Former PwC'er Sean Joubert new CEO of tourism group Tourvest

Sean Joubert, who formerly was an Auditing Supervisor at global professional services firm PwC, has been appointed the new CEO of tourism group Tourvest. The appointment is effective as of 1st of January next year.

Tourvest is an integrated tourism group operating out of Bryanston in South Africa. In essence, the group has an expansive scope covering all dimensions of travel. To this end, the firm works with travel companies, the hospitality industry and the food industry, all the way down to local craft and jewellery industries and currency exchange companies.

The firm was founded in 1997, and has since grown to consist of approximately 60 brands that dominate their respective sectors, cumulatively employing more than 5,000 people. Operations for the firm now span East and West Africa, as well as India, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Caribbean.

Since 2003, Tourvest has been led by Tommy Edmond, an Advanced Management Graduate from Harvard. Now, after a decision from Edmond to retire at the end of the year, Tourvest has announced that former Auditing Supervisor at Big Four accounting and advisory firm PwC, Sean Joubert, will replace Edmond as CEO as of next year.

After completing a Bachelors of Commerce with Honors from the Rand Afrikaans University, Joubert began his professional career at PwC, working out of their Johannesburg outfit. Joubert then moved on to Dimension Data, where he began as Chief Financial Officer for the regions of Middle East and Africa, and ended his 16-year spell as Managing Director.

Since then, Joubert has been working as Chief Operating Officer at Quintica, a technology services firm. Commenting on the appointment, Robert Gumede, Chairman at Tourvest said, “With his technological background, solid mergers and acquisition experience, and proven record in building businesses in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa, Joubert will be an invaluable asset to Tourvest.”

Joubert joins the ranks of CEOs across South Africa, who are fighting the slowing local market to remain optimistic about future economic prospects in the country.

Earlier this month, Batandwa Mdyesha, a fomer Deloitte South Africa advisor, joined BAIC aas CFO.