Chairs and chief executives of Naspers: Vosloo to Bloisi

analysisNaspers's 2004 annual report states that Ton Vosloo was a journalist from 1956 to 1983 and editor of Beeld from 1977 to 1983, became managing director of Naspers Limited in 1984 and served as executive chairman from 1992 to 1997; it describes him as independent non-executive chairman of the board since 1997, and its directors' table gives 6 October 1997 as the date he was first appointed to that position. A biographical note in a historical archive gives the same steps, dating the executive chairmanship from September 1992 to September 1997 and stating that he retired as executive chairman on 30 September 1997 after almost 42 years in the publishing industry and was non-executive chairman. Records also name him chairman of group companies and outside bodies. The 2004 annual report names him chairman of Media24, Via Afrika, MIH BV and MIH Holdings, a former chairman of Sanlam and chairman of the World Wide Fund for Nature in South Africa and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. The archive note names him chairman of group subsidiaries and related interests Media24, Nasboek and the MIH pay television group, non-executive chair of Sanlam 'until recently', chairman of WWF SA until September 2004, a member of the SA National Parks Board for 11 years and chairman of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, and a 2015 news report lists him as a former chairman of Sanlam, M-Net, the World Wildlife Foundation South Africa and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. ^{1 2 3}

analysisNews reports of April 2015 state that Vosloo retired as non-executive chairman of Naspers on 17 April 2015 after 59 years with the group, which he had joined as a cub reporter in 1956; he had served on the board since March 1983 and chaired it for 23 years. Independent non-executive directors Boetie van Zyl, a board member since January 1988 who had chaired the audit and risk committees, and Yuanhe Ma, on group boards and committees since February 2003, retired on the same day, and incoming chairman Koos Bekker said the board expressed its deep gratitude to the three directors. Naspers states that Bekker succeeded Vosloo as chair on 17 April 2015. A 2015 news report states that Vosloo earned R4.8 million for his role in the last financial year; Naspers's annual financial statements for the year to 31 March 2014 list T Vosloo's directors' fees and committee and trustee fees, paid by the company and by subsidiaries, at a total of 4 771 (in R'000) for 2014. A market-data aggregator lists Theunissen Vosloo as chairman from 6 December 2009 to 16 April 2015 and Bekker as chairman from 16 April 2015. The record does not explain the aggregator's dates, and no record explaining them was found in the retained material; the company's own records, which give 17 April 2015 for the succession and describe Vosloo as executive chairman from 1992 to 1997 and chairman since 1997, are the primary statements. ^{4 3 5 6 7 8 2 9}

analysisKoos Bekker was chief executive of Naspers from 1997 until 31 March 2014; Naspers's 2004 annual report lists him with 6 October 1997 as the date first appointed to his position, titled managing director, and the annual financial statements for the year to 31 March 2014 record that Bob van Dijk succeeded him on 1 April 2014. A 2025 news report states that in 2007 Cobus Stofberg was appointed interim chief executive of Naspers during Bekker's one-year sabbatical; no company record of the 2007 interim appointment was found in the retained record. A news report of 20 August 2025 on Stofberg's retirement describes him as a member of the founding team of M-Net and MultiChoice and reports Naspers's statement to investors that he served as financial manager, chief operating officer and chief executive of various companies in the Naspers group from 1985 to 2011 and was at the forefront of the group's international expansion; the same report states that he began his career as a chartered accountant and partner at Coopers & Lybrand. A second report of the same date states that he was chief executive of MIH Holdings, the international holding company for the largest part of Naspers's assets, from 1997 to 2011, after serving as its chief operating officer. Both reports state that he was a director of Naspers from October 2013 and of Prosus from August 2019. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

analysisNaspers's FY2026 report states that Stofberg retired as an independent non-executive director from the board and the social, ethics and sustainability committee on 19 August 2025, and that the board was grateful for his contributions over many years. A news report states that he stepped down from the boards of both Naspers and Prosus and quotes chair Koos Bekker: 'Cobus was absolutely pivotal to the development of our group.' A market-data aggregator's table of former positions lists Jacobus Stofberg as a board member of Prosus N.V. until 18 August 2025 and as chief executive of MIH Holdings Pty Ltd. until 31 March 2011; these are the aggregator's dates, and Naspers gives 19 August 2025 for his retirement from the Naspers board. ^{6 5 7}

