LYNDON BARENDS

FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

Raised in Crossroads, Cape Town, Lyndon John Andrew Barends was the first person in his family to complete high school and graduate from university. Lyndon matriculated at Good Hope High School, where he later became a teacher.

He has played significant roles in diverse national projects from health care, to children’s charity, banking and sport.

Among several other business roles, Lyndon is the founder & director of Matchworld, a strategic sponsorship marketing company, and the Group CEO of Primedia Sport.

Lyndon has a BA in Psychology & Sociology, a BA (Hons) in Social Development, a Diploma in Personnel Management and an MBA (International General Management) from Richmond Business School in London. He is currently studying towards a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA Strategy) in Switzerland.

GERALD DU PREEZ

DIRECTOR

Professor GT du Preez serves as the Director for Education for the Southern Africa Union Conference, the national body of the Seventh-day Adventist church in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. Prior to that he served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Helderberg College, Somerset West.

Helderberg College is one of the leading Private Higher Educational Institutions in South Africa. Its graduates serve throughout the SADC region and the rest of the African continent as well as internationally.
He has served in administrative positions for most of his professional career, seventeen of those years in educational institutions.

Having studied on four different campuses in South Africa and the United states, he brings an invaluable perspective to meeting the needs of students, particularly those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.

EZLYN BARENDS

DIRECTOR & GENERAL MANAGER

Ezlyn Olivia Barends started her marketing and communications career in 2005 where she worked on several local and international brands. She coordinated numerous client accounts, including 2010 FIFA World Cup related projects.

In July 2010, she decided to leave the advertising and marketing industry to follow her purpose and passion in life – youth education and entrepreneurship and has since been working at the Dad Fund full time. She is also the Founding CEO of SA Interns, an online website for students and graduates looking for internship opportunities.

Ezlyn has always had a passion for enriching the lives of others. From a young age she was involved in regular community projects. In 2000, she joined a missionary group from the United States of America on a journey to Lesotho where they built a church for the community. In 2005 and 2006 she worked at Ons Plek, a home for abandoned young girls where she gave weekly life skills and women empowerment lesson to the young girls.

Ezlyn holds a Higher Diploma in Marketing Communications and a Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA).