Garth Willis

Garth Willis is a Partner and director at Capitalworks, an independent South African alternative asset management firm founded in 2006 that manages more than US$1.6 billion for domestic and international investors across private equity, growth equity, venture capital, and public-equity strategies, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. Willis is one of the firm's senior deal principals and sits on the boards of several of its portfolio companies.

Before Capitalworks, Willis worked in private equity at Standard Bank South Africa, where he focused on financial-services investments. He began his career at PwC, first serving articles as an articled clerk and then moving into the firm's Corporate Finance practice — a route consistent with a chartered-accountancy training background. He holds a B.Com (Honours) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

In his current role, Willis leads and oversees Capitalworks investments and holds a number of board seats on behalf of the firm. Public company records list him as Chairman of Minet Holdings Africa (Pty) Ltd and a non-executive director of RFG Holdings Ltd / Rhodes Food Group Holdings, DGB (Pty) Ltd (a wine and spirits business), and other Capitalworks portfolio entities. His work centers on hands-on, control-oriented private equity: buying majority or significant stakes in established mid-market companies, partnering with management teams, and building the businesses over multi-year holds.

• Invests through Capitalworks' mid-market private equity strategy in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa — typically majority buyouts, management buyouts/buy-ins, and growth capital in established companies, rather than early-stage venture bets.
• Favors companies with long operating histories and strong management, which Capitalworks then backs with strategic support and active board involvement. On the Rhodes Food Group deal, Willis said: *"With a history going back for over a century, Rhodes Food Group is an integral part of the South African landscape,"* adding that Capitalworks would *"provide the strategic support that will strengthen one of the longer-established companies in South Africa."*
• Capitalworks describes its philosophy as one of *"partnership, patience, and discipline,"* with active involvement in portfolio companies beyond simply providing capital.
• Sector interests span consumer/food, insurance and financial services, industrials and building materials, and consumer goods — reflecting the deals Willis has personally been associated with.