analysisNaspers's annual financial statements for the year to 31 March 2014 state that on 1 April 2014 Bob van Dijk succeeded Koos Bekker as chief executive, then holding no beneficial interest in Naspers N ordinary shares. A 2015 news report describes him as Naspers's most senior e-commerce executive at the time of his appointment, and an online encyclopedia entry states that before becoming chief executive he was chief executive of the Allegro division, had worked for eBay before joining Naspers and began his career as an associate at McKinsey & Company. News reports of 2024 state that he was chief executive of Naspers from 2014 and of Prosus from its listing in 2019. Records give slightly different dates for his tenure: Naspers's records give 1 April 2014 and 18 September 2023 (stepping down), while a market-data aggregator, which calls him Robert van Dijk, lists him as chief executive and board member of Naspers from 31 March 2014 to 17 September 2023, and the encyclopedia entry gives his term as group chief executive as April 2014 to September 2023. The company records are the primary statements; the aggregator's one-day differences are unexplained. ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7}

analysisNaspers states that on 18 September 2023 Bob van Dijk stepped down as chief executive and as an executive director of the Naspers and Prosus boards after about ten years, agreeing to assist with the transition and to remain a consultant to the group until 30 September 2024; its FY2024 reports state that the group announced that day that he stepped down 'after 10 successful years of leadership'. Ervin Tu, the group's chief investment officer, became interim chief executive of Naspers and Prosus without being appointed to the board. A 2023 news report and a 2024 report of the companies' statement describe the departure as immediate and mutually agreed between van Dijk and the boards; the 2024 report states that in September 2023 the companies told shareholders that their boards had mutually agreed that he would immediately step down. News reports described the departure as abrupt. Citi analysts, in a research note quoted in a news report of 18 September 2023, said they saw 'a good chance' of Tu becoming permanent chief executive and suspected that the decision 'has not been sudden', but that the company preferred to announce it after completing the unwinding of the Naspers–Prosus cross-holding. That is the analysts' inference and the journalists' characterisation: the record does not establish when the decision was taken, and no company comment on the analysts' inference was found in the retained record. Tu did not become permanent chief executive: on 17 May 2024 the companies announced the appointment of iFood chief executive Fabricio Bloisi, and Tu took the new position of president and chief investment officer. ^{6 8 9 3 4}

analysisErvin Tu, previously the group's chief investment officer, was interim chief executive of Naspers and Prosus from van Dijk's departure on 18 September 2023 until Fabricio Bloisi took office in July 2024; he was not appointed to the board, and his remuneration was not reported separately because of the interim nature of the appointment. According to a news report, Bekker told investors that, although Tu had joined the business only in 2021, he would have the same autonomy as van Dijk despite the temporary appointment, and that the search for a permanent chief executive would consider external as well as internal candidates; a May 2024 news report states that Tu had been interim chief executive for the previous eight months. A 2023 news report states that before joining the group Tu was a managing partner at the SoftBank Vision Fund, where he also co-led M&A and corporate finance for SoftBank Group International. A market-data aggregator's profile lists him as managing partner at SoftBank Capital Partners LLC and as group head of investments, strategy and M&A at Naspers, states that he previously was a managing partner at SB Investment Advisers (UK) Ltd. and lists him as a Naspers corporate officer from 31 July 2021; the profile does not date the SoftBank Capital Partners role, so the record does not establish whether it overlapped with his Naspers roles. The same aggregator lists Tu as chief executive of Naspers from 17 September 2023 to 30 June 2024 and as Naspers and Prosus chief executive until 30 June 2024, and Robert (Bob) van Dijk as chief executive until 17 September 2023. Naspers's dates, the primary statements, are 18 September 2023 for van Dijk's stepping down and 10 July 2024 for Bloisi's appointment as chief executive; the aggregator's dates are unexplained. ^{1 2 3 4 5 6}

