodie, budding chef, sports enthusiast
Cobus Slabber
Non-Executive Director
Cobus Slabber
Non-Executive Director
Years in the industry: 1992 to …
Key role: Executive
Cobus launched Origin Trust and Fiduciary Solutions with Leon Swart
within the OriginFinancial Group and is current Chairman of the group.
Certificate in Deceased Estate Planning
Master of Laws : Tax Law
BComm LLB
Cobus started his career in 1992 at the Department of Justice as a state
prosecutor. Together with his business partners, he started the law practice
Terblanche Slabber Pieters in 1993.
He has a special interest in the administration of deceased estates,
estate planning and the drafting of wills, along with trust law.
Cobus regularly attends seminars and short courses on these and
other related subjects.
Masterchef delux, potential Cape Epic rider, somewhat pensive
Isaiah de Jager
Non-Executive Director
Isaiah de Jager
Non-Executive Director
Director: Botswana Accounting
Isaiah finished his articles in 1989 after which he went on to finish his B Com Honours degree in 1991 whilst working for Tata Marketing in Randburg, moving to their Botswana operations in 1993. He worked for Afrox Botswana as their Financial Director from 1995 to 2002 after which he established his own accounting practice and then joined the LUMENROCK team in 2015 and is based in Gaborone, Botswana. Isaiah’s expertise is in Accounting and Taxation and he is a member of the Accounting Exco of the Group.
Marius
Non-Executive Director
Marius
Non-Executive Director
Marius holds the following qualifications: Matric (1985), a BA degree in Psychology/Statistics (1988), a Higher Diploma in Education (1989), and an Honours degree in Psychology (1995)
He was employed as Counsellor Teacher by the Western Cape Education Department from 1992 to 1997, worked at Sanlam from 1998 to 2000), and as a Short-term Insurance Broker
at Amfin Partners from 2000 to 2016). He joined Origin Financial in 2016. Other work-related experience includes Cystex – Customs- and Excise-related Tax - Marketing since 2015.
Other work-related experience includes Cystex – Customs- and Excise-related Tax - Marketing since 2015.
Marius’s areas of specialisation are Liability Insurance, Self-insurance and Alternative Risk Management Structuring and Commercial Insurance.
Dr Tarita Mostert
Company Secretary
Dr Tarita Mostert
Company Secretary
Tarita joined the group in 2017 after completing both her legal and accounting articles. She is a qualified attorney in registered practice with the Legal Practice Council of the Western
Cape, a registered AGA with SAICA and has been admitted as a Notary Public in the High Court.
She has completed her LLB and BCompt degrees, as well as her Postgraduate Teachers Licentiate in Piano. Tarita obtained her LLM in Taxation in 2018, completed her PhD in
Taxation at Rhodes University in 2021 (Dissertation title: An interpretation of the deeming provisions in legislation in the context of a good tax system - A South African perspective).
She received the SAIPA Top Achievers Award in the Doctor of Philosophy in Taxation Category in 2022.
She also obtained an Executive MBA from the Swiss School of Business and Management.
(SSBM) in the same year. Her expertise is mainly in the legal, taxation and risk fields and she specialises in structuring advice for clients, both in SA and internationally, and managing the
Risk of the Group. She is also the Group Company Secretary.