The Toyota Free State Cheetahs’ newly appointed chief executive officer is set to lead the team to greater heights. Ross van Reenen formally took office on 1 December.
This sees him returning to his roots, where he was a student, teacher, provincial rugby player and businessman. He relocated from Stilbaai to settle in the City of Roses.
Van Reenen boasts an impressive track record in financial management and experience. Having served as a chief executive, board chairman and developer of businesses at other entities, he is not new to being in an influential position. He has extensive contact within business, rugby and other sports networks, both nationally and internationally.
He played for the Shimlas and Free State at a young age and featured in 62 Currie Cup games and four finals.
“The Free State has shaped me as a person and a professional,” said Van Reenen.
“My closest friends are still former players. The Free State gave me the best years of my life. It is time to give back.”
Van Reenen pointed out that the province and the Cheetahs team suffered due to the pandemic and felt the loss of 67% of the franchise’s top-line income from SA Rugby.
He hopes to reignite the fire within the Cheetahs, notable for their Currie Cup wins in 2016 and 2019, their trailblazing Pro14 participation and their shaping of some of South Africa’s finest players and coaches.
“My business career is at a point where I can assist the Cheetahs full-time. I will seek financial backing and support for this special 126-year-old rugby brand – to make it sustainable and to have it become the top team it deserves to be in the next two to three years.
“I want the Cheetahs to be able contract top players instead of training them for other franchises.”
Van Reenen holds a BA Honours degree and higher education diploma from the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State. He attained his MBA degree with distinction from The Oxford-Brookes University in London. He is a financial columnist, magazines editor and prolific publisher of academic and business articles.
Van Reenen was part of the team that beat the All Blacks in 1976 and became the first Free State team to win the Currie Cup later that year. He founded, and still chairs, the South African Rugby Players Foundation (Sarpa). This body prepares professional and amateur rugby players for a future career or business. The Ross van Reenen Academy took his initiative even further.
He authored From Locker Room to Boardroom – converting rugby talent into business success, and has lectured to postgraduate MBA students for more than 20 years and mentored rising stars in the business world.
Van Reenen is an all-rounder. He is a Springbok lifesaver and deep-sea angler and received senior provincial colours in rugby, water polo, biathlon, triathlon, deep-sea angling and lifesaving.