analysisNaspers's FY2024 reports, which record the 17 May 2024 announcement of Bloisi's appointment, state that Tu would continue to play a critical role, and an important role in shaping the group's future, in a new position as president and chief investment officer. A news report of 17 May 2024 states that the interim chief executive was to become chief investment officer, and a news report of 8 August 2024 states that Tu had assumed the new position of president and chief investment officer. According to a news report of 17 May 2024, Bekker told investors on a call that the board had appointed Tu as president and chief investment officer because Bloisi was less experienced in international mergers and acquisitions and in dealing with investors, and said that Tu would play 'a fundamental role in shaping the group's future strategy, investments, and capital allocation'; Tu told investors that Bloisi would have the final say on capital allocation. The report does not make clear whether the stated reason is Bekker's wording or the reporter's summary, and no call transcript is in the retained record. Naspers's FY2024 reports state only that Tu would play those roles as president and CIO; they give no reason for the appointment, and no company statement addressing the reported rationale was found in the retained record. A market-data aggregator's news lists for Tu and Naspers carry headlines dated 3 and 4 June 2025 stating that Prosus had announced that Tu would step down as president and chief investment officer, and its officer table records him as president from 30 June 2024 to 22 June 2025 and as chief investment officer until 22 June 2025. Only these headlines and the aggregator's table are retained; no company announcement of Tu's departure is in the retained record. ^{1 7 8 3 4 6 5}

analysisNaspers states that Fabricio Bloisi was previously chief executive and chairman of iFood and in 1998 founded Movile Group, a Brazilian technology investment company through which Naspers made its initial investment in iFood in 2013; its FY2024 report states that he acquired iFood in 2013, when it was a 20-person start-up. A news report of 20 May 2024 states that, on becoming chief executive of Naspers and Prosus, Bloisi remained a shareholder in and chairman of the board of iFood. A market-data aggregator's profile of Fabricio Bloisi Rocha lists him as founder of Movile Serviços em Tecnologia Ltda. (1998), an independent director of Itaú Unibanco Holding SA since 2023 (its positions table gives 31 December 2022), a member of the Innovation Board of the X PRIZE Foundation and a former chief executive of iFood; no company record of the Itaú Unibanco and X PRIZE roles was found in the retained record. ^{1 2 3 4}

analysisBloisi, chief executive of the group's Brazilian food-delivery business iFood, became chief executive of Naspers and Prosus in July 2024. Naspers states that it announced his appointment on 17 May 2024 after an extensive process, that he was appointed chief executive effective 10 July 2024, and that he would join the Naspers board as an executive director on 10 July 2024 and the Prosus board after its August 2024 annual general meeting, subject to shareholder approval; its leadership page titles him Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. Other records give different start dates: a news report of the 17 May 2024 announcement states that he would take the helm of both companies on 1 July, and a market-data aggregator lists him as chief executive of Naspers Limited from 9 July 2024 and of Prosus N.V. from 30 June 2024, while its profile text describes him as chief executive and executive director of Naspers since 2024 and of Prosus 'starting in 2025'. The company's 10 July 2024 date is the primary record; the other dates are unexplained. Naspers's 22 August 2024 annual general meeting considered a resolution, unanimously recommended by the board, to confirm his appointment as an executive director and chief executive, and the resolution was passed with 99.89% of the voting rights. ^{5 1 6 2 7 4}

analysisKoos Bekker stated, on announcing the appointment on 17 May 2024, that Bloisi 'has a combination of vision, deep operational experience and strong discipline', the skill set the board believed made him the right person to lead the companies. A news report of 20 May 2024 states that the boards' decision was influenced by their view of the technology landscape and the 'type of personality' best placed to use its opportunities; according to Bekker, 55% of leaders of technology companies of similar scale have a strong engineering background and a history of entrepreneurship, a figure not otherwise verified in the record, and Bekker said on the call that Bloisi had academic grounding, entrepreneurial expertise over 15 years and the ability to build a culture of entrepreneurship. At the 22 August 2024 annual general meeting, answering a shareholder's question on succession planning, Craig Enenstein, chair of the human resources and remuneration committee, said that after an interim chief executive was appointed the successor was identified internally following a vigorous process. Analysts quoted in a news report of 17 May 2024 gave their opinions, not findings: Jefferies analysts said Bloisi's skills as an owner-operator were unlikely to be fully used at the head of Prosus, whose investments in public and private companies have their own operators, and that they would have preferred 'a capital allocator with a track record in either private or public market expertise', while a UBS analyst said the market could initially be sceptical but that the team of Bloisi as head with Tu alongside could work well. No response by Naspers or Prosus to these comments was found in the retained record. Shareholders confirmed the appointment, which the board unanimously recommended, at the 22 August 2024 meeting with 99.89% of the voting rights. A market-data aggregator lists headlines of 3 and 4 June 2025 stating that Prosus had announced that Tu would step down as president and chief investment officer, and its officer table ends both roles on 22 June 2025. ^{3 6 7 8 9}