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Russell Loubser

Russell Loubser

Mr. Loubser was the Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) from 1997 to 2011. During his tenure, the JSE was demutualized and converted into a public company in 2005 and listed on the JSE in 2006, when it was valued at R250 million. Upon Mr. Loubser’s retirement in 2011, JSE was valued at approximately R6 billion.

Additional accomplishments during Mr. Loubser’s tenure include acquiring the two other licensed securities exchanges in South Africa, the South African Futures Exchange and the Bond Exchange of South Africa, dematerializing and computerizing the equity settlement process, and South African being rated number one in the world for regulation of securities exchanges by the World Economic Forum.

While at the JSE, Mr. Loubser was also a member of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, the Securities Regulation Panel in South Africa, and served on the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Exchanges, including chairing its Working Committee for two years.

Mr. Loubser is currently a director of Strate Limited, Rand Merchant Bank, First National Bank and Afrika Tikkun and a council member of the University of Pretoria, Extraordinary Professor in Mercantile Law at the University of Pretoria, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Witwatersrand.

Prior to his time with the JSE, Mr. Loubser was Executive Director of Financial Markets at Rand Merchant Bank Limited, worked at Finansbank Limited, and spent three years at Arthur Andersen, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Mr. Loubser is currently Director of Strate (Pty) Limited, South Africa’s Central Securities Depository,  FirstRand Limited,  Rand Merchant Bank (Divisional Board) and First National Bank (Divisional Board).

Since 2007, he is Council Member of University of Pretoria and since November 2012 a Board member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). He is also Extraordinary Professor in Mercantile Law-University of Pretoria.

Mr. Loubser has received many awards, including Honorary Life Membership with the SAICA and the Special Award from the Investment Analysts Society of South Africa.