Geoffrey de Jager
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Geoffrey John de Jager | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1950 |
| Children | Four |
Geoffrey De Jager (born 2 October 1950 Oudtshoorn, South Africa) is a retired entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is currently the owner of Anglo Suisse Investments Limited alongside various charitable positions at The Rhodes University UK Trust, The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Chairman of Classics For All (a national campaign to get classical languages and the study of ancient civilisations back into state schools in the UK launched in 2010)[1] and The Sparrow Schools Foundation.
Geoffrey was born in Oudtshoorn, South Africa.[2] He is married to Caroline and they have four children. He resides in Oxford, United Kingdom.
Education
Geoffrey de Jager attended Kingswood College in Grahamstown, and then went on to graduate from Rhodes University with a B.Com in 1973. In 1975 Geoffrey graduated from Natal University with an LLB.
On 14 April 2012 Rhodes University conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.[3] In 2008 Geoffrey became an honorary fellow at Trinity College, Oxford University where he is also a member of the Chancellor's Court of Benefactors.[4]
Career
Geoffrey began his career as a lawyer, but soon turned to banking in South Africa.
Rand Merchant Bank
In 1980, Geoffrey was among the founding directors of Rand Merchant Bank with GT Ferreira, Laurie Dippenaar and Paul Harris. He served here as executive director for seven years.[3]
Anglo Suisse Investments Holdings
The financial sector continued to be his main focus of attention after immigrating to the UK in 1987 – there establishing two stock-broking firms, and later founding, together with his twin brother Douglas, an investment company, Anglo Suisse Investments Holdings that concentrated on manufacturing in South Africa, the UK and Australia. In South Africa their activities were conducted through Lenco Holding Limited which was engaged in the manufacture of blow moulding PVC and plastic containers and injection-moulded caps for the packaging industry and also produced foamed styrene trays for the food industry and PVC cling film.[3]
One of Anglo Suisse's main UK companies was Sharp Interpack, a company in which Geoffrey invested heavily, and one of the first food-packaging companies in the UK to make extensive use of recycled materials – so successfully that in 2009, at the prestigious Best Factory Awards ceremony it received the top award for its commitment to health, safety and the environment. Demonstrating that environmentalism can be compatible with business success, Sharp captured more than 60% of the UK's packaging market by 2010. In 2010 Sharp was sold for an undisclosed amount to Groupe Guillin[5]
Other Business Interests
The above have not been Geoffrey de Jager's only business interests – others include a company involved in the high-tech extraction and analysis of DNA. He has served on numerous boards including, Lenco Holdings Limited and Malbak Ltd.[6